The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་པ, Wylie: bka' brgyud pa) school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools (chos lugs) of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug. Along with the later two the Kagyu is classified as one of the Sarma or "New Transmission" schools since it primarily follows the Vajrayāna or Tantric teachings based on the so-called New Tantras, i.e., those translated during the second diffusion of the Buddha Dharma in Tibet.
Like all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Kagyu consider their practices and teachings inclusive of the full range of Buddha's teachings (or three yāna), since they follow the fundamental teachings and vows of individual liberation and monastic discipline (Pratimoksha). Those teachings in turn accord with the Mulasarvastivada tradition of the Śrāvakayāna (sometimes called Nikāya Buddhism or "Hīnayāna" ); the Bodhisattva teachings, vows of universal liberation and philosophy of the Mahāyāna; and the profound means and samaya pledges of the Secret Mantra Vajrayāna.
What differentiates the Kagyu from the other schools of Himalayan Buddhism are primarily the particular esoteric instructions and tantras they emphasize and the lineages of transmission they follow.
Due to the Kagyu tradition's particularly strong emphasis on guru devotion and guru yoga, and the personal transmission of esoteric instructions (dam ngag or man ngag) from master to disciple, the early Kagyu tradition soon gave rise to a bewildering number of independent sub-schools or sub-sects centered round individual charismatic Kagyu teachers and the hereditary lineages as well as mindstream emanation lineages.
Strictly speaking, the term Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: bka' brgyud) (“Oral Lineage” or “Precept Transmission”) applies to any line of transmission of an esoteric teaching from teacher to disciple. We sometimes see references to the "Atisha Kagyu" (“the precept transmission from Atiśa”) for the early Kadampa,[1] or to "Jonang Kagyu" for the Jonangpa and "Ganden Kagyu" for the Gelugpa sects.[2]
Today, the term Kagyu almost always refers to the Marpa Kagyu or Dagpo Kagyu and its off-shoots, which developed from the teachings transmitted by the translator Marpa Chökyi Lodrö and his successors. It also applies to the separate lesser-known Shangpa Kagyu tradition, which developed from the teachings independently transmitted by Khyungpo Naljor.[3]
In his 1970 article "Golden Rosaries of the Bka' brgyud schools" E. Gene Smith, discusses the two forms of the name — Kagyu Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: bka' brgyud and Kargyu Tibetan: དཀར་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: dkar brgyud:
One source indicates "the term 'Kagyu' derives from the Tibetan phrase meaning 'Lineage of the Four Commissioners' (Ka-bab-shi-gyu-pa). This four-fold lineage is 1) the illusory body and transference yogas of the Guhyasamaja and Chatushpitha Tantra, transmitted through Tilopa, Nagarjuna, Indrabhuti, and Saraha; 2) the dream yoga practice of the Mahamaya from Tilopa, Charyapa, and Kukuripa; 3) the clear-light yoga of the Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, and other Mother Tantras, as transmitted from Hevajra, Dombipa, and Lavapa; and 4) the inner-heat yoga, Kamadevavajra, Padmavajra, Dakini, Kalpabhadra, and Tilopa."[5]
The Shangpa Kagyu ཤངས་པ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད (shangs pa bka' brgyud) differs in origin from the better known Marpa Kagyu or Dagpo Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that is the source of all present day Kagyu schools. The Dagpo Kagyu and its branches primarily came from the lineage of the Indian siddhas Tilopa and Naropa transmitted in Tibet through Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and their succssors; whereas the Shangpa lineage descended from two female siddhas Naropa's consort Niguma [6] and Virupa's disciple Sukhasiddhi transmitted in Tibet in the 11th century through Kedrub Khyungpo Naljor. The tradition takes its name from the valley of Shang (ཤངས) where Khyungpo Naljor established the monastery of Zhong Zhong ཞོང་ཞོང or Zhang Zhong.
For seven generations the Shangpa Kagyu lineage remained a one-to-one transmission.[7] Although there were a few temples and retreat centres in Tibet and Bhutan associated with the Shangpa transmission, the Shangpa Kagyu never really became established there as an independent religious institution or sect, but rather it's teachings were transmitted down through the centuries by lamas belonging to many different schools.
In the 20th century the Shangpa Kagyu teachings were transmitted by the first Kalu Rinpoche, who had many disciples in Tibet, India and the West.
The Kagyu begins in Tibet with Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (1012–1097) who trained as a translator with Drogmi Lotsawa Shākya Yeshe ('brog mi lo ts'a ba sh'akya ye shes) (993–1050), and then traveled three times to India and four times to Nepal in search of religious teachings. His principal gurus were the siddhas Nāropa - from whom he received the "close lineage" of Mahāmudrā and Tantric teachings, and Maitripa - from whom he received the "distant lineage" of Mahāmudrā.
