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Milarepa

Milarepa statue, Pango Chorten, Gyantse, Tibet.

Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ, Wylie: Rje-btsunMi-la-ras-pa ), (c. 1052—c. 1135 CE) is generally considered one ofTibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a student of MarpaLotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka'-brgyud)school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Life

Born in the village of Kya Ngatsa - also known as Tsa - in Gungthangprovince of western Tibet to a prosperous family he was named MilaThöpaga (Thos-pa-dga'), which means "A joy to hear." His familyname, Josay indicates noble descent, a sept of the Khyungpo or eagleclan.[1] When his father died, Milarepa's uncle and aunt took all of thefamily's wealth. At his mother's request, Milarepa left home andstudied sorcery. While his aunt and uncle were having a party tocelebrate the impending marriage of their son, he took his revenge bysummoning a giant hail storm to demolish their house, killing 35people, although the uncle and aunt are supposed to have survived. Thevillagers were angry and set off to look for Milarepa, but his mothergot word to him and he sent a hailstorm to destroy their crops.

Many of Milarepa's deeds took place in Chokyi Dronma's homeland and his life and songs were compiled byTsangnyon Heruka, sponsored by Chokyi Dronma's brother, the Gungthang king Thri Namgyal De.[2]

Milarepa later lamented his evil ways in his older years: "In my youth I committed black deeds. In maturity Ipracticed innocence. Now, released from both good and evil, I have destroyed the root of karmic action and shallhave no reason for action in the future. To say more than this would only cause weeping and laughter. What goodwould it do to tell you? I am an old man. Leave me in peace."[3]

Supernatural runningAccording to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by French explorer Alexandra David-Néel, Milarepa boasted ofhaving “crossed in a few days, a distance which, before his training in black magic, had taken him more than amonth. He ascribes his gift to the clever control of ‘internal air’.” David-Néel comments “that at the house of the lamawho taught him black magic there lived a trapa [monk] who was fleeter than a horse” using the same skill.[4]

This esoteric skill, which is known as Lung-gom-pa ("Wind Meditation", lung = “wind,[5] gom-pa = “meditation”[6] )in Tibet, allows a practitioner to run at an extraordinary speed for days without stopping. This technique could becompared to that practiced by the Kaihigyo Monks of Mt. Hiei in Kyoto, Japan.[7]

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Tutelage under Marpa

Overlooking Pelgyeling Gompa at Milarepa'sCave, Tibet.

Knowing that his revenge was wrong, Milarepa set out to find a lamaand was led to Marpa the translator. Marpa proved a hard taskmaster.Before Marpa would teach Milarepa he had him build and thendemolish three towers in turn. When Marpa still refused to teachMilarepa he went to Marpa's wife, who took pity on him. She forged aletter of introduction to another teacher, Lama Ngogdun Chudor, underwhose tutelage he practised meditation. However when he was makingno progress, he confessed the forgery and Ngogdun Chudor said that itwas vain to hope for spiritual growth without the guru Marpa'sapproval. Milarepa returned to Marpa, and after practicing verydiligently for twelve years Milarepa attained the state of Vajradhara(complete enlightenment). He is said to be the first to achieve this state within one lifetime. He then became knownas Milarepa, which means the "Mila, the cotton clad one" (the suffix "repa" is given to many tantric yogis since theywear white robes) At the age of forty-five, he started to practice at Drakar Taso (White Rock Horse Tooth) cave -'Milarepa's Cave', as well as becoming a wandering teacher. Here, he subsisted on nettle tea, leading his skin to turngreen, hence the greenish color he is often depicted as having in paintings and sculpture.

Pyenzhangling Monastery, also known as Pelgye Ling Gompa, is a small Tibetan Buddhist monastery in a tinyvillage called Zhonggang, Tibet that is consecrated to Milarepa. It is built around the cave where he once lived. "Itwas destroyed but has now been rebuilt and decorated by Nepali artisans. This is one of many caves associated withMilarepa between Langtang and Jomolungma."[8]

Lineage

A statue of Milarepa from the Milarepa Gompa,Halambu valley, Nepal.

Milarepa is famous for many of his songs and poems, in which heexpresses the profundity of his realization of the dharma. He also hadmany disciples, male and female,[9] [10] including Rechung DorjeDrakpa (Ras-chung Rdo-rje Grags-pa) and Gampopa (Sgam-po-pa,Dhakpo Lhaje). His female disciples include Rechungma, Padarbum,Sahle Aui and Tsheringma.[11] It was Gampopa who becameMilarepa's spiritual successor, continued his lineage, and became oneof the main lineage masters in Milarepa's tradition.

