Drikung Kagyu

Like with all other Kagyu lineages, origins of Drikung Kagyü can be traced back to the Great Indian Master Tilopa who passed on his teachings to Mahasiddha Naropa who lived around 10th and 11th century.

The founder of the Drikung Kagyü lineage was Jigten Sumgön (1143-1217) of the Kyura clan,[1] who was the disciple of Phagmo Drupa.

According to Jampa MacKenzie Stewart, the Gonchik "recasts Buddhism in a fascinating and innovative form, emphasizing each aspect as being capable of revealing the full process of enlightenment.

[8] This presentation is outlined in Clarifying the Jewel Rosary of the Profound Five-Fold Path by Kunga Rinchen, the Dharma heir to Jigten Sumgön.

The Drikung lineage is popularly known for its development of the practice of Phowa, in which a practitioner learns how to expel his/her consciousness or mindstream through the posterior fontanelle at the top of the skull at the moment of death.

One of the two current heads of the lineage, Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoche,[13][14] Könchok Tenzin Kunzang Thinley Lhundrup (b.

In 2002 Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, became the first bhikkhuni (a fully ordained Buddhist nun) in the Drikung Kagyü lineage.

Drikung Kagyu Lineage Tree
Phagmodrupa with His Previous Incarnations and Episodes from His Life, 14th-century painting from the Rubin Museum of Art
Jigten Sumgon, founder of Drikung Kagyü
A building in Drikung monastery overlooking the valley, Maizhokunggar County , Lhasa , Tibet
Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, the thirty-seventh and current Drikung Kyabgon, the head of the Drikung order