Line holder
The term lineage holder denotes a lama from a school tradition of Tibetan Buddhism who was authorized to pass on all tantric transmissions of the respective school to students. The terms lineage holder and head of the order are not synonymous and should not be confused. Head of the order denotes the Lama who is in charge of the order.
Only a lineage holder can use a subsequent lineage holder to whom he passes the authorization for tantric transmissions. In this way, clearly traceable lines of transmission of tantric transmissions emerge through the centuries . The continuity of such a line of transmission is a guarantee for the authenticity of the tantric practice in the context of Vajrayana . A lineage holder is one of the highest authorities in the school. There can be one or more such lineage holders within the respective tradition; this is often, but not necessarily, the most important lama of the respective school. On this point there are great differences within the four great schools of Tibetan Buddhism ( Nyingma , Kagyu , Sakya , Gelug ) and in the Tibetan Bon tradition . The role of the line holder is not linked to gender. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism there are therefore also some lineage holders.
Line holders known in the West are:
- Penor Rinpoche or Mindroling Trichen within the Nyingma School,
- Karmapa , Gyalwang Drukpa and Chetsang Rinpoche within the Kagyu school
- Sakya Trizin and his sister Jetsunma Chimey Luding in the Sakya tradition
- the Dalai Lama or Trijang Rinpoche within the Gelug order
- Lopön Tenzin Namdak in the Tibetan Bon
There are, however, a multitude of little known lineage holders who carry on a large number of tantric lineages. Among them there are also very rare lines, sometimes also tantric transmission lines, which often only pass on one or a few practices, sometimes also lines that are only continued within a single family or even only by individual people over the centuries.