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TheShangpa Kagyu (Tibetan:ཤངས་པ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད,Wylie:shangs pa bka' brgyud, "Oral Tradition of the man from Shang") is known as the "secret lineage" of theKagyu school ofVajrayana orTibetan Buddhism and differs in origin from the better knownDagpo Kagyu schools. The Dagpo Kagyu are the lineage ofTilopa through his studentNaropa, often traced through Naropa's famous studentMarpa Lotsawa and thus called "Marpa Kagyu", while the Shangpa lineage descends fromTilopa's studentNiguma, who wasNaropa's sister,[1][2] as well as from the teachings ofSukhasiddhi. Its founder wasKhyungpo Naljor, the student of both women, whose monastery in the Shang Valley gave its name to the tradition.
The principal Shangpadharmapala is the six-armedMahākāla.
The Shangpa tradition was revitalized in the 20th century by the firstKalu Rinpoche, who had many students both inTibet and in the West.
The Shangpa Kagyu lineage was founded by the eleventh-century Tibetan scholar Khyungpo Naljor.[3] Seeking to increase his understanding of the teachings he received in Tibet, he traveled to India, where he met the female mysticyogini,Niguma.[4] (Vajradhara Niguma is the full Tibetan name of the Indian yoginiVimalashri.[5] He received many teachings from her; in particular, the teachings of a special tradition ofMahamudra and the Six Yogas of Niguma, which are similar but not identical to theSix Dharmas of Naropa.Khyungpo Naljor was a Tibetanyogi andBonpo and Niguma's most famous disciple. He was the only one to whom she imparted her most secret teachings.[6] He also met and studied with thedakiniSukhasiddhi,[7] another female mystic and student of themahasiddha Virūpa, as well as Vajrāsana,Maitripada,Rāhula, and others.
Thang Tong Gyalpo[8] was another famousyogi instructed by Niguma in a vision. He started his own religious tradition (Wylie:thang lugs) within the Shangpa Kagyu lineage.
On his return to Tibet, Khyungpo Naljor established a monastery at Shang inTsang. 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 Neljor to transmit the teachings to only one student for the first seven generations beginning withVajradhara and Niguma.
From Mochok Rinchen Tsondru, the lineage was passed to Kyergang Chokyi Senge, Nyenton 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 centuryJamgon 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 theSakya school and other Kagyu schools.Je Tsongkhapa, who founded theGelug school, was also versed in the doctrine of the Shangpa Kagyu.
In the west, the principal teacher of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage was the firstKalu Rinpoche. 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, the 8th Tsa Tsa Drubgen, Yizhin Norbu, also called Karma Singhe and the White Crown Master. The Karma Kagyu regentTai Situpa described Yizhin Norbu as “one of the most learned and accomplished Kagyu masters now living.”[citation needed]
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 theRimé movement. The Tsa Tsa Drubgen Yizhin Norbu died in the middle of June, 2005. The Shangpa traditions are currently held by his regent and successor the secondGyalten Thongwa Rangdrol.
After the first Kalu Rinpoche died his studentBokar Tulku Rinpoche became the main lineage holder. AfterBokar Tulku Rinpoche died,Yangsi Kalu, a youngtulku who finished a Shangpa three-year retreat in September 2008, became the holder of the seat of the lineage (the monastery of Sonada in northern India). The other current holders of the Shangpa lineage are the lamas who have been entrusted by Vajradhara Kalu Rangjung Künchab, for exampleNorlha Rinpoche,Denys Rinpoche, as well as Ven Mogchok Rinpoche currently living and teaching in France. A list of Kalu Rangjung Kunchab contemporary heirs is available onShangpa Resource center web Site
Wangchen Rinpoche is a current lineage holder, who was recognized by Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche as “Kalu the Younger”, his meditation companion in Tibet.[9]
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 (Wylie:shangs pa gser chos lnga), a group of teachings envisioned as forming a tree,.[10][11]
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