Shangpa Kagyu - Origins

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 yogini 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 Mahamudra 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 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 Sakya school and other Kagyu schools. Tsongkhapa, who founded the Gelug school, was also versed in the doctrine of the Shangpa Kagyu.