Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nyingmapa failed to develop as a powerful, centralised school, and for the most part
prospered in villages throughout rural Tibet, where it was administered by local shaman-
like figures.
The Nyingma school was revitalised through the 'discovery' of hidden texts in the
'power places' of Tibet visited by Guru Rinpoche. In many cases these
terma
(revealed
texts) were discovered through yogic-inspired visions by spiritually advanced Nyingmapa
practitioners, rather than found under a pile of rocks or in a cave. Out of these
terma
arose
the Dzogchen (Great Perfection) teachings, an appealing Tantric short cut to nirvana that
teaches that enlightenment can come in a single lifetime. Today the Nyingmapa have a
particularly strong presence in western Sìchuān.
Kagyupa Order
Main monastery
Tsurphu
Subschools
Drigungpa (
Drigung Til Monastery
); Taglungpa (
Talung
); Drukpa (
Ralung
)
;
Karma Kagyu (Tsurphu)
Founder
Milarepa
Also known as
Black Hats
The resurgence of Buddhist influence in the 11th century led to many Tibetans travelling
to India to study. The new ideas they brought back with them had a revitalising effect on
Tibetan thought and produced other new schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Among them was
the Kagyupa order, established by Milarepa (1040-1123), who was the disciple of Marpa
the translator (1012-93).
The establishment of monasteries eventually overshadowed the ascetic-yogi origins of
the Kagyupa. The yogi tradition did not die out completely, however, and Kagyupa monas-
teries also became important centres for synthesising the clerical and shamanistic orienta-
tions of Tibetan Buddhism.
In time, several suborders of the Kagyupa sprang up, the most prominent of which was
the Karma Kagyu, also known as the Karmapa. The practice of reincarnation originated
with this suborder, when the abbot of Tsurphu Monastery, Dusum Khyenpa (1110-93), an-
nounced that he would be reincarnated as his own successor. The 16th Karmapa died in
1981, and his disputed successor fled to India in 1999.
