Drikung

What Drikung does

The Drikung Kagyu Order is a Tibetan Buddhist religious organization founded in 1179 by Lord Jigten Sumgon, headquartered at the Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehradun, India. It preserves and transmits the Drikung Kagyu lineage of teachings through a global network of monasteries (including flagship sites in Dehradun, Ladakh, and Shravasti, plus locations in Tibet and Nepal), the Samtenling Nunnery (approximately 400 nuns), retreat centers, and educational institutions such as Kagyu College and the CIBS Drikung Gonpa School. Spiritual authority rests with the 36th and 37th Drikung Kyabgon lineage holders, drawing on an unbroken lineage of 35 enlightened masters and 135 volumes of unique teachings; activities include empowerments, meditation retreats, monastic education, and religious ceremonies. There is no proprietary technology product, and digital presence is limited to the drikung.org informational portal.

The business model is non-commercial: all revenue derives from voluntary donations and offerings from Buddhist practitioners worldwide, accepted via bank transfers (SWIFT), cheques, and drafts. There is no pricing, no customers in the commercial sense, and no audited financial disclosures. Administrative headcount is approximately 5 corporate employees, with the broader operational base consisting of ~700 monks at a flagship monastery, ~400 nuns at Samtenling, and World Wide Center communities across Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and South America, plus affiliated entities in Taiwan and Germany. The entity operates as a religious nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise.

Recent strategic posture emphasizes formalization and institutional reach: the CIBS Drikung Gonpa School was inaugurated on 2022-10-28 in partnership with the Central Institute for Buddhist Studies, the Great Shravasti Buddhist Culture Assembly has been under development with the International Buddhist Confederation since 2015, a Hevajra commentary was published in 2021, and research collaborations have been established with the Taiwan International Tibetan Buddhism Research Association and Korean counterparts. Zimchung Kawang drew 262 disciples in 2023. These moves signal ecosystem-building around heritage preservation, academic legitimacy, and global community infrastructure rather than commercial expansion.

Name

Drikung

Legal name

The Official Website of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism

Website

https://drikung.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Drikung Kagyu Order is a Tibetan Buddhist religious organization founded in 1179 that preserves and transmits its lineage of teachings through a global network of monasteries, nunneries, retreat centers, and educational institutions, funded entirely by donations from Buddhist practitioners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Buddhist Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311)

akta.pro primary industry

Buddhist Monastic Universities & Dharma Colleges (EDAHAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI), Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine Retreats (THAGAMAF)

Keywords

• Tibetan Buddhism
• Buddhist monastery
• Monastic education
• Religious teachings
• Spiritual practice

Headquarters

HQ city

Dehradun

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Offerings: The Drikung Kagyu Institute accepts donations through bank transfers (SWIFT), cheques, and drafts. Donors can contribute to specific accounts: Drikung Kagyu Institute, Drikung Kagyu Samtenling Nunnery, Samtenling Retreat Center, Kagyu College, or Songtsen Library. Donations support temple restoration, monastic education, retreat centers, and preservation of Buddhist teachings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Drikung is the global administrative body of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, coordinating religious teachings, monastic training, and practice across an international network of affiliated monasteries and centres. It delivers Buddhist education and spiritual practice through named institutions including the Drikung Kagyu Institute, Great Shravasti Centre, Kagyu College, Samtenling Nunnery, and the Songtsen Library, under the spiritual authority of two co-equal lineage heads.

