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SHORT OUTLINE OF THE KAGYU TEACHINGS
The Kagyupa’s main practices, and the distinctive feature of the tradition, are Mahamudra and the Six
Yogas of Naropa.
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As in the other schools, before engaging in these higher esoteric practices,
preparatory studies and exercises have to be undertaken. They include
studies on the sutras, Prajnaparamita, M_dhyamika, Pramana as well as
on Abhidharma, and to facilitate these studies many monasteries and
colleges have been set up. According to the dual system of teaching
lineage and meditation lineage, the studies within the monasteries are
devised into philosophical training and meditation training (she-dra and
drub-dra). Also, each monastery has its own scriptures, texts and
commentaries on which the studies of the original Indian sources are based.
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According to Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoche, the actual practice has many different aspects, but
the special feature that distinguishes the Drikung Kagyu from the others can be found within the
uncommon practice of the tantric Mahamudra.
‘The important practices are generating the Mind of Enlightenment (Bodhicitta), the practice of deity
yoga, and the guru yoga of Mahamudra. Within the preparatory practices (Ngöndro) of the tantric path
there is a special emphasis on Mind of Enlightenment (Bodhicitta), where, compared to other traditions,
an additional time is spent meditating on Bodhicitta as well as on loving-kindness.
In regards to the deity yoga, the practice of Chakrasamvara is a common practice, whereas the
Mahamudra guru yoga practices vary a little bit. The lama has 4 bodies: for the achievement of the
deity, the body of the lama is seen as the Manifestation Body (Nirmanakaya) of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The second body, the Complete Enjoyment Body (Sambhogakaya), is the body of Vairochana and
corresponds at this point to the Sanskrit name by which the lineage of the lama can be called upon. The
Truth Body (Dharmakaya) is the manifestation of Vajradhara. … For the fourth body, the Ultimate Nature
Body (Svabhavakaya), the special meditation is on the nature of the mind.
When this cycle of meditations on the four bodies of the lama is finished, then one gets to the
actualpractice of Mahamudra. The practice of Mahamudra then is similar within the different traditions,
as one meditates on Calm Abiding and Penetrating Insight. Then, at the final stage, there is ‘the
meditation on dedication’, and one has to accumulate another hundred thousand mantras.
[Within the context of the Drikung Kagyu this is also called the Fivefold Mahamudra:
Great Seal of Bodhicitta, Great Seal of the Deity’s form, Great Seal of Fervent Devotion
{to the Guru}, Great Seal of the True Nature, Great Seal of Dedication].
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These five stages of the practice have to be performed at the beginning of any three-year retreat.
One is allowed to engage in the Six Yogas of Naropa only after these five foundations have been
accomplished. In regards to the subtleties of each individual practice, including the Six Yogas of Naropa,
there are small differences. All the traditions differ in small ways, and each lama has a personal style
and way of talking and teaching. If one were to count the differences then there is no end to it.’
The method of Mahamudra varies slightly according to the tradition; the outlines of the teachings are
based on the stages of ground, path and fruition. Mahamudra means Great Seal, and refers to systems
of meditation on both the relative and ultimate natures of mind. It is called great seal, because it refers
to the actual nature and mode of existence of all phenomena, which are empty of inherent existence,
and this emptiness of inherent existence is a mudra or seal. Because the realization of emptiness
liberates from suffering and its causes, it is maha or great. It is one of the quintessential practices of
the Buddha’s Dharma.
Mahamudra can be explained according to interpretations of sutra and tantra. Both teachings are aimed
towards the understanding of the real nature of mind. In the context of tantric practice, the application
of Mahamudra becomes much more profound and sophisticated. The two main subjects of the
Mahamudra teachings are the nature of mind and the nature of experience, which are investigated
both intellectually and through meditation.
The Kagyupa’s tantric practice mainly focuses on the Six Yogas of Naropa, Chakrasamvara and
Mahakala. This system includes six techniques - inner heat, illusory body, clear light, consciousness
transference, forceful projection and bardo yoga - through which the ‘normal’ experience can profoundly
be transformed.
Both Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa have influenced other systems, and particularly within the
Gelug lineage led to a combined Gelug/Kagyu Mahamudra tradition, while Naropa’s Six Yogas have
benefited tens of thousands of practitioners interested in pursuing it as a personal tantric study since
Tsongkhapa introduced that practice in his writings.
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