The Trungram Tradition

The Tibetan Vajrayana tradition draws on the most potent of Buddha's teachings to offer an accelerated and powerful path to understanding the true nature of things - the key to achieving the well being and clarity expressed by Buddha.

The Kagyu School within Vajrayana is a manner of instruction that emphasizes oral transmission of the teachings. It believes in every individual's ability to develop calm, clear insight through their own experience in meditation practice.

The Trungram tradition is drawn from the methods of three 11th century Kagyu school founders, Milarepa and his two students, Gampopa and Rechungpa. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche, Dharmakaya's spiritual director, is an emanation of Milarepa.

The teachings of these fully realized masters were synthesized into the Trungram tradition in recent centuries, leading to one of the most highly prized methods in Buddhism today.

Milarepa established the meditation lineage of the Twofold Path: Six-Yogas - the Path of Method, and Mahamudra - the Path of Liberation. These form the heart of the Trungram tradition.

The teachings and practice of the Twofold Path of Method and Liberation are held to be the very pinnacle of all teachings of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. They are considered to be the most immediate path towards spiritual fulfillment - enlightenment in a single lifetime. The Twofold Path is a path that is simple yet profound, which can be integrated into everyday life.

The origins of these practices are traced back to Buddha, from whom this remarkable heritage of wisdom has been transmitted from master to student in an unbroken lineage down to the present day. The lineages of Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche and Trungram Monastery have played a pivotal role in the transmission and preservation of these teachings.

The Trungram tradition was crystallized during the time of the Third Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche. During his time, the Aural Lineage (Nyengyu, Tib. snyan brgyud)* of Rechungpa was also integrated into the tradition. It was the Trungram Tradition that introduced the three year extensive Nyengyu retreats to qualified students. However, due to the hardship the Nyengyu retreat masters faced under the unfavorable social-political envirenment during the Cultural Revolution, lineage of the three-year Nyengyu retreats is on the verge of extinction. Therefore, one of the main missions of Dharmakaya is to save these teachings for humanity. The Mahamudra Hermitage Project [link] is aimed at providing the necessary conditions for passing on this lineage.