Drigung Kagyu (’Bri gung bKa’ brgyud)
Authors: Kemp Casey Alexandra 
Published: July 2016

The Drigung Kagyu (’Bri gung bKa’ brgyud) lineage is one of the most prominent schools of the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu tradition. The various Kagyu lineages are generally rooted in the transmission of teachings originating from the Indian mahāsiddhas Tilopa (b. 988–d. 1069) and Nāropa (b. 1016–d. 1100). Nāropa is said to have taught Mahāmudrā and his tantric system of the Six Yogas (nā ro’i chos drug) to the Tibetan translator Marpa Chokyi Lodrö (b. 1012–d. 1097), who in turn transmitted these instructions to Milarepa (b. 1040–d. 1123). Milarepa had multiple close students, but the most well-known among them was Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (b. 1079–d. 1153), who synthesized the Mahāmudrā tradition with the Kadampa tradition of Atīśa Dīpaṅkara (b. 982–d. 1054). One of Gampopa’s students was Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (b. 1110–d. 1170), from whom the eight sub-branches of the Kagyu lineage are said to stem, including the Drigung. The founding of the Drigung tradition and lineage is attributed to Jigten Sumgön (b. 1143–d. 1217), who emphasized Gampopa’s synthesis of the Mahāmudrā and Kadampa in his teachings. He is considered by his followers to be a fully enlightened buddha and a reincarnation of the famous Buddhist philosopher and mahāsiddha Nāgārjuna (c. 2nd/3rd century). He met Phagmo Drupa only three years before his death in 1170, after which Jigten Sumgön traveled to the Drigung valley northeast of Lhasa and settled in a small hermitage there, where he founded the monastery Drigung Thil in 1179. This monastery quickly became a famous center for study and practice. Yogis practiced the Kagyu tantric system of the Six Yogas of Nāropa and Jigten Sumgön gave biannual teachings on important topics of the Drigung Kagyu tradition such as the doctrine of the Single Intention (dgongs gcig) and the Essence of Mahāyāna Teachings (theg chen bstan pa’i snying po). These teachings continued to be maintained even after his death, with numerous texts produced on these topics by famous Drigung masters such as Jigten Sumgön’s nephew and successor, Sherap Jungné (b. 1187–d. 1241) and later by such scholars as Rigdzin Chökyi Dragpa (b. 1595–d. 1659). Drigung Thil also became a center of secular power during the 13th century until it was suppressed and destroyed in 1290 by the Mongols, although the monastery was rebuilt shortly afterward. Drigung Thil also became famous as an important site for sky burials, the funerary practice of offering corpses to vultures, and as the location for the famous Great Drigung Phowa Festival (’Bri gung ’pho ba chen mo), which until recently was held every twelve years. Although the Drigung political influence waned, the Drigung Kagyu school continued to have a strong religious influence throughout the Himalayas, particularly in western Tibet and Ladakh, where early Drigung monasteries continue to be active. The tradition of Drigung Kagyu lineage-holders continued in a familial line of the Kyura lineage until the 17th century, when the tradition of having two lineage-holders, a Chetsang and a Chungtsang, who were recognized reincarnations of the last two brothers of the Kyura line, became institutionalized. This tradition has continued to this day, with the current Chetsang Rinpoche living in India, where he established a monastic seat-in-exile in Dehradun, while Chungtsang Rinpoche continues to reside in Tibet in Lhasa. Both heads regularly teach and give empowerments according to the Drigung Kagyu tradition, and the lineage continues to grow internationally with adherents of the tradition establishing meditation and retreat centers in countries such as Vietnam, Germany, and the United States.