Within the Kagyu understanding of Mahamudra, the lineage is often contemplated as a living stream of realization flowing from Indian mahāsiddhas into the Tibetan heartland. At its source stand figures such as Saraha and Maitripa, whose Mahamudra instructions formed part of the Indian matrix from which later teachings emerged. This current is crystallized in Tilopa, regarded as the root master who received and synthesized profound instructions into a coherent Mahamudra transmission. Tilopa’s disciple Naropa then systematized these teachings and articulated them in forms that would become central to Kagyu contemplative life, including the famed yogic transmissions associated with his name. Together, these Indian masters shaped the doctrinal and experiential template that the Kagyu school would inherit and elaborate.

The movement of Mahamudra into Tibet unfolds through Marpa the Translator, who journeyed to India, received the Tilopa–Naropa lineage, and carried it back to Tibet in the form of transmissions and translations. Marpa’s foremost disciple, Milarepa, stands as the paradigmatic yogin of the tradition, embodying the Mahamudra path through rigorous retreat and meditative song. From Milarepa, the lineage passes to Gampopa, who unites the experiential depth of Mahamudra with the structured Kadampa approach, thereby shaping what becomes the core Dakpo Kagyu synthesis. Through these figures, Mahamudra is not only preserved but also given a distinct Kagyu character: intensely experiential yet framed within a clear path of training.

From Gampopa onward, Mahamudra radiates into multiple Kagyu branches, each carrying the same essential view while developing its own style of expression. Dusum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa and disciple of Gampopa, founds the Karma Kagyu and becomes a central figure in the propagation of Mahamudra within that lineage. Phagmo Drupa, another principal disciple of Gampopa, establishes a line that gives rise to several important Kagyu sub-schools, ensuring that Mahamudra permeates a wide range of Kagyu institutions and practice communities. In this way, the transmission becomes both diversified and deeply rooted, maintaining continuity with its Indian sources while responding to Tibetan conditions.

Later Kagyu masters further refine and articulate the Mahamudra tradition in written form, offering practitioners detailed guidance on view and meditation. The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, composes influential treatises that relate Mahamudra to broader Buddhist doctrinal frameworks. The Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, authors classic practice manuals such as “The Ocean of Definitive Meaning” and related works, which become central references for Mahamudra training in the Karma Kagyu. Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, drawing on this heritage, writes “Clarifying the Natural State,” a comprehensive manual that presents the path of Mahamudra in a systematic and contemplatively sensitive manner. Through these masters, the lineage’s living experience is distilled into texts that continue to guide practitioners in recognizing the nature of mind.