The Taklung Kagyu () is a sub-school of the

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

school of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

History

The Taklung Kagyu

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

was founded by

Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal (1142–1210) is the Founder of the Taklung Kagyu lineage. The Taklung Kagyu lineage remains unbroken to this day. Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal founded the Taklung Yarthang Monastery. He is considered one of the many imm ...

in 1180 CE. Like the other Sarma schools, it is part of the second founding of Buddhism in Tibet and incorporates the teachings of the early Kadam school. The Taklung Lineage teaches

Mahamudra Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...

practices in particular. The main seat of Taklung Kagyu is located in the northern part of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

in a place called Taklung. In the 13th century, Choejey Sangye Won, the fourth lineage holder, established Riwoche Monastery in

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

. This tradition later came to be known as the Marthang Taklung as distinct from the Lhasa Taklung. Eventually, the Taklung Kagyu school spread throughout Tibet, parts of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and even

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The current lineage holders are the 26th Taklung Shabdrung Rinpoche, the 7th

Taklung Ma Rinpoche Tenzin Kunzang Jigme Rinpoche, the seventh Taklung Ma Rinpoche, was born in 1977 to Ngawang Tendar and Deden Zangmo. In 1987, the 14th Dalai Lama formally recognized him as the reincarnation of the sixth Taklung Matul Thupten Jigme Choechog Rinp ...

and the 7th Phakchok Rinpoche.Short History of the Taklung Kagyu Lineage
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Lineage

Marpa Lotsawa Marpa Lotsawa, Lotsāwa (, 1012–1097), sometimes known fully as Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: mar pa chos kyi blo gros) or commonly as Marpa the Translator (Marpa Lotsāwa), was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist teacher ...

brought the

tradition from

after accomplishing his training with his main teacher

Naropa Nāropā (Prakrit; sa, Nāropāda, Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) or Abhayakirti was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa's ...

, who in turn was the disciple of

Tilopa Tilopa (Prakrit; Sanskrit: Talika or Tilopadā; 988–1069) was an Indian Buddhist monk in the tantric Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived along the Ganges River, with wild ladies as a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha. He practice ...

, who received the transmission from

Vajradhara Vajradhara (Sanskrit: वज्रधर. (Also, the name of Indra, because 'Vajra' means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, anything hard more generally) Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang (Dorje Chang); zh, t=金剛 ...

and

Vajrayogini Vajrayoginī ( sa, italic=yes, Vajrayoginī वज्रयोगिनी; , Dorjé Neljorma; mn, Огторгуйд Одогч, Нархажид, ) is a Tantric Buddhist female Buddha and a . The ''Vajrayogini'' cult dates back to the tenth a ...

. Marpa's main disciple was

Milarepa Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...

, who is one of the most famous yogis in Tibetan history. Milarepa transmitted this lineage to

Gampopa Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (, 1079–1153) was the main student of Milarepa, and a Tibetan Buddhist master who codified his own master's ascetic teachings, which form the foundation of the Kagyu educational tradition. Gampopa was also a doctor and ...

, who was already a prominent teacher of the Kadam school. Gampopa transmitted it to

Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo () 110-1170 was one of the three main disciples of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen who established the Dagpo Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism; and a disciple of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo 092-1158one of the founders of the Sakya sch ...

, who was also a

Kadampa 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) and his students like Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. ...

. One of his main disciples was Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal, who founded the Taklung Lineage.

Sources

*Pal taklung kagyupe denrab lodru dordu su jodpa chushel karpö thengwa - Tenzin Kunga (translated: The brief history of Taklung Kagyu lineage called white crystal mala) (Tenzin Kunga is a scholar living in Dharamsala)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche site

Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist temple (Canada)

Mangala Shri foundation (Canada)

Taklung Kagyu Website, focusing on Rinpoches in Tibet
Kagyu lineages

History

Lineage

Sources

See also

References

External links