Nomenclature, Orthography and Etymology
Strictly speaking, the term Kagyu (Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: bka' brgyud) (“Oral Lineage” or “Precept Transmission”) applies to any line of transmission of an esoteric teaching from teacher to disciple. We sometimes see references to the "Atisha Kagyu" (“the precept transmission from Atiśa”) for the early Kadampa, or to "Jonang Kagyu" for the Jonangpa and "Ganden Kagyu" for the Gelugpa sects.
Today, the term Kagyu almost always refers to the Marpa Kagyu or Dagpo Kagyu and its off-shoots, which developed from the teachings transmitted by the translator Marpa Chökyi Lodrö and his successors. It also applies to the separate lesser-known Shangpa Kagyu tradition, which developed from the teachings independently transmitted by Khyungpo Naljor.
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