Kagyu

Kagyu is one of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, distinguished by meditative practice and teachings transmitted from teacher to student.

Mahamudra: A Buddhist contemplative tradition that investigates the nature of mind and experience. Kagyu teachers made Mahamudra a central path of meditation and realization.
Tilopa: An Indian Buddhist tantric master traditionally regarded as the earliest human teacher in the Kagyu lineage. Kagyu lineage accounts trace its instructional succession back to him.
Karmapa: The title of the successive spiritual heads of the Karma Kagyu school. The Karmapas have led Kagyu institutions and preserved their teaching lineage.
Nyingma: The oldest major school of Tibetan Buddhism, tracing its origins to the earliest transmission of Buddhism into Tibet. Its distinct historical transmission contrasts with Kagyu's later lineage through Marpa and Milarepa.
Three-year retreat: An intensive Tibetan Buddhist retreat lasting roughly three years, three months, and three days. Kagyu retreat programs train practitioners in a sustained sequence of lineage practices.
Vajrayana: A form of Buddhism using tantric methods, ritual, and visualization to pursue awakening. Kagyu belongs to this broader Buddhist tradition.
Naropa: An Indian Buddhist tantric master whose teachings became foundational to Tibetan Buddhist traditions. His instructions supplied practices central to Kagyu meditation lineages.
Kalu Rinpoche: A twentieth-century Tibetan lama known for transmitting Kagyu teachings and meditation retreats internationally. His activity helped establish Kagyu practice centers beyond Tibet.
Sakya: A major Tibetan Buddhist school organized around the Sakya family and its distinctive teachings. Sakya offers a neighboring school with a different institutional history and teaching system.
Tummo: A tantric meditation practice involving inner heat and subtle-body visualization. It is one of the Six Dharmas practiced in Kagyu meditation traditions.

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