Rechungpa
Rechungpa (ras chung pa, ras chung rdo rje grags pa), (1083/4-1161)
Heart son of Milarepa and patriarch of the Kagyu lineage. The so-called „moon-like“ disciple of Milarepa. He met Milarepa at the age of eleven and spent many years studying and practising under the guidance of his master. He was a Repa (ras pa) like Milarepa, unlike Gampopa, who was a fully ordained monk. Rechungpa travelled to India three times and obtained teachings and transmissions which Marpa had not managed to receive in his time. In fact he was prophecied by Naropa to Marpa. In particular he received the entire “nine-fold cycle of the formless Dakinis”, the lus med mkha' 'gro skor dgu, of which Marpa had received only five parts. Upon his return to Tibet, he presented these teachings to Milarepa. Milarepa tramsmitted he entire cylce to Ngendzong Repa (ngan dzong ras pa byang chub rgyal po 12th cent.), another of his "Eight great Sons", who composed arrangements and commentaries on it. His lineage became knwon 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, which nowadays is practiced mainly within the Drukpa Kagyu (‘brug pa bka’ brgyud) school, and by a subsect of the Karma Kagyu, the Surmang Kagyu. Rechungpa’s main teacher in India was the Mahasiddha Tiphupa. Both streams were later re-united by Tsang Nyon Heruka (gtsang smyon he ru ka 1452-1507).
Please expand this page by pressing EDIT above.