The Kagyu Tradition
The Kagyu tradition is renowned as the ‘oral transmission
lineage.’ It originated in a meditation lineage of the mahasiddha
tradition of Northern India. The Kagyu practices essentially derive
from this siddha tradition, which was first and foremost non-monastic
in orientation, and was initially more concerned with yogic practice
than academic study. The monastic aspect of the tradition
was introduced by Gampopa, who brought his training as a Kadampa
monk to establishing the first Kagyu monastery in Dakpo, southern
Tibet, ensuring that the Kagyupas developed a strong scholarly
tradition as well. It is this combination of discipline and total
freedom that characterizes the Kagyu school.
The Kagyu lineage is the second oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Its fundamental doctrines are Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa.
Some of the main Kagyu texts — such as The Hundred Thousand
Songs of Milarepa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, The
Life of Milarepa and The Life and Teaching of Naropa — were
the first Tibetan books to ever be translated into English. The
Kagyu school was itself one of the first to arrive in the West,
as a result of the interest generated by people who had started
reading these books and were wanting to know more about this school
of Tibetan Buddhism.
Origin of the Kagyu Tradition
The Kagyu tradition was founded by Marpa (1012–1097), who inherited the meditation lineage of Tilopa (988–1069) and Naropa (1016–1100). Marpa’s main disciple was Milarepa (1040–1123) who in turn passed on the lineage to Gampopa (1084–1161). The different lineages of the Kagyu tradition spring from the teachings of Gampopa.
The Karmapas
The Karma Kagyu was founded by the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa (1110–93), whose main monastic centre was located at Tsurphu, in Central Tibet. The term Karmapa is Tibetan for a Sanskrit expression meaning ‘the one who functions as the manifestation of Buddha-activity.’ And has been held by seventeen consecutive incarnations since the twelfth century, from the first Karmapa—who was the first officially recognized reincarnate lama in Tibet—to the sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (1924–1981) who brought the Dharma out of Tibet into the Western world and the current seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje (1985–present). |
