Search Results: Marpa Kagyu
The Marpa Kagyu (bka’ brgyud) tradition originated in the eleventh century with the Tibetan translator Marpa (mar pa), who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa’s disciple Milarepa (mi la ras pa) famously attained enlightenment in the caves of southern Tibet; his disciple Gampopa (sgam po pa) merged the lay siddha with the Kadampa (bka’ gdams pa) monasticism and scholarship that he had previously studied. Gampopa founded the first Kagyu monastery, Daklha Gampo (dwags lha sgam po) in Dakpo, southern Tibet. Following Gampopa the tradition split into multiple autonomous subsects known as the four primary (Barom, Pakdru, Karma, and Tselpa), and eight secondary traditions (Drikung, Drukpa, Martsang, Shukseb, Taklung, Tropu, Yabzang, and Yelpa Kagyu). In addition to the above system, the Ngok (rngog) lineage begun by Ngok Choku Dorje (rngog chos sku rdo rje), a disciple of Marpa, was a distinct Marpa Kagyu tradition that existed independently for several centuries. Also often considered an independent tradition was the Rechung Nyengyu (ras chung snyan brgyud), initiated by the disciples of Milarepa’s disciple Rechung Dorje Drakpa (ras chung rdo rje grags pa). All Marpa Kagyu traditions claim allegiance to the tantric teachings of the Indian Mahāsiddha tradition, primarily that of Nāropa, in the form of the Six Doctrines of Nāropa (nA ro chos drug) and the doctrine of Mahāmudrā. The Kagyu were also heavily involved in the transmission of the Cakrasaṃvara, Havajra, among other tantras of the Second Propagation era.