The
Shangpa Kagyu is known as the "secret" lineage and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo
KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
schools of
Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
. The Dagpo Kagyud come from the lineage of
TilopaTilopa was born in either Chativavo , Bengal or Jagora, Bengal. He was a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha...
whereas the Shangpa lineage descends from his consort Niguma. It was revitalized in the 20th century by the first
Kalu RinpocheKyabje Kalu Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West....
, who had many students in
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
and in the West.
The Shangpa Kagyu lineage was founded by the 11th-Century Tibetan scholar Khyungpo Naljor.
The
Shangpa Kagyu is known as the "secret" lineage and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo
KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
schools of
Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
. The Dagpo Kagyud come from the lineage of
TilopaTilopa was born in either Chativavo , Bengal or Jagora, Bengal. He was a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha...
whereas the Shangpa lineage descends from his consort Niguma. It was revitalized in the 20th century by the first
Kalu RinpocheKyabje Kalu Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West....
, who had many students in
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
and in the West.
Origins
The Shangpa Kagyu lineage was founded by the 11th-Century Tibetan scholar Khyungpo Naljor. Seeking to increase his understanding of the teachings he received in Tibet, he traveled to India, where he met the female mystic
yoginiYogini is the feminine form corresponding to the masculine yogi. Yoginis are known to possess a steadfast mind, which they cultivate through the disciplined pursuit of transcendence, an idea that is central to the practice of yoga...
Niguma . (Vajradhara Niguma is the full Tibetan name of the Indian yogini Vimalashri (her sanskrit name).. He received many teachings from her; in particular, the teachings of a special tradition of
MahamudraMahamudra literally means 'great seal' or 'great symbol'. Thubten Yeshe explains the use of the term: "Mahamudra means absolute seal, totality, unchangeability. Sealing something implies that you cannot destroy it...
and The Teachings of Niguma. Khyungpo Naljor was a Tibetan yogi and Bönpo and her most famous disciple. He was the only one to whom she imparted her most secret teachings. . He also met and studied with Sukhasiddhi , another female mystic and student of Virupa, as well as Vajra-asana, Maitripa, Rahula, and others.
Thangtong Gyalpo was another famous
yogiA yogi is a term for a male practitioner of various forms of spiritual practice. In contemporary English yogin is an alternative rendering for the word yogi....
instructed by Niguma. He started his own religious tradition (Thang lugs) within the Shangpa Kagyu (Shangs pa bka' brgyud) lineage.
On his return to Tibet, Khyungpo Naljor established a monastery at Shang-Shung in Central Tibet. This was his main seat, and he became known as the Lama of Shang. Although he was reputed to have founded hundreds of monasteries and had thousands of students, he passed the teachings of Niguma to only one of his students, Mochok Rinchen Tsondru. The Shangpa lineage is often referred to as the "secret lineage" because Niguma instructed Khyungpo Naljor to transmit the teachings to only one student for the first seven generations (beginning with the Buddha Vajradhara and Niguma).
From Mochok Rinchen Tsondru, the lineage was passed to Kyergang Chokyi Senge, Nyen-ton Rigung Chokyi Sherab, and Songjay Tenpa Tsondru Senge. These first seven teachings are known as the Seven Great Jewels of the Shangpa tradition. Songjay Tenpa was the first teacher who gave these instructions to more than one of his disciples, and from this point on, several different lines of transmission developed. The intention for keeping the lineage secret in this fashion was to protect it from becoming an established monastic tradition. As one of the more esoteric traditions, it was meant to be practiced rather than codified.
Although the Shangpa teachings were highly regarded and were assimilated by many schools, the tradition itself ceased to exist as an independent school with the dissolution of the Jonangpas in the 17th century. However, its teachings were still practiced and transmitted. In the 19th century Jamgon Kongtrul gathered together the surviving transmissions and ensured their continued survival by including them in his Treasury of Key Instructions.
