Drigung Kagyu Resource Website

 

The Expression "Four Greater and Eight Lesser"

It has become commonly accepted that the various Dakpo Kagyu lineages can be divided into the so-called "Four Greater and Eght Lesser" lineages based on the temporal distance between the founders of these lineages and Gampopa. Hence, those lineages founded by immediate disciples of Gampopa are designated "greater" and those founded by disciples of the disciples of Gampopa are designated as "lesser." But the origins of this usage is unclear and as the excerpt below demonstrates, Tibetans have a healthy sense of dissent and inquiry when it comes to religious matters.

A Dissenting View
An excerpt from Religious History of Drigung Kagyu ('bri gung chos byung) by Dakpo Chenga Rinpoche (Konchog Gyatso [dkon mchog rgya mtsho] aka Rasay Dawa):

"There exists a manner of expression that the disciple-lineages from the Protector of Migrators Phagtru comprise the 'lesser' Kagyu sub-lineages and the disciple-lineages from Takpo comprise the 'greater' Kagyu sub-lineages, but this position is not taken by the early histories of Tibet.   In my view, the fact that some say this position is taken by the early histories is due to a mis-reading of Pän-gar's [1] Praise of the Entire Kagyu Lineage [2], which in fact says nothing about this issue other than differentiating the disciple-lineages of the Karmapa into four greater and eight lesser.   Pän-gar wrote: "[The followers of] Tü-sum She-ja Kün-kyen Karmapa [3] [are] the holders of the four greater and eight lesser lineages, and [there are] the three [lineages of] Drigung, Taklung, and Tshälpa, [as well as that of] the glorious Drugpa and others." [4]  Since this statement clearly shows the lineages as separate, it was not intended to provide a basis with which to subsume all the other lineages under that of the Karmapa.   The idea that the entire Kagyu tradition is divided into the four greater and eight lesser lineages came only later; I have studied how this came to be, and have reported my findings in another publication.   Those ill-advised enough to incorrectly use the expression 'four greater and eight lesser'  think they can stop the correct understanding with just a few words, but people are not so gullible.   The histories express everything as it actually happened and they should not by manipulated by those who are devoted and faithful. "

[1] Pän-gar was a Karma Kagyu lama.

[2] Praise of the Entire Kagyu Lineage is tib. bka' brgyud spyi bstod

[3] Tü-sum She-ja Kün-kyen Kar-ma-pa was the first Karmapa, and as one of the Three Men from Kham (which also included Phagmotrupa) was a disciple of Gampopa.

[4] The quotation reads:   " dus gsum shes bya kun mkhyen karma pa / che bzhi chung brgyad brgyud pa 'dzin rnams dang / 'bri stag tshal gsum dpal ldan 'brug pa sogs / " 


Excerpt translated by Terence Barrett.

Return to DKRW