Product overview

The Drikung Kagyu Order operates primarily as a religious and spiritual organization rather than a technology product company. Its primary digital presence consists of the official website (drikung.org) which serves as an informational portal for the Tibetan Buddhist lineage. The organization also operates physical institutions including the Drikung Kagyu Institute in Dehradun, India (housing Kagyu College, Samtenling Nunnery, and Songtsen Library), and the Great Shravasti Centre in India. The website provides access to Buddhist teachings, monastery information, event schedules, and donation/support mechanisms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drikung Kagyu Order Website
• Drikung Kagyu Institute Educational arm of the Drikung Kagyu Order offering structured Buddhist study programs, practice instruction, and curriculum delivery for monks, nuns, and lay students of the lineage.
• Great Shravasti Centre Flagship monastery and teaching complex of the Drikung Kagyu Order that hosts residential training, retreats, and gatherings for monastics and lay practitioners of the lineage.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Central Institute for Buddhist Studies (CIBS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2022Union Culture Minister Meenakshi Lekhi inaugurated the CIBS Drikung Gonpa School affiliated as a branch of Central Institute for Buddhist Studies (Deemed to be University) Leh Ladakh at Drikung Kagyu Institute, Dehradun. This affiliation enables monks and nuns to receive recognized certificates and formal education through the Ministry of Culture Government of India.
• International Buddhist Confederation (IBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBC partnered with Drikung Kagyu Institute on the Great Shravasti project to develop Buddhist sites in India, working together for the revival of Buddhist heritage and culture.
• Centre for Sustainable Research and Development (CSRD), AhmedabadminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Drikung Kagyu Institute and IBC on the Great Shravasti Buddhist Culture Assembly project.
• World Citizens Organization (WCO), Seoul, KoreaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Drikung Kagyu Institute and other organizations for the development of the Great Shravasti project.
• Taiwan International Tibetan Buddhism Research AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Drikung Kagyu leadership on organizing teachings, ceremonies, and promoting Tibetan Buddhist culture in Taiwan. Hosts major events including the Zim-Chung Kawang 2023 teaching ceremony.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Shambhala International: A global Buddhist-inspired organization rooted in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages with meditation centers across North America and Europe. Comparable in operating model (donation-funded, retreat-based, global center network) but with a more secular/Western orientation than Drikung's traditional Vajrayana focus.
• International Buddhist Confederation (IBC): An umbrella body of Buddhist organizations with which Drikung partners on the Great Shravasti project. Not a direct competitor but a peer organization representing the institutional Buddhist landscape Drikung engages with, and a useful benchmark for sector scale.

Emerging players

• Rigpa International: An international Tibetan Buddhist network led by Sogyal Rinpoche (Kagyu/Nyingma) operating retreat centers, study programs, and online learning platforms globally. Comparable to Drikung in target audience (Western practitioners) but with substantially more developed digital and educational infrastructure.
• Mindrolling / Mindrolling International: A Nyingma sub-lineage with a major monastery in Dehradun (the same city as Drikung Kagyu Institute) and a smaller but active international center network. Geographically and structurally comparable as a Tibetan Buddhist order operating from Uttarakhand.

Direct peers

• Drukpa Kagyu / Drukpa Lineage: Another major Kagyu sub-school with a global network of centers, headquartered in India with strong youth-oriented outreach via the 'Live to Love' initiative. Comparable to Drikung as a Kagyu-lineage Tibetan Buddhist order with international centers and monastic education.
• Karma Kagyu / Karma Triyana Dharmachakra: The largest and most internationally prominent of the Kagyu sub-schools, sharing the same Kagyu lineage roots as Drikung but with a much larger global center network (led by the 17th Karmapa). Directly comparable as a Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist organization operating monasteries, retreat centers, and educational programs worldwide.

Regional players

• Sera Mey Monastery: One of the great Gelug monastic universities re-established in Bylakuppe, South India, housing several thousand monks with a major monastic education program. Comparable to Drikung's Kagyu College and Samtenling Nunnery in operating a large monastic education complex in India.

Broad incumbents

• Sakya Tradition: One of the four major Tibetan Buddhist schools, with a parallel diaspora structure of monasteries, nunneries, and educational institutions led by the Sakya Trizin. Comparable to Drikung in operating model (lineage-led, India HQ with global branches) but broader in doctrinal scope.
• Nyingma / Shechen Monastery: One of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, older and broader in scope than Drikung's single Kagyu lineage. Shechen operates a global center network and Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling monastery in India — closely parallel to Drikung's structure but on a larger institutional scale.
• Gelug / Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT): The largest international Tibetan Buddhist network (Gelug school, headed by the Dalai Lama), operating 160+ centers globally with extensive education programs. Comparable in structure to Drikung but vastly larger, better funded, and more digitally mature.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drikung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drikung