Drikung Kagyu

Drikung Kagyu or Drigung Kagyu (Wylie: <nowiki>'</nowiki>bri-kung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyu lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) while "minor" refers to all the lineages founded by disciples of Phakmo Drupa (1110-1170), one of the three main disciples of Gampopa. The first and main Drigung Kagyu monastery is Drikung Thil Monastery, by Drikung Kyobpa Jikten Gönpo Rinchen Päl (1143-1217) approximately 150 kilometers northeast of Lhasa. Aside from the Drigung Valley in Central Tibet, Drikung Kagyu has a strong presence in Nangchen in eastern Tibet, in western Tibet (including Kailash) and Ladakh. Tsari and Lapchi - two important sacred sites for all Tibetan Buddhists - also have a strong Drikung Kagyu presence. Among the so-called "four major and eight minor" Kagyu lineages, Drikung Kagyu is one of four Kagyu lineages that continue to exist as independent institutions (the other three being, Karma Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu and Taklung Kagyu).

A sub-school of the Drikung was the Lhapa or Lhanangpa sect which was influential in western Bhutan from the arrival of Gyalwa Lhanangpa (b.1164) in 1194 down to the time of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Members of the Lhapa...
Read More