page_title: Kagyu
section_title: Practice
hierarchical_section_title: Kagyu / Teaching and practice / Practice
caption_attribution_description: Українська: Частина ілюстрації практик (вправ йогінів) із стародавнього тібетського видання (X-XII стт.н.е., імовірно практики Міларепи)English: Illustration of the yogic practice of Tummo from an ancient Tibetan edition, X-XII centuries AD, probably of the sage Milarepa
context_page_description: The Kagyu, Kagyü, or Kagyud school, which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian Mahasiddhas Naropa, Maitripa and the yogini Niguma, via their student Marpa Lotsawa, who brought their teachings to Tibet. Marpa's student Milarepa was also an influential poet and teacher.
  The Tibetan Kagyu tradition gave rise to a large number of independent sub-schools and lineages. The principal Kagyu lineages existing today as independent schools are those which stem from Milarepa's disciple, Gampopa, a monk who merged the Kagyu lineage with the Kadam tradition. The Kagyu schools which survive as independent institutions are mainly the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, Drukpa Lineage and the Taklung Kagyu. The Karma Kagyu school is the largest of the sub-schools, and is headed by the Karmapa while a majority of its members recognize Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the Karmapa. Other lineages of Kagyu teachings, such as the Shangpa Kagyu, are preserved in other schools.
  The main teachings of the Kagyus include Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas of Naropa.
context_section_description: With regards to presentations of the path, the surviving Dagpo Kagyu schools rely on the Lamrim (stages of the path) format outlined by Gampopa in his Jewel Ornament of Liberation. The practice of Lojong (Mind training) which derives from the Kadam school is also important.
  The central meditative practice in Kagyu is Mahamudra, "the Great Seal". This doctrine focuses on four principal stages (the Four Yogas of Mahamudra), namely:
  The development of single-pointedness of mind
  The transcendence of all conceptual elaboration
  The cultivation of the perspective that all phenomena are of a "single taste"
  The fruition of the path, which is beyond any contrived acts of meditation
  The central tantric deities of the Kagyu schools are Cakrasaṃvara and his consort Vajravārāhī.
  A central set of practices maintained in the Kagyu schools are the Six Dharmas of Naropa. The Six Dharmas consists of the following yogic practices:
  tummo – the yoga of inner heat (or mystic heat).
  gyulü  – the yoga of the illusory body.
  ösel – the yoga of the clear light or radiant light.
  milam – the yoga of the dream state.
  bardo – the yoga of the in-between.
  phowa – the yoga of the transference of consciousness
  Other practices which are taught in the Kagyu schools include:
  Chöd lineage
  Kalacakra (derived from the Jonang lineage)
  White Tara (derived from the Kadam school)
  Practices of deities such as Green Tara, Avalokiteshvara, Vajrakilaya and Padmasambhava (derived from the Nyingma school)
caption: A section of the Northern wall mural at the Lukhang Temple depicting both Tummo (Skt. Candali) and Phowa (transference of consciousness), two of the Six Dharmas of Naropa
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