The Great Kagyu Masters

This text of the Kagyu tradition profiles its forefathers: Vajradhara, the Buddha, Tilopa, Naropa, the Four Great Dharma Kings of Tibet, Marpa, Milarepa, Atisha, Gampopa, Phagmodrupa, Jigten Sumgön, and others.

This work was compiled by Dorje Dze Öd, a great master of the Drikung lineage active in the Mount Kailash region of Western Tibet."This most inspiring, authentic, and important book is a timely shower that certainly quenches our thirst for knowledge of the early sages of the Kagyu lineage of Tibet, many of whose lives are unknown to non-Tibetans. A golden treasure, this single volume contains fascinating life stories of many enlightened masters such as Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa."—Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, author of Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth and The Healing Power of Mind

"A welcome addition to the publication on the teachings of this dynamic branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The lives of the great Kagyupa teachers represent a living enactment of their personal trials and triumphs while vividly depicting the transformation of their existential shortcomings into transcendent perfection."—Lobsang Lhalungpa, translator of Mahamudra and The Life of Milarepa


"The Great Kagyu Masters is part biography, part religious history, and part insight into the principles and teachings of this dynamic path of Tibetan Buddhism."—Wisconsin BookwatchKhenchen Könchog Gyaltshen, founder of several Buddhist centers worldwide, is respected and beloved as an accomplished scholar, meditation master, teacher, translator, and author. In 2001 he received the high honor of being enthroned as Khenchen (great abbot). He lives in Frederick, Maryland.