THE KAGYU LINEAGE OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM traces its origins to Shakyamuni Buddha through Marpa the Great Translator, who three times traveled to India to bring back authentic Buddhist teachings to Tibet. His teacher, Naropa, received the lineage transmission from Tilopa and so on, back to the Buddha himself. Marpa’s most famous student was the greatest yogi in all of Tibet, the renowned Jetsun Milarepa, who passed the teachings on to Gampopa, who in turn transmitted the teachings to the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. Since then, the Kagyu Lineage has been headed by a succession of reincarnations of the Gyalwa Karmapa. The line of the Karmapas is said to be self-announced, because each incarnation leaves a letter predicting his next rebirth. All great Kagyu teachers regard His Holiness Karmapa as the embodiment and source of all of the blessings of the lineage.

The Glorious Golden Rosary of the Kagyu Lineage

Just like a rosary without any missing links, the Kagyu lineage has been passed down through an unbroken chain of masters and disciples.

From both a long-line of Indian masters and the short-transmission of Tilopa seeing face-to-face enlightenment itself (represented by the Buddha Dorje Chang), the Kagyu tradition was successfully passed down to Tibetan masters. They likewise achieved enlightenment through the practices of the Kagyu tradition, and have continued to pass down this tradition up to the present-day.

Integrating the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism paths, Kagyu practices can bring realization to the practitioner in a single lifetime. Mahamudra known as the Great Seal or Gesture, is the meditation which brings forth the fruition of enlightenment in Kagyu practice. The Six Yogas of Naropa and the completion of three-year meditation retreats, usually accompanied by intensive study in monastic colleges (shedras), are core practices of the Kagyu lineage.