Marpa's guru Nāropa (1016–1100) was the principal disciple of Tilopa (988-1089) from East Bengal. From his own teachers Tilopa received the Four Lineages of Instructions (bka' babs bzhi),[8] which he passed on to Nāropa who codified them into what became known as the Six Doctrines or Six Yogas of Nāropa. These instructions consist a combination of the completion stage (Skt. sampannakrama; Tib. rdzogs rim) practices of different Buddhist highest yoga tantras (Skt. anuttarayoga tantra; Tib. bla-med rgyud), which use the energy-winds (Skt.vāyu, Tib. rlung; ), energy-channels (Skt. nāḍi, Tib. rtsa; ) and energy-drops (Tib. ) of the subtle vajra-body in order to achieve the four types of bliss, the clear-light mind and realize the state of Mahāmudrā.
The Mahāmudrā lineage of Tilopa and Nāropa is called the "direct lineage" or "close lineage" as it is said that Tilopa received this Mahāmudrā realisation directly from the Dharmakaya Buddha Vajradhara and this was transmitted only through Nāropa to Marpa.
The "distant lineage" of Mahāmudrā is said to have come from the Buddha in the form of Vajradara through incarnations of the Bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Manjusri to Saraha, then from him through Nagarjuna, Shavaripa, and Maitripa to Marpa. The Mahāmudrā teachings from Saraha that Maitripa transmitted to Marpa include the "Essence Mahāmudrā" (snying po'i phyag chen) where Mahāmudrā is introduced directly without relying on philosophical reasoning or yogic practices.
According to some accounts, on his third journey to India Marpa also met Atiśa (982–1054) who later came to Tibet and helped found the Kadampa lineage [3]
Marpa established his "seat" at Drowolung (gro bo lung) in Lhodrak (lho brag) in Southern Tibet just north of Bhutan. Marpa married the lady Dagmema, and took eight other concubines as mudras. Collectively they embodied the main consort and eight wisdom dakini in the mandala of his yidam Hevajra.
Marpa's four most outstanding students were known as the "Four Great Pillars" (ka chen bzhi):[9]
Marpa had wanted to pass his lineage through his son Darma Dode following the usual Tibetan practice of the time to transmit of lineages of esoteric teachings via hereditary lineage (father-son or uncle-nephew), but his son died at an early age and consequently he passed his main lineage on through Milarepa.
Other important students of Marpa include:
In the 19th Century Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye (1813–1899) collected the initiations and sadhanas of surviving transmissions of Marpa's teachings together in the collection known as the Kagyu Ngak Dzö (Tibetan: "བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་སྔགས་མཛོད", Wylie: bka' brgyud sngags mdzod) ("Treasury of Kagyu Tantras").
Among Milarepa's many students were Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen) (1079–1153), a great scholar, and the great yogi Rechung Dorje Drakpa, also known as Rechungpa.
Gampopa combined the stages of the path tradition of the Kadampa order with teaching and practice of the Great Seal (Mahamudra) and the Six Yogas of Naropa he received from Milarepa synthesizing them into one lineage, which came to be known as Dagpo Kagyu—the main lineage of the Kagyu tradition as we know it today.
Following Gampopa's teachings, there evolved the so-called "Four Major and Eight Minor" lineages of the Dagpo (sometimes rendered "Tagpo" or "Dakpo") Kagyu School. This phrase is descriptive of the generation or order in which the schools were founded, not of their importance.
Although few survive as independent linages today, there were originally twelve main Kagyu lineages derived from Gampopa and his disciples. Four primary ones stemmed from direct disciples of Gampopa and his nephew; and eight secondary ones branched from Gampopa's disciple Phagmo Drupa.[14] Several of these Kagyu lineages in turn developed their own branches or sub-schools. It must be said, though, that the terminology "primary and secondary" (che chung) for the Kagyu schools can only be traced back as far as Kongtrul's writings (19th c.). The Tibetan terminology "che chung", literally "large (and) small," does not reflect the size or influence of the schools, as for instance the Drikung school was in the 13th century probably the largest and most influential of them, although it is, according to Kongtrul, "secondary".
The abbatal throne of Gampopa's own monastery of Daglha Gampo, passed to his own nephew Dagpo Gomtsul.
The Drubgyu Karma Kamtsang, often known simply as the Karma Kagyu, was founded by one of Gampopa's main disciples Düsum Khyenpa (1110–1193), later designated as the first Karmapa.
The Karma Kagyu itself has three subschools in addition to the main branch:[15]
The Barom Kagyu was founded by Gampopa's disciple Barompa Darma Wangchug ('ba' rom pa dar ma dbang phyug) (1127–1199/1200) who established Barom Riwoche monastery (nag chu 'ba' rom ri bo che) in 1160.
