by Deirdre Collings

This issue of Ordinary Mind features the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu ('oral lineage') began with the lineage of Indian and Tibetan teachers that included Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa. Gampopa established the Dakpo Kagyu, which is regarded as the mother lineage of the Kagyu School. This lineage gave rise to the four major (Tselpa, Barom, Phagtru and Karma) and eight lesser schools (Drigung, Taglung, Drugpa, Trophu, Martsang, Yelpa, Shungseb and Shangpa) of the Kagyu tradition - of which only the Karma, Drugpa, Drigung and Taglung survive (although the Shangpa school has been incorporated within the Karma). Despite the profusion of schools within the Kagyu tradition, the fundamental doctrines of all of them are Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa. Another distinctive feature is the method of directly transmitting the oral instructions from teacher to disciple. The teacher clears away the defects of intellectual understanding and meditative experience before directly introducing his or her student to the fundamental nature of the mind.

The Venerable Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche is the ninth incarnation of an important lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu tradition. Traditionally the supreme abbot of Trangu Monastery in Kham, Eastern Tibet, he has lived in Australia for the past 22 years and is the founder of Kagyu E-Vam Institutes in Melbourne and New York. His Holiness the 12th Gyalwang Drugchen Rinpoche is the head of the Drugpa Kagyu tradition. His principle monastic seat is at Sang-ngak Choling in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, while he has his own Hemis Monastery near Leh, Ladakh. The Venerable Bokar Rinpoche is the holder of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage, which he inherited from the late great meditation master Kalu Rinpoche. His Eminence the 12th Khentin Tai Situ Rinpoche is second in importance to the Karmapa in the Karma Kagyu tradition and was one of the four regents of the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. Venerable Pema Chodron, a Karma Kagyu nun, was a student of the Vidhyadhara Chogyam Trunpgpa Rinpoche and is now director of Gampo Abbey Monastery in Nova Scottia. Ani Tenzin Palmo is a student of the late Drugpa Kagyu master, Khamtrul Rinpoche of Tashi Jong in Himachal Pradesh, India.

This issue also includes one of the doha songs of Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, a prominenet Karma Kagyu master, and a forum on non-violent action between a panel that includes Tibetan teachers, a Zen monk, a transpersonal psychologist and an activist. Other regular features include interviews on the issue of religious physical discipline, Focus on a Centre, which features an interview with a member of the Melbourne Zen Group, a review of a new book by Geshe Doga - Tara House's resident teacher - and an interview with Dr Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai social activist who has played a leading role in the mobilisation of Thailand's civil society.

We hope that this collection of articles gives you a sense of the breadth and flavour of the Kagyu tradition and a sense of the dynamism of its teachers. The Kagyu tradition is known for its continuous stream of blessings - blessings that are embodied in both the unbroken lineages of its great masters and in the oral transmission of their personal realisations. This issue is the final instalment on the four main traditions in Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya tradition was covered in Issue 13, the Gelug in Issue 15 and the Nyingma in Issue 17. The Theravada and Zen traditions have also been represented in Issues 14 and 16 respectively.