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References

Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa(1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th Century,

Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan

[1] Gtsaṅ-smyon He-ru-ka (Tsangnyong Heruka Rüpägyäncän), The life of Milarepa, tr.Lobsang Phuntshok Lhalungpa, Viking Press, 1979, p.12

[2] see fn8 on page 3 (http:/ / www. digitalhimalaya. com/ collections/ journals/ ret/ pdf/ret_15_07. pdf)

[3] Milarepa - His Life (http:/ / www. kagyu-asia. com/ l_mila_life1. html)[4] David-Neel, Alexandra. Magic and Mystery in Tibet. New York: Dover

Publications, Inc., 1971 (ISBN 0-486-22682-4)[5] Lung Ta - The Wind Horse (http:/ / www. sherabling. org/ sherabling/

lung_ta_wind_horse. htm)[6] Hopkins, Jeffrey. Cultivating Compassion: A Buddhist Perspective. Broadway; 1st

ed edition, 2001 (ISBN 0-7679-0499-0)[7] The run of a lifetime (http:/ / www. runpunxsyrun. org/ marathonmonks. html)[8] Dowman, Keith. 1988. The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide.

Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & New York. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0, p. 282.[9] Women in Tibet (http:/ / books. google. de/ books?id=01jTbo8KAmsC&

pg=PA59& lpg=PA59& dq=Rechungma& source=bl& ots=BRLkoVLPHd&sig=htaJyIZhOMwn3SCbHgEEoSBwKGs& hl=de& sa=X& oi=book_result&resnum=8& ct=result#PPP1,M1)

[10] Rechungma (http:/ / books. google. de/ books?id=01jTbo8KAmsC& pg=PA59&lpg=PA59& dq=Rechungma& source=bl& ots=BRLkoVLSDa&sig=64Y2LyN9UZEFY-BYPqbcNFD7zFU& hl=de& sa=X& oi=book_result&resnum=8& ct=result)

[11] Website of Gyalwa Karmapa, see: Women Disciples of Milarepa (http:/ / www.dharmafellowship. org/ library/ essays/ women-buddhas. htm)

Further reading• The Life of Milarepa, translated by Andrew Quintman, Penguin Classics, 2010, ISBN 978-0143106227• The Life of Milarepa, translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, Book Faith India, 1997, ISBN 81-7303-046-4• Milarepa: Songs on the Spot, translated by Nicole Riggs, Dharma Cloud Press, 2003, ISBN 0-9705639-3-0• Milarepa, The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, translated by Garma C.C. Chang, City Lights Books, 1999,

ISBN 1-57062-476-3• Tibet's Great Yogī Milarepa: A Biography from the Tibetan. Edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz. 1928. Oxford

University Press. Paperback reprint 1974.• The Yogi's Joy: Songs of Milarepa Sangharakshita, Windhorse Publications, 2006, ISBN 1-899579-66-4• Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint, Wisdom Publications, ISBN

0-86171-063-0repa/10-1/mila1-0.htm Milarepa the great Tibetan saint] Dharmapala Thangka Centre, School ofThangka Painting

External links• Milarepa in the Treasury of Lives (http:/ / www. tibetanlineages. org/ biographies/ view/ 224/ 3178)• Biography on Kagyu website (http:/ / www. samye. org/ mila. htm)• The life of Milarepa (http:/ / www. milarepa. it/ e_index. htm)• Milarepa meets Padampa Sangye (http:/ / www. likeanillusion. com/ milarepa-dampa. sangye. shtml)• The Magic life of Milarepa (http:/ / sealevel. ns. ca/ milarepa/ ) in comic book form.• The sixty songs of Milarepa (http:/ / www. buddhanet. net/ pdf_file/ 60songs. pdf)• Text, The Essential Songs of Milarepa (http:/ / www. quietmountain. org/ links/ teachings/ yogi_chen/ 87. htm) in

English

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• Inviting the demon. (Milarepa, Tibetan Buddhism)(The Shadowissue) (http:/ / buddhism. lib. ntu. edu. tw/FULLTEXT/ JR-EPT/ simm. htm) Judith Simmer-Brown, Parabola Vol.22 No.2 (Summer 1997) pp. 12–18

• Movie, Milarepa, 1 of 2 (http:/ / milarepamovie. com)• Gallery of Milarepa Thangkas by Dharmapala Thangka Centre (http:/ / www. thangka. de/ Table-Mila. htm)

Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsMilarepa  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=468591447  Contributors: A Ramachandran, Andrasnm, Andres rojas22, Andy M. Wang, B9 hummingbird hovering,Betacommand, Billlion, Borgx, Borsuk, Butsuri, CFynn, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Chan Han Xiang, Choying gyurme, Dakinijones, Deror avi, Dirkrottweil, Drangon, Droll, Ekajati, Erik,Eu.stefan, FeanorStar7, Fortdj33, Gaius Cornelius, Ghostclub, Ghostexorcist, GlassFET, Helpsome, Hottentot, Htriesch, IPSOS, It's Evans-Wentz, Jakob37, Jem bac, John, John Hill, KittenKlub,LIU, LeeHunter, Lugnuts, MSJapan, Mbs0, Mhrdina, Mind meal, Moink, Nathan hill, Nishidani, Osopaja, Ott, Owlmonkey, Podzemnik, Prodigiously, Prowikipedians, Ran, Ravenswing,Redtigerxyz, Rep07, Rich Farmbrough, Roberto Cruz, S36e175, SM, Sagaraghosa, Sealevelns, Seemagoel, Sietse Snel, Stammer, Sydbeqabarrett, T-borg, Tdudkowski, Technopilgