The
Kagyu,
Kagyü, or
Kagyud school, also known as the "
Oral Lineage" or
Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools (
chos lugs) of
Himalayan or
Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the
Nyingma,
Sakya,
Jonang,
Gelug and
Bon. Along with the Sakya and Gelug schools, the Kagyu tradition is classified as one of the
Sarma or "New Transmission" schools of
Vajrayana founded during the second diffusion of Buddhism into Tibet (diffusing the so-called "New Tantras"). It is a
Red Hat sect along with the Nyingma and Sakya.