An important early master of this school was Tishri Repa Sherab Senge ('gro mgon ti shri ras pa rab sengge ) (1164–1236).
This school was popular in the Nangchen principality of Khams (now Nangqên, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southern Qinghai province) where it has survived in one or two pockets to the present day.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920–1996) was a holder of the Barom Kagyu Lineage.
The Tshalpa Kagyu was established by Zhang Yudrakpa Tsöndru Drak (zhang g.yu brag pa brtson 'gru brags pa) (1123–1193) or Lama Zhang who founded the monastery of Tsal Gungtang (tshal gung thang). Lama Zhang was a disciple of Gampopa's nephew Dagpo Gomtsul (dwags sgom tshul khrims snying po) (1116–1169).
The Tshalpa Kagyu tradition continued to function independently until the 15th century when it was absorbed by the Gelugpa, who still maintain many of its transmissions.[18] All of the former Tshalpa properties became Gelugpa possessions under the administration of Sera monastery.
The Phagmo Drupa Kagyu (Tibetan: ཕག་མོ་གྲུ་པ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: phag mo gru pa bka’ brgyud) or Phagdru Kagyu (ཕག་གྲུ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད) was founded by Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (Tibetan: ཕག་མོ་གྲུ་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ་རྒྱལ་པོ, Wylie: phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po), (1110–1170) who was the elder brother of the famous Nyingma Lama Ka Dampa Deshek (1122–1192) founder of Katok Monastery. Before meeting Gampopa, Dorje Gyalpo studied with Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (sa chen kun dga' snying po) (1092–1158) from whom he received whole Lamdré transmission.[19]
In 1158 Dorje Gyalpo built a reed-hut hermitage at Phagmo Drupa ("Sow's Ferry Crossing") in a juniper forest in Nedong (Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང, Wylie: sne gdong) high above the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river. Later, as his fame spread and disciples gathered, this site developed into the major monastic seat of Dentsa Thel (Tibetan: གདན་ས་ཐེལ, Wylie: gdan sa thel ). Following his death the monastery declined and his disciple Jigten Sumgon sent Chenga Drakpa Jungne (Tibetan: སྤྱན་སྔ་གྲགས་པ་འབྱུང་གནས, Wylie: spyan snga grags pa 'byung-gnas) (1175–1255), a member of the Lang (rlang) family, to become abbot and look after the monastery. "Chenga Drakpa Jungne was abbot for 21 years and restored the monastery to its former grandeur. In 1253 when the Sakyapas came to power they appointed Dorje Pel [(Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་དཔལ, Wylie: rdo rje dpal)] the brother of Chenga Drakpa Jungne as Tripon [hereditary myriarch] of Nedon. From that time on the Tripon who as a monk, assumed the seat of government of Nedon and also ruled as abbot at Dentsa Thel and his brothers married in order to perpetuate the family line. This tie with the monastery founded by Phagmo Drupa led to the Tripons of Nedong to become known as Phagdru (short of Phagmo Drupa) Tripon and their period of rule in Tibet as the Phagmo Drupa period (or Phagmodrupa dynasty).”[20]
Changchub Gyaltsen (1302–1364) was born into this Lang family. In 1322, he was appointed by the Sakyapa's as the Pagmodru Myriarch of Nedong and given the title “Tai Situ” in the name of the Yuan emperor. Soon he fought with a neighboring myriarchy trying to recover land lost in earlier times. This quarrel displeased the Sakya ruler (dpon chen) Gyalwa Zangpo (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བ་བཟང་པོ, Wylie: rgyal ba bzang po) who dismissed him as myriach. Following a split between Gyalwa Zangpo and his minister Nangchen Wangtson (Tibetan: ནང་ཆེན་དབང་བརྩོན, Wylie: nang chen dbang brtson), the former restored Changchub Gyaltsen to his position in 1352. Taking advantage of the situation, Changchub Gyaltsen immediately went on the offensive and soon controlled the whole of the Central Tibetan province of U (dbus). Gyalwa Zanpo and Changchub Gyaltsen were reconciled at a meeting with the Sakya Lama Kunpangpa (Tibetan: བླ་མ་ཀུན་སྤངས་པ, Wylie: bla ma kun spangs pa). This angered Nangchen Wangtson who usurped Gyalwa Zanpo as Sakya ruler and imprisoned him.
