Origins of the Kagyu Lineage

The Four Oral Instructions
The four human teachers of Tilopa were each the source of a specific body of teachings that Tilopa received. These transmissions that Tilopa received from his human masters are collectively known as "The Four Oral Instructions" (bka' babs bzhi) and some etymologies of the name “Kagyu” considers it as a contraction of “Lineage of Four Oral Instructions” (bka' babs bzhi brgyud pa). Although Tilopa's possession of "The Four Oral Instructions" is commonly accepted by all traditional sources, different sources provide different listings of the content of "The Four Oral Instructions."

According to one source, from Saraha, Tilopa received the Mahamudra instructions. From Nagarjuna he received the Guhyasamaja teachings (a father-tantra specializing in illusory body and clear-light practices), from Sumati Dakini he received the Hevajra teachings (a mother-tantra) and from Dombi-Heruka he received the Chakrasamvara teachings (that emphasizes practices of the winds, channels and drops). In the biography of Marpa, Tilopa is said to have received the illusory body practices (of the Guhyasamaja) from Nagarjuna and Matangipa. From Caryapa he is said to have received the transmission of dream yoga practices and from Lavapa he received the clear-light practices. Finally, from Sumati Dakini he received the transmission of inner-heat practices of the Chakrasamvara.  From yet another source (which emphasized the transmission of the “Six Dharmas of Naropa”), Tilopa is said to have received illusory-body practices from Nagarjuna, inner-heat and dream-yoga practices from Caryapa, clear-light practices from Lavapa and transference of consciousness and intermediate state practices from Sumati Dakini. These transmissions form the core of the precepts and secret instructions of the Kagyu lineage that is transmitted from generation to generation, uninterrupted from master to disciples. The contents of the “Four Oral Instructions” include both the path of means and the path of liberation.

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