The lineage transmission has also been incorporated into the
SakyaThe Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
school and other Kagyu schools. Tsongkhapa, who founded the
GelugThe Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
school, was also versed in the doctrine of the Shangpa Kagyu.
Modern Lineage Holders
In the west, the principle teacher of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage was the first
Kalu RinpocheKyabje Kalu Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar and teacher. He was one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West....
. He received the lineage teachings in the early 1940s when he went for training at Tsa Tsa Monastery in Eastern Tibet. He trained with the Abbot of the monastery, His Holiness the eighth Tsa Tsa Drubgen, Yizhin Norbu, also called Karma Singhe and the White Crown Master. The Karma Kagyu regent H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche described Yizhin Norbu as “one of the most learned and accomplished Kagyu masters now living.”
There, Kalu Rinpoche received the complete cycle of the Shangpa teachings during a closed retreat. Tsa Tsa monastery is also a major Dakpo Kagyu Centre and preserves the
rimeRimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...
tradition. His Holiness the Tsa Tsa Drubgen Yizhin Norbu died in the middle of June, 2005. The Shangpa traditions are currently held by his regent and successor His Holiness the second Gyalten Thongwa Rangdrol.
After the first Kalu Rinpoche died his student Bokar Rinpoche became the head of the sect outside of Tibet. After Bokar Rinpoche died the present head of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage is the second Kalu Rinpoche, a young
tulkuA tulku is an enlightened Tibetan Buddhist lama who has, through phowa and siddhi, consciously determined to take birth, often many times, in order to continue his or her Bodhisattva vow...
currently in training.
Practice and doctrine
There are many unique teachings in the Shangpa tradition, but the most important are "The Five Golden Teachings", also called the Five Golden Doctrines of the Shangpas (Tib., shangs pa gser chos lnga), a group of teachings envisioned as forming a tree , .
- The innermost teachings are the "Six Yogas of Niguma," which are very similar to the "Six Yogas of Naropa
The Six Yogas of Nāropa or Naro Choe Druk , also called Naro's Six Doctrines , describe a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practice and meditation sadhana compiled in and around the time of the Indian monk and mystic...
" practiced by all other Kagyu schools. The Six Teachings of Niguma include the teachings on heat, illusory-body, the dream state, sheer clarity, transference, and bardo (the intermediary state between death and birth)
- The next tier includes "The Locket Tradition of Mahamudra" which combines the mahamudra teachings of Niguma, Maitripa, and Sukhasiddhi.
- The teachings on the three methods of carrying one's understanding from meditation into daily activities.
- The practice of development and completion with the white and red dakinis.
- The teaching of the deathless nature of mind and body.
The principal Shangpa protector is the Six-Armed Mahakala, and it was from this transmission that the practices of this deity spread to other schools.
The Shangpa Kagyu is not always counted among the Dagpo Kagyu schools, widely know simply as "Kagyu" and coming from Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa. It is still called "Kagyu" because it is a whispered lineage. Another derivation for the name "Kagyu" is the use in the Shangpa School of a cycle of teachings called "Kagyama" (bka' rgya ma) which refers to "A Hundred Secret Things."
Further reading
- Jamgon Kongtrul Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verses of the Shangpa Masters. Ithica: Snow Lion Publications (2004). ISBN 1559392045
- Kapstein, Matthew “The Shangs-pa bKa'-brgyud: an unknown school of Tibetan Buddhism” in M. Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi (eds.), Studies in Honor of Hugh Richardson Warminster: Aris and Phillips, 1980, pp. 138-44.
- Kapstein, Matthew “The Illusion of Spiritual Progress”, in Robert Buswell, ed., Paths to Liberation, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1992. pp. 193-224
- Riggs, Nicole (2000) Like An Illusion: Lives of the Shangpa Kagyu Masters Dharma Cloud Press, Oregon. ISBN 0-9705639-06.
- 2nd Dalai Lama. Tantric Yogas of Sister Niguma, Snow Lion Publications, 1st ed. U. edition (May 1985), ISBN 0937938289 (10), ISBN 978-0937938287 (13)
External links