brgyudto describe the successive oral transmission,
and therefore authenticity, of their teachings. The
name Bka’ brgyud, however, most commonly refers to
the Mar pa Bka’ brgyud (the oral lineage of Mar pa),
a stream of tantric Buddhist instructions and medita-
tion practices initially brought to Tibet from India by
the Tibetan translator MAR PA(MARPA) in the eleventh
century. Although the Bka’ brgyud subsequently de-
veloped into a complex structure of autonomous sub-
sects and branch schools, later Western writings tended
to describe it as one of four sects of Tibetan Buddhism,
to be distinguished from the RNYING MA(NYINGMA),
SA SKYA(SAKYA), and DGE LUGS(GELUK). Another Ti-
betan typology of tantric traditions enumerates the
Mar pa Bka’ brgyud as one of eight streams of tantric
instruction, the so-called sgrub brgyud shing rta chen
po brgyad(eight great chariot-like lineages of achieve-
ment), which includes traditions such as the Rnying
ma, the Bka’ gdams of Atisha, and the Gcod instruc-
tions of MA GCIG LAB SGRON(MACIGLAPDON). Some
Tibetan historians have referred to the lineage stem-
ming from Mar pa with the near homonym Dkar
brgyud (pronounced Kargyu), which means “white
lineage,” describing the white cotton robes worn by
mendicant yogins of this tradition, and stressing their
commitment to intensive meditation practice.
Each of the various Bka’ brgyud subsects trace their
lineage back to the primordial tantric buddha Vajra-
dhara, who is considered an incontrovertible source of
authentic Buddhist instruction. According to tradi-
tional accounts, the Indian MAHASIDDHA(great adept)
Tilopa (988–1069) received visionary instructions
from Vajradhara, later passing them on to his princi-
pal disciple, the Bengali scholar and adept NAROPA
(1016–1100). The latter transmitted his chief instruc-
tions (codified as the Naro chos drug,or the Six Doc-
trines of Naropa) to Mar pa. Mar pa returned to Tibet,
where he translated, arranged, and disseminated these
practices, together with those of the meditational sys-
tem of MAHAMUDRA, most famously to his yogin dis-
ciple MI LA RAS PA(Milarepa; 1028/40–1111/23). These
early figures—the buddha Vajradhara, the Indians
Tilopa and Naropa, and their Tibetan successors Mar
pa and Mi la ras pa—form the earliest common seg-
ment of the Bka’ brgyud lineage, a line of individuals
largely removed from an institutionalized monastic
setting. One of Mi la ras pa’s foremost disciples, the
physician-monk Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen
(1079–1153), merged the instructions he received from
this lineage with the monasticism and systematic ex-
egetical approach he learned during his earlier train-
ing under masters of the Bka’ gdams sect. Sgam po pa,
therefore, appears to have spearheaded the true insti-
tutionalization of the Bka’ brgyud, founding an
important monastery and retreat center near his
homeland in the southern Tibetan region of Dwags po.
For this reason, the many subsequent branches of the
Bka’ brgyud are also collectively known as the Dwags
po Bka’ brgyud.
The Bka’ brgyud later split into numerous divisions,
known in Tibetan as the four majorand eight minor
Bka’ brgyud subsects (Bka’ brgyud che bzhi chung
brgyad), where the terms majorand minorcarry nei-
ther quantitative nor qualitative overtones, but rather
indicate a relative proximity to the master Sgam po pa
and his nephew Dwags po Sgom tshul (1116–1169).
The four major Bka’ brgyud subsects follow from the
direct disciples of these two masters. These include:- The Karma Bka’ brgyud, also known as the
Karma Kam ̇ tshang, which is directed by the
Karma pa hierarchs and originated with the first
Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa (1110–1193).
This sect held great political power in Tibet from
the late fifteenth to early seventeenth centuries
and continues to be one of the most active among
the four, especially in Eastern Tibet and in exile. - The Tshal pa Bka’ brgyud, which originated with
Zhang tshal pa Brtson grus grags pa (1123–1193). - The ’Ba’ rom Bka’ brgyud, which originated with
’Ba’ rom Dar ma dbang phyug (1127–1199) and
forged early ties with the Tangut and Mongol
Courts. - The Phag gru Bka’ brgyud, which originated with
the great master Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po
(1110–1170), who established a seat at Gdan sa
thil Monastery in Central Tibet. This monastery,
together with an ancestral home in nearby Rtses
thang, became the center of the powerful ruling
Phag mo gru family during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries.
The incipience of the eight lesser Bka’ brgyud sub-
sects is traced back to the disciples of Phag mo gru pa
Rdo rje rgyal po. These include:- The ’Bri gung Bka’ brgyud, which originated
with ’Bri gung ’Jigs rten mgon po (1143–1217)
and held great political influence during the thir-
teenth century.
BKA’ BRGYUD(KAGYU)