The Shangpa Kagyu lineage was born at around the 10th century in India. The Shangpa Kagyu lineage begins with Naropa’s sister, the dakini Niguma, and the dakini Sukhasiddhi. It is above all a lineage of practice and has never been concerned with power or wealth. Most of its holders were great yogis living in hermitages all of whom had attained great spiritual enlightenment. The Shangpa had very few monasteries, was without hierarchy, and remained a “secret” lineage transmitted from master to disciple.
the 19th century, when it was almost extinguished, the great masters Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo gathered together the transmissions of the different branches and gave renewed energy to the lineage.

In the 20th century, one of its principal holders, Vajradhara Kalu Rinpoche – considered to be an emanation of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye – permitted it to leave Tibet and spread widely throughout the world. In the nineteen seventies and eighties Kalu Rinpoche founded numerous Dharma teaching centres throughout the world and several retreat centres dedicated to Shangpa teachings. He entrusted their spiritual guidance to certain of his oldest disciples, of whom the principal was Bokar Rinpoche who passed away in 2004 and who was the head of the Mirik monastery, in West Bengal. After Kalu Rinpoche passed away in 1989, his tulku (emanation), Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche – who came out of retreat in September 2008 – became the holder of the seat of the lineage (the monastery of Sonada in northern India).

History

During the 10th and 11th centuries, at the peak of Buddhism in India, shortly before the muslim invasions and the hindu domination almost wiped it off, many great accomplished masters (the mahasiddhas) appeared such as Luipa, Tilopa, Naropa, Maitripa, Saraha. Among them, two extraordinary women got perfectly enlightened : Niguma and Sukkhasiddhi. It is even said that they received the teachings directly from the Buddha Vajradhra, the primordial buddha, the essence of all buddhas.

Contemporary of Marpa the translator, Khyungpo Naljor was probably born in 984 in Nyemo Ramang, West-Central Tibet. At his birth, the adept Amogha flew down from the sky to offer wondrous prophecies about the new born. Khyungpo Naljor took seven trips to India and Nepal in search of the authentic dharma; he studied and practiced under such adepts as Maitripa, Dorjedenpa, and Rahula. On his return to Tibet, he established a monastery at Shang-Shung in Central Tibet. This was his main seat, and he became known as the ? Lama of Shang ?, which is how the lineage got its name Shangpa. Although he was reputed to have founded hundreds of monasteries and had thousands of students, he passed the teachings of Niguma to only one of his students, Mochok Rinchen Tsondru (Mochokpa). The Shangpa lineage is often referred to as the "secret lineage" because Niguma instructed Khyungpo Naljor to transmit the teachings to only one student for the first seven generations (beginning with the Buddha Vajradhara and Niguma).From Mochokpa, the lineage was passed to Kyergang Chokyi Senge (Kyergangpa), Nyenton Rigung Chokyi Sherab (Rigongpa), and Sangye Tonpa.

These first seven masters are known as the Seven Great Jewels of the Shangpa tradition. Sangye Tonpa was the first teacher who gave these instructions to more than one of his disciples, and from this point on, several different lines of transmission developed. The intention for keeping the lineage secret in this fashion was to protect it from becoming an established monastic tradition. Among the holders of the lineage, we find very famous masters such as Thang tong Gyalpo, Kunga Drolchok, Jetsun Taranatha who had a great influence in Tibet history and who are known to have met directly with the dakini Niguma.
Although the Shangpa teachings were highly regarded and were assimilated by many schools, the tradition itself ceased to exist as an independent school with the dissolution of the Jonangpas in the 17th century. However, its teachings were still practiced and transmitted. In the 19th century Jamgon Kongtrul gathered together the surviving transmissions and ensured their continued survival by including them in his Treasury of Sacred Instructions (dam ngak mdzod).
In the 20th century, one of its principal holders, Vajradhara Kalu Rinpoche – considered to be an emanation of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye – permitted it to leave Tibet and spread widely throughout the world. In the nineteen seventies and eighties Kalu Rinpoche founded numerous Dharma teaching centres throughout the world and several retreat centres dedicated to Shangpa teachings. He entrusted their spiritual guidance to certain of his oldest disciples, of whom the principal was Bokar Rinpoche who passed away in 2004 and who was the head of the Mirik monastery, in West Bengal. After Kalu Rinpoche passed away in 1989, his tulku (his emanation), Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche – who came out of retreat in September 2008 – became the holder of the seat of the lineage (the monastery of Sonada in northern India).