In 1351 Changchub Gyaltsen established an important Kagyu monastery at the ancient Tibetan capital of Tsetang. This was later dismantled during the time of the 7th Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso (18th Century) and replaced by a Gelugpa Monastery, Gaden Chokhorling.[21]
In 1358, Wangtson assassinated Lama Kunpangpa. Learning of this, Changchub Gyaltsen then took his forces to Sakya, imprisoned Wangtson, and replaced four hundred court officials and the newly appointed ruling lama. The Pagmodrupa rule of Central Tibet (U, Tsang and Ngari) dates from this coup in 1358.[22]
As ruler Changchub Gyaltsen was keen to revive the glories of the Tibetan Empire of Songtsen Gampo and assert Tibetan independence from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and from Ming Dynasty China. He took the Tibetan title “Desi” (sde-srid), re-organized the thirteen myriarchies of the Yuan-Shakya rulers into numerous districts (rdzong), abolished Mongol law in favour of the old Tibetan legal code, and Mongol court dress in favur of traditional Tibetan dress.[23]
Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen died in 1364 and was succeeded as by his nephew Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen (Tibetan: ཇམ་དབྱངས་ཤ་ཀྱ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, Wylie: jam dbyangs sha kya rgyal mtshan) (1340–1373), who was also a monk. The subsequent rule of the Phagmodrupa dynasty lasted until 1435 followed by the Rinpungpa kings who ruled for four generations from 1435–1565 and the three Tsangpa kings 1566-1641.
In 1406 the ruling Phagmodrupa prince, Drakpa Gyaltsen, turned down the imperial invitation to him to visit China.
From 1435 to 1481 the power of the Phagmodrupa declined and they were eclipsed by the Rinpungpa (Rin spungs pa) of Tsang, who patronized the Karma Kagyu school.
The Phagmo Drupa monastery of Dentsa Thel "was completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in 1966-1978"[24]
The eight secondary lineages (zung bzhi ya brgyad or chung brgyad) of the Dagpo Kagyu all trace themselves to disciples of Phagmo Drupa.
One of the most important of the Kagyu sects still remaining today, the Drikung Kagyu (འབྲི་གུང་བཀའ་པརྒྱུད་པ) takes its name from Drikung Thil Monastery founded by Jigten Gonpo Rinchen Pal (‘Jig-rten dgon-po rin-chen dpal) (1143-1217) also known as Drikung Kyopa.
The special Kagyu teachings of the Drikung tradition include the "Single Intention" (dgongs gcig), the "The Essence of Mahāyāna Teachings" (theg chen bstan pa'i snying po), and the "Fivefold Profound Path of Mahāmudrā" (lam zab mo phyag chen lnga ldan).
Since the 15th Century the Drikung Kagyupa received influence from the "northern terma" (byang gter) teachings of the Nyingma tradition.
Several sub-schools branched off from the Drikung Kagyu including the Lhapa or Lhanangpa Kagyu, founded by Gyalwa Lhanangpa (1164–1224) who came to Bhutan in 1194. This school was at one time important in Western Bhutan, particularly in the Thimphu and Paro regions where they were rivals of the Drukpa Kagyu. The Lhapa first came into conflict with the early Drukpa teacher, Phajo Drugom Zhigpo (b. 12th cent.) [25] and finally with Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651). In 1640 the remaining followers of the Lhapa Kagyu were expelled from Bhutan together with the Nenyingpa followers as both had sided with the attacking Tsangpa forces against the Drukpa during their three invasions of Bhutan and continued to refuse to acknowledge the authority of the Shabdrung.[26]
Lingre Kagyu refers to the lineages founded by Lingrepa Pema Dorje (Wylie: gling ras pa padma rdo rje) [1128-1188][27] also known as Nephupa after Nephu monastery (sna phu dgon) he founded near Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag) in Central Tibet (dbus). Lingrepa's teachers were Gampopa's disciple Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo; Rechungpa's disciple Sumpa Repa; and Ra Yeshe Senge, a lineage holder of Ra Lotsawa.
The Drukpa Lineage was established by Ling Repa's main disciple Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161–1211) who established monasteries at Longbol (klong rbol) and Ralung (rwa lung). Later Tsangpa Gyare went to a place called Nam Phu where, legend has it, nine roaring dragons rose from the ground and soared into the sky. The Tibetan word for dragon is 'brug (pronounced 'Druk') and so Tsangpa Gyare's lineage and the monastery he established at the place became known as the Drukpa, and he became known as the Gyalwang Drukpa. This school became widespread in Tibet and in surrounding regions. Today the Southern Drukpa Lineage is the state religion of Bhutan; and, in the western Himalayas, Drukpa Lineage monasteries are found in Ladakh, Zanskar, Lahul, and Kinnaur.
