The Shangpa Kagyu ཤངས་པ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད (shangs pa bka' brgyud) differs in origin from the better known Marpa Kagyu or Dagpo Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that is the source of all present day Kagyu schools. The Dagpo Kagyu and its branches primarily came from the lineage of the Indian siddhas Tilopa and Naropa transmitted in Tibet through Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and their succssors; whereas the Shangpa lineage descended from two female siddhas Naropa's consort Niguma and Virupa's disciple Sukhasiddhi transmitted in Tibet in the 11th century through Kedrub Khyungpo Naljor. The tradition takes its name from the valley of Shang (ཤངས) where Khyungpo Naljor established the monastery of Zhong Zhong ཞོང་ཞོང or Zhang Zhong.
For seven generations the Shangpa Kagyu lineage remained a one-to-one transmission. Although there were a few temples and retreat centres in Tibet and Bhutan associated with the Shangpa transmission, the Shangpa Kagyu never really became established there as an independent religious institution or sect, but rather it's teachings were transmitted down through the centuries by lamas belonging to many different schools.
In the 20th century the Shangpa Kagyu teachings were transmitted by the first Kalu Rinpoche, who had many disciples in Tibet, India and the West.
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