Tilopa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: Talika, 988 - 1069) was an Indian tantric practitioner and mahasiddha. He discovered the mahamudra process, a set of spiritual practices that greatly accelerated the process of attaining bodhi (enlightenment).

He is regarded as the human founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tilopa was born into a brahmin (priestly) caste — according to some sources a royal family — but he abandoned the monastic life upon receiving orders from a dakini (spirit) who told him to adopt a wandering existence. Tilopa settled in Bengal and produced oil out of sesame seed. During a meditation he received a vision of Buddha Vajradhara and, according to legend, the entire mahamudra was directly transmitted to Tilopa. After having received the transmission, Tilopa embarked on a wandering existence and started to teach. He appointed Naropa, his most important student, as his successor.

One of the most famous and important statements attributed to Tilopa is: "The problem is not enjoyment, the problem is attachment." Tilopa Tilopa Tilopa Tilopa Тилопа