Along with the Mahamudra teachings inherited from Gampopa and Pagmodrupa, particular teachings of the Drukpa Lineage include the "Six Cycles of Equal Taste" (ro snyom skor drug), a cycle of instructions said to have been hidden by Rechungpa discovered by Tsangpa Gyare; and the "Seven Auspicious Teachings" (rten 'brel rab bdun) revealed to Tsangpa Gyare by seven Buddhas who appeared to him in a vision at Tsari.
Sub-schools
Several of Tsangpa Gyare's students started sub-schools, the most important of which were the Lower Drukpa founded by Gyalwa Lorepa Wangchug Tsondru and the Upper Drukpa founded by Gyalwa Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje. This branch further gave rise to several important sub-schools. However the chief monasteries and succession of the First Gyalwang Drukpa Tsangpa Gyare passed to his nephew Önre Darma Senge at Ralung and this lineage was known as The Middle or Central Drukpa. This lineage of the hereditary "prince-abbots" of Ralung continued to 1616 when Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal fled to Bhutan due to a dispute over the incarnation of the 4th Gyalwang Drukpa and the enmity of the Tsangpa ruler. Due to those events the Central Drukpa split into the Southern Drukpa branch led by the Shabdrung and his successors in Bhutan, and the Northern Drukpa branch led by Pagsam Wangpo and the successive Drukchen incarnations in Tibet.[28]
(a) The Lower Drukpa
The Medruk (smad 'brug) or Lower Drukpa sub-school was founded by the First Gyalwang Drukpa Tsangpa Gyare's disciple Gyalwa Lorepa Wangchuk Tsondru (lo ras dbang phyug brtson 'grus) [1187-1250] who lived a simple life. Lorepa built the Üri (dbu ri) and Sengeri (seng ge ri) monasteries and visited Bhutan where he founded Tharpaling (thar pa gling) monastery in Bumthang. A special transmission of the Lower Drukpa Lineage is known as The Five Capabilities (thub pa lnga), which are:[29]
(b) The Upper Drukpa
The Toddruk (stod 'brug) or Upper Drukpa sub-school was founded Tsangpa Gyare's disciple Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje (rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje) [1189—1258] a highly realized yogin who had many disciples. His main disciples were Ogyenpa Rinchenpal (0 rgyan pa), Yangonpa (yang dgon pa), Chilkarpa (spyil dkar pa) and Neringpa.
Gotsangpa's disciple Ogyenpa Rinchenpal (1230—1309), who was also a disciple of Karma Pakshi, became a great siddha who traveled to Bodhgaya, Jalandhar, Oddiyana and China. In Oddiyana he received teachings related to the Six Branch Yoga of the Kālacakra system known as Approach and Attainment of the Three Adamantine States (rdo rje gsum gyi bsnyen sgrub) and, after returning to Tibet, founded the Ogyen Nyendrub tradition and wrote many works including a famous guide to the land of Oddiyana. Ogyenpa had many disciples including the third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (rang byung rdo rje), Kharchupa (mkhar chu pa) [1284—1339] and Togden Daseng (rtogs dan zla seng).
Barawa Gyaltshen Palzang ('ba' ra ba rgyal mtshan dpal bzang) [1255—1343] was a great scholar of the upper Drukpa Kagyu succession of Yangonpa. He established the Barawa Kagyu sub-school, which for a time was widespread in Tibet, and survived as an independent lineage until 1959.[30] For a time this lineage was also important in Bhutan
(c) The Middle or Central Drukpa
The Middle Drukpa (bar 'brug) was the hereditary lineage (dung rgyud) of Tsangpa Gyare centered at Ralung. Following Tsangpa Gyare the next holder of this lineage was his nephew Önre Darma Senge (dar ma sengge) [1177—1237] - son of Tsangpa Gyare's brother Lhanyen (lha gnyan). Darma Senge was succeeded by his own nephew Zhonnu Senge (gzhon nu seng ge) [1200—1266], and he by his nephew Nyima Senge (nyi ma seng ge) [1251—1287]. The lineage then went to his cousin Dorje Lingpa Senge Sherab (rdo rje gling pa seng ge shes rab) [1238—1287], son of Lopon Öntag (dbon stag) a member of the branch of the Drukpa lineage descended from Tsangpa Gyare's brother Lhabum (lha 'bum). The lineage passed to Senge Sherab's brother Senge Rinchen (seng ge rin chen) [1258—1313] who was succeeded in turn by his son Senge Gyalpo (seng ge rgyal po) [1289—1326], grandson Jamyang Kunga Senge ('jam dbyangs kun dga' seng ge) [1289—1326], great-grandson Lodro Senge (blo gros seng ge) [1345—1390], and great-great-grandson Sherab Senge (shes rab seng ge) [1371—1392]. These first nine holders of Tsangpa Gyare's lineage were known as the "Incomparible Nine Lions" (mnyam med seng ge dgu).
