The Kagyu Lineage's

I didn't realize there were so many!
Thanks a lot, very good for reference

Many of them have been assimilated into the Kamtsang, Nyingma, Gelug or Sakya traditions. So far the ones I still hear about to this day are the Kamtsang, Surmang, Barom, Drikung, Taklung and Shangpa Kagyu. I have not heard of any standalone traditions of the others so far.

The eight minor Kagyu lineages:

• Taklung Kagyu
  
• Trophu Kagyu
  
• Drukpa Kagyu
  
• Martsang Kagyu
  
• Yerpa Kagyu
  
• Yazang Kagyu
  
• Shugseb Kagyu
  
• Drikung Kagyu
  

"The different Kagyu lineages are not referred to as major and minor in terms of the instructions they contain, they are equal in that respect. The four major lineages are known as major in that they originate with Gampopa himself, whereas the eight minor lineages originate with a later generation of masters. Nowadays, among the four major Kagyu lineages only the Karma Kagyu remains prevalent. Among the eight minor Kagyu lineages only the Taglung, Drukpa and Drikung Kagyu still exist as independent lineages".

The Four Great Kagyu Schools

Gampopa Dagpo Lharje had many, but four main, disciples:

1. Barom Darma Wangchuk founded Barom Kagyu. (The transmission is passed from father to son. It is in the family of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and his son Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche of Nangchen, East Tibet, residing in Kathmandu, Nepal.
   
2. Phagmo Drupa Gyalpo (or Pagdru Dorgyal) whose disciples founded eight lineages of which 3 still exist. They constitute the Padma family of the Kagyus.
   
3. Zhang Yudakpa Tsondu Dakpa or Shang Tsalpa Tsondu Drugpa, (1123-1193) founded the Tsalpa Kagyu.
   
4. Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193) the first Karmapa, founder of Karma Kagyu (aka. the Kamtsang, or Tolung Kagyu after the original place where he lived.)
   

source khandro net.


The four "great" traditions come under the umbrella of the name Dagpo Kagyu.
Drikung Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu and the Karma Kagyu are branches of the Dagpo Kagyu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagpo_Kagyu

dorje wrote:Many of them have been assimilated into the Kamtsang, Nyingma, Gelug or Sakya traditions. So far the ones I still hear about to this day are the Kamtsang, Surmang, Barom, Drikung, Taklung and Shangpa Kagyu. I have not heard of any standalone traditions of the others so far.

Hi Dorje, Yes, most have been assimilated into the four major Dagpo Kagyu, some im sure survive as a family lineage within the four main schools. A good example would be the Rechungpa hearing lineage of Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara. Rechungpa was a close student of Jetsun Mila and a yogi, and this lineage probably existed outside of Gampopa's monastic (kadam) framework. Only later to be threaded into Dagpo kagyu.

I think we can also separate that monastic Dagpo system, from the yogic one, for the sake of clarity. An example would be Gampopa's five fold monastic Mahamudra system of teaching compared to Tilo's, Naro's and Marpas, Vajradhara Mahamudra from the Indian Ganges, that Rechungpa brought back to Tibet from Tiphupa for Milarepa, as Marpa was unable to receive.
Two interesting reads would be.



http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Rechungpa
His lineage became known as the bde mchog snyan brgyud. Rechungpa's lineage of this cycle, focussing on the practice of Chakrasamvara, is preserved in a corpus of teachings known as the “hearing lineage of Rechungpa”, the ras chung snyan brgyud. Both streams were later re-united by Tsang Nyon Heruka (gtsang smyon he ru ka 1452-1507). Nowadays these teachings are practiced mainly within the Drukpa Kagyu ('brug pa bka' brgyud) school, and by a subsect of the Karma Kagyu, the Surmang Kagyu.

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