Karma Kagyu practice on the Six Yogas of Naropa. At the Anuttarayoga Tantra level of practice, the principal iṣṭadevatās of the lineage are Dorje Pakmo, Hevajra and Cakrasaṃvara. While one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Karma Kagyu is its emphasis on meditative practice, all forms and levels of Buddhist history and philosophy are also taught, most notably the shentong branch of Madhyamaka philosophy. The supreme lama of the Karma Kagyu is the Karmapa, who always presides as lineage holder once he has reached his majority and received all the necessary training and dharma transmissions. From the death of one Karmapa until
Jnana Jnana In Indian philosophy and religion, jñāna (Sanskrit, pronounced gya:nə) (Pali: "ñāṇa") or gyan/gian (Hindi: "jñān") is "knowledge". The idea of jnana centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially a total or divine reality (Brahman). The root jñā- is cognate to English "know", as well as to the Greek γνώ- (as in γνῶσις "gnosis") and Russian "знание". Its antonym is "ajñāna" "ignorance". In Tibetan Buddhism, it refers to pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances, and is contrasted with vijnana, which is a moment of