Sherab Senge, who died at the age of 21, was succeeded on the throne of Ralung by his elder brother Yeshe Rinchen (ye shes rin chen) [1364—1413] and he by his sons Namkha Palzang (nam mkha' dpal bzang) [1398—1425] and Sherab Zangpo (shes rab bzang po) [1400—1438]. These three were considered the emanations of the three great Bodhisattvas Manjusri, Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara respectively. Sherab Zangpo's son was the first incarnation of Tsangpa Gyare (i.e., the second Gyalwang Drukpa), Gyalwang Je Kunga Paljor (rgyal dbang rje kun dga' dpal 'byor) [1428-1476] who received teachings from the most renowned lamas of his age and became a great author and teacher.
From Kunga Paljor the lineage passed to his nephew Ngawang Chögyal (ngag dbang chos rgyal) [1465—1540], then successively in turns from father to son to Ngakyi Wangchug (ngag gi dbang phyug grags pa rgyal mtshan) [1517—1554), Mipham Chögyal (mi pham chos rgyal) [1543—1604], Mipham Tenpai Nyima (mi pham bstan pa'i nyi ma) [1567—1619] and Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (zhabs drung ngag dbang rnam rgyal) [1594—1651] who was the great-great-grandson of Ngawang Chögyal.
In the Middle Drukpa tradition many great scholars appeared including the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, Kunkhyen Padma Karpo (kun mkhyen padma dkar po) [1527—1592], Khewang Sangay Dorji (mkhas dbang sangs rgyas rdo rje) [1569—1645] and Bod Khepa Mipham Geleg Namgyal (bod mkhas pa mi pham dge legs rnam rgyal) [1618—1685] who was famed for his knowledge of poetics, grammar and medicine.
Three great siddhas of Middle Drukpa school were Tsangnyon Heruka (gtsang snyon) [1452 1507)- author of the Life of Milarepa, the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, the Life of Rechungpa, and compiler of the Demchog Khandro Nyengyud; Druknyon Kunga Legpa ('brug smyon kun legs) [1455-1529] also known as Drukpa Kunleg; and Unyon Kunga Zangpo (dbus smyon kun dga' bzang po) [1458-1532]. All three were disciples of Drukchen Gyalwang Je Kunga Paljor.
The fourth Gyalwang Drukpa incarnation of Tsangpa Gyare, "The Omisient" Padma Karpa, whose collected works fill over twenty volumes in modern editions, was the most famous scholar of the tradition and among the Drukpa practitioners as he is known as Kunkhyen Pekar (kun mkhyen pad dkar) or Druk Tamche Khyenpa. He founded the Sangngag Chöling (gsang sngags chos gling) monastery in Jaryul (byar yul) southern Tibet in 1571, which became the seat of the successive Gyalwang Drukpaincarnations in Tibet and so the center of the Northern Drukpa lineage.
Following the death of Kunkhyen Padma Karpo two incarnations were recognized: 1.) Pagsam Wangpo (dpag bsam dbang po) who was the offspring of the Chongje Depa and 2) Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal [1594 1651) who was also the heir to Drukpa lineage of Ralung. Pagsam Wangpo gained the backing of the powerful Tsangpa Desi who was a patron of the Karma Kagyu school and hostile to Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The latter subsequently fled to Bhutan, where his lineage already had many followers, and established the Southern Drukpa Kagyu (lho 'brug pa dka' brgyud) and became both the spiritual and temporal head of the country after which the country became known as 'Druk Yul' or 'Country of the Drukpas' in the Tibetan and Dzongkha (Bhutanese) languages.
Introduction to the Martsang Kagyu lineage
The Martsang Kagyu is a tradition Tibetan Buddhism that was founded by His Holiness Chöjé Marpa Sherab Yeshe (1134-1203), based solely on the teachings of the Buddha’s sutras and tantras.
Born in East Tibet--Markham, Chöjé Marpa was chosen at age twenty to study at Sangphu the great monastic college of the Kadampa tradition in central Tibet. After five years he became a great scholar.
Afterwards, Chöjé Marpa spent five years with Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110-1170), receiving and mastering the profound secret Kagyu teachings and the Lamdre teaching of the Sakyapa tradition, and became an exceptional practitioner in the highest level in Tibetan Buddhism. In 1167, at the age of thirty-three, Chöjé Marpa returned to Markham where he founded Tashi Sho monastery. During his lifetime, the monastic community came to number more than two thousand, establishing the Martsang tradition as a union of the Kadampa and Kagyu lineages.
The sutra tradition of the Martsang Kagyu consists of the teachings and practices of the Indian texts in general, but in particular the Tibetan commentaries from Atisha's Kadampa lineage, and the texts composed by such Martsang Kagyu masters as Chöjé Marpa and his pupil, Drogön Rinchen.
The mantrayana tradition of the Martsang Kagyu includes the six Dharmas of Naropa, Chakrasamvara, Guhyasamaja and Hevajra, which are from the Kagyu lineage that was transmitted through Marpa, Milarepa, Rechungpa, and Phagmo Drupa; the Lamdré from the Sakya tradition; and Tara practices from the Kadampa tradition. In particular, numerous individuals became siddhas through practicing the meditation instructions of the transmission originating from Phagmo Drupa’s and experiences and realizations.
Chöjé Marpa’s principal pupil was Drogön Rinchen (1170-1249), who in 1200 founded Tsomdo Monastery in Markham. He promulgated the teachings and practices of the Martsang Kagyu and had numerous pupils who were both foremost scholars and siddhas.(1235-1280), who was then the ruler of Tibet, visited Tsomdo Monastery and became its benefactor.
During the time of such lineage holders as Drogön Rinchen, Yeshe Gyaltsen, Changchub Drakpa, Sönam Yeshe, Rinchen Gyaltsen, and Könchok Gyaltsen, thousands of pupils from Tashi Sho and Tsomdo monasteries greatly benefited the teachings and beings in general.
In 1639, a Mongolian army destroyed the Martsang Kagyu monasteries along with many other Tibetan monasteries. Although both monasteries were rebuilt, Dzungarian Mongols destroyed them again in 1718, from which the Martsang Kagyu entered a period of decline. However, many siddhas have prophecied that there will come a time when the embers of the Martsang Kagyu will be revived.
Many siddhas have prophecied that there will come a time when the embers of the Martsang Kagyu will be revived. For example, the mahasiddha Nyakre Sewo wrote:
Drogön Rinchen wrote: For sixteen lifetimes from now I will benefit beings in countless worlds. In seven hundred years, in the time of ruin, I will have the name Karma and in Gartok Natang in the center of Markham I will establish a Dharma community that will be destroyed by Maras. After eighteen cycles of obstacles I will revive the embers of the Martsang. I will guide countless beings Through great special conduct, to the ends of the ocean
Thus there are prophecies about how there would come a time when the embers of the Martsang Kagyu will be revived and the benefit for beings that has not yet been done will be carried out.
Martsang Kagyu teachings are still transmitted, and in the twentieth century, The eleventh Gangri Karma rinpoche received the Martsang Kagyu teachings from Karma Lingpa and Trinlay Gyamtso, who was the Khenpo of the Tropu Kagyu, and passed them on to his main disciple, Chodrak Gyamtso. Chodrak Gyamtso was subsequently able to transmit these teachings to the rebirth of Gangri Karma rinpoche.(b.1964)
The twelfth Gangri Karma Rinpoche has the unique position of being the holder of the Martsang Kagyu lineage. Rinpoche held a commemoration of the founding of Martsang Kagyu 842 years previously.
For this ceremony Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile sent the following letter:
It is with great joy that I write to the Martsang Kagyu Foundation on its commemoration of the founding of the Martsang Kagyu 842 years and its collapse 370 years ago.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama considers the Martsang Kagyu Foundation as praiseworthy in its altruistic intention to preserve the unique culture of Tibet and in particular revive the embers of the Martsang Kagyu by such activities as publishing and distributing the rare texts of the Martsang Kagyu, and having paintings made of the lamas of the Martsang lineage.
This is a very critical time for the Tibetan people’s unique culture and politics the Martsang Kagyu Foundation is tirelessly dedicated to both religious and secular progress with such activities as bringing the Dharma to both Tibetan communities and British people in the UK, which is indicative of loyalty to the Tibetan cause and a courageous dedication. His Holiness prays and hopes that in the future your activities to bring happiness to beings and benefit the Buddha’s teachings and the Tibetan people will be even greater than before. At this special time we send out best wishes and prayers for an excellent event to Gangri Karma Chokyi Gyaltsen Rinpoche and to all taking part.
Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche, Dharamsala, 30th November 2009
URL: http://www.martsankagyuofficial.org
Introduction to the Kagyu Lineage
The founder of the Kagyu lineage was the Mahasiddha Tilopa (988-1069), who lived in Northern India. He is considered as having received a direct transmission from the primordial Buddha Vajradhara. In this context the Kagyu lineage has originated from the very essence of reality itself and thus transcends all space and time. Viewed from another level of understanding he also had human teachers, from whom he received four special transmissions, The Four Oral Instructions, for which he became the lineage holder. Some etymologies of the name “Kagyu” consider it as an abbreviation of Lineage of Four Oral Instructions. When Tilopa's transmission is linked directly to Vajradhara, it is called the "direct transmission" but when it is traced to his human teachers, it is referred to as the "indirect transmission."
These teachings were passed from Tilopa to his disciple, the Mahasiddha Naropa (1016–1100) and they were systematised as the Six Yogas of Naropa, meditations that are considered an essential teaching of the Kagyu lineage. Naropa transmitted his knowledge to Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (1012–1097), the great translator, who journeyed from Tibet to India in order to receive instructions and who subsequently returned to Tibet and spread the teachings of the Dharma widely.
Marpa's most important disciple was Jetsun Milarepa (1040-1123). He became one of Tibet's great yogis. His life began in difficult circumstances due to his father's early death, his vengeance upon his dishonest aunt and uncle, and his subsequent regret—which led him to an earnest desire to enter the way of the Dharma. His story is widely known among Tibetans. Through his perseverance and ability to accept all circumstances, he achieved profound realization of the ultimate nature of reality. His teachings are recorded in the 100,000 songs of Milarepa and other collections.
Milarepa's teachings were carried on by Gampopa (1079-1153), the physician from Dakpo. He first studied under the Kadampa tradition, which is a gradual and systematic path. At a later age, he met Milarepa and practicing under him received and realized the true meaning of the complete teachings. Since that time, the lineage has been known as the Dakpo Kagyu. It is from Gampopa that the first Kagyu schools originated: the Karma Kagyu, Tselpa Kagyu, Barom Kagyu, and Phagdru Kagyu.
The founder of the Phagdru Kagyu was Phagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170), one of Gampopa’s most important disciples. His own lineage died out as a religious institution, while his clan played an important role in the country’s secular governance in the ensuing epoch. Phagmodrupa’s main disciples founded their own lineages, of which eight lineages.
The heart son of Gampopa is Phagmodrupa (1110~1170) who inherited Gampopa’s teaching, while Phagmodrupa promoted the teaching with great popularity to form Phagmodrupa Kagyu sect. The eight major heart sons:
The Shugseb Kagyu (shug gseb bka' brgyud) was established by Gyergom Chenpo Zhonnu Drakpa (gyer sgom chen po gzhon nu grags pa) (1090–1171) who founded the Shugseb monastery in Nyiphu. The Shugseb Kagyu emphasised the Mahamudra teachings of the Dohas, spiritual songs of realisation by Indian masters such as Saraha, Shavaripa, Tilopa, Naropa and Maitripa etc.
The Trophu Kagyu (khro phu bka' brgyud) was established by Gyal Tsha Rinchen Gon (rgyal tsha rin chen mgon) (1118–1195) and Kunden Repa (kun ldan ras pa) (1148–1217). The tradition was developed by their nephew, Thropu Lotsawa who invited Pandit Shakysri of Kashmir, Buddhasri and Mitrayogin to Tibet.
The most renowned adherent of this lineage was Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub) (1290–1364) of Zhalu[31] who was a student of Trophupa Sonam Senge (khro phu ba bsod nams sengge)[32] and Trophu Khenchen Rinchen Senge (khro phu mkhan chen rin chen sengge).[33] Other notable teachers of this tradition include Chegompa Sherab Dorje (1130?-1200) [34]
The Yelpa Kagyu (yel pa bka' rgyud) was established by Drubthob Yeshe Tsegpa (drub thob ye shes brtsegs pa, b. 1134). He established two monasteries, Shar Yelphuk (shar yel phug) and Jang Tana (byang rta rna dgon).
The principle Dagpo Kagyu lineages existing today as organized schools are the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu and the Drukpa Kagyu. For the most part, the teachings and main esoteric transmissions of the other Dagpo Kagyu lineages have been absorbed into one or another of these three independent schools. Periodic attempts are made to reestablish the institutional independence of some of the other lineages, such as the Taklung Kagyu and Barom Kagyu, but these have met with very modest success to date.
The central teaching of Kagyu is the doctrine of Mahamudra, "the Great Seal", as elucidated by Gampopa in his various works. This doctrine focuses on four principal stages of meditative practice (the Four Yogas of Mahamudra), namely:
It is through these four stages of development that the practitioner is said to attain the perfect realization of Mahamudra.
Important practices in all Kagyu schools are the tantric practices of Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini, and particularly the Six Yogas of Naropa.
In terms of view, the Kagyu (particularly the Karma Kagyu) emphasize the Hevajra tantra with commentaries by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, the Uttaratantra with commentaries by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and another by Gölo Shönu Pal as a basis for studying buddha nature, and the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's Profound Inner Reality (Tib. Zabmo Nangdon) with commentaries by Rangjung Dorje and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye as a basis for tantra.
(Note: Karma Kagyu related sites that apparently do not take sides on the so called “Karmapa controversy”).
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