The fundamental origin of Tergar is the tradition of the Marpa Kagyü, which has the most accomplished spiritual masters among the Tibetan Buddhist religious traditions. The main reason that the holy masters of the Marpa Kagyü have attained such accomplishments is that they have naturally attained hundreds of qualities of samadhi due to dedicating their lives to practice and applying it to their minds, thus leading to inconceivable signs of accomplishment and miraculous powers.

Thus, in terms of the historical accounts, the ancient masters such as Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa are said to have benefitted their students immensely, by means of various wonders and miraculous powers with their spiritual accomplishment, which is unforgettable and beyond our ability to fully describe.

As long we ourselves belong to the Kagyü tradition, then we should know about the history of our own lineage and should diligently practice by following the example of such wonderful traditions. Not only that, but Mingyur Rinpoche always says that we must always remember the kindness and benevolence of the ancient masters from the core of our hearts.

Therefore, regardless of what our spiritual practice or studies concern, the lineage is of the utmost importance. As Milarepa himself has spoken at length about the need for an authentic lineage:

“The defining characteristic of the guru is to hold the lineage.”

Also, “My lineage is not inferior, it is excellent; my lineage is that of the great Vajradhara.”

And, “Spreading like light from one candle to another, is the lineage of compassion, experience, and realization not that of Telopa and Naropa with its origins in the dharmakaya Vajradhara?”

As long as one lacks a genuine lineage, then one will not encounter an authentic guru, and without the authentic guru it would be difficult for the student to have blessings and spiritual qualities emerge from within. Thus, the lineage and the guru are immensely crucial for those of us who are the students.

Therefore, given that the lineage and gurus of Tergar are ones that we may trust and venerate, it is desirable to discuss briefly about their history.

In general, Tergar and Mingyur Dorje are imbued with the profound lineages of both Mahamudra and Dzogchen. However, given that the central spiritual tradition is that of the Kagyü, the spiritual protector of beings, there is an extraordinarily profound connection to Lord Karmapa with aspects of a near and distant transmission. For instance, there is a distant transmission due to the fact that all the teachings transmitted successively from Vajradhara onward were received from the Tenth Karmapa and so forth. There is also a near transmission, one that is remarkably blessed and unbroken, due to the fact that the first incarnation of Rinpoche was given all the profound, extraordinary teachings once he directly had visions of Karma Pakshi.

Moreover, even though the root of all the lineages are the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, containing several different traditions such as those of sutra, tantra, and instruction, the Kagyü tradition is a lineage of the essential meaning. Thus, the profound instructions of means and liberation for attaining Buddhahood within a single lifetime, which are the core of Buddha’s teachings are not only preached, but are actually put into practice, leading one to attain the qualities of realization and arrive at the heights of spiritual accomplishment. Furthermore, since such means are given completely with experience, instructions, and blessings to the disciple as if emptying one vase into another, there has been an uninterrupted stream of accomplished masters.

In that case, you might wonder based on what profound means and genuine path did such sublime accomplished Kagyü masters arrive at the heights of spiritual accomplishment? With this being a living history spanning two-thousand years, it is connected to a profound successive lineage that has spread the true essence of the Buddha’s spiritual tradition throughout the world.

Moreover, this tradition of the Kagyü, which possesses the profound views and practices for attaining Buddhahood in a single lifetime, the excellence of means and liberation, emerged in the world due to the great masters of the Kagyü such as Tilopa, Naropa, and the protector of beings Saraha. These masters of attainment emphasized above all the essence of the Buddha dharma from among all the teachings of the greater and lesser vehicles that our teacher the Buddha taught in accordance with the mental capacity of his disciples, and in doing so practiced in accordance with the oral instructions. Given that this spiritual tradition focuses mainly on engaging in the essential practices, it is also referred to as a practice lineage or a tradition of ultimate transmission.

The master of attainment renowned as the forebearer of this lineage, Tilopa Sherab Zangpo, not only received as his distant transmission all the profound teachings from the gurus of the four instructions, as if they were poured from one vase into another, but also received the profound instructions on means and liberation from the actual Buddha Vajradhara as his near transmission. From there, he spent twelve years in practice with chains on his feet, and thus all the qualities of renunciation and realization were replete in his being, leading him to liberate twelve-hundred thousand towns.

As for his disciple, Naro Jñāna Siddhi, even though he was a scholar of the five topics of scholarship, he did not have any spiritual attainment. Thus, when he later met Tilopa he took him as his guru and endured the twelve great hardships and so forth. Thereby he gained spiritual attainment and became a great Yogin who ascended to the heavens in rainbow body.

His student was Marpa Lotsawa, and from him came Milarepa, Gampopa, as well as the successive incarnations of the Karmapa lineage, the Tai Situ lineage and so forth, appearing in the world as a continuous range of golden mountains transmitting the ultimate truth, and thus this lineage of the essential meaning known as the Victorious Kagyü became widespread.

With this spiritual tradition there have been an incalculable number of spiritually adept masters throughout the regions of China and Tibet. Thus, as Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoche himself has said, “The peak of spiritual views is Mahamudra, which is the high-point of all paths and spiritual systems.” Likewise, the most excellent, unsurpassed, and incomparable of all the spiritual traditions and vehicles of the Buddha’s teachings is none other than the sacred teachings of Mahamudra. Therefore, we may rejoice in the fact that we have been fortunate enough to be able to form a connection with such a profound tradition.

Currently, the seventh Mingyur Rinpoche with whom we are familiar, Karma Gyurmé Tegchok Tenzin Chöjé Chok, at thirty years of age while staying in the retreat center at Palpung Sherab Ling monastery, directly received teachings such as the profound path of Mahamudra and the six dharmas of Naropa in a complete manner as if emptying one vase into another, from the likes of Jamgön Dorjéchang Tai Situ Rinpoche and Ripa Seljé Rinpoche. Thus, he remains a great upholder of the Victorious Kagyü lineage, the lineage of ultimate transmission.

Furthermore, when Rinpoche was just nine years old, his father the spiritual protector of beings Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche directly bestowed upon him the entirety of the experiential instructions of Mahamudra and Dzogchen in accordance with the requests his mother made for the transmission of the meditation instructions. Likewise, he received all the general instructions of Dzogchen—fundamentally via the oral transmission of Ngakchung—as well as the unique single recipient transmission from the supreme holder of the Nyingthik lineage, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. Thus, the entirety of the lineage of both Kagyü and Nyingma exist within the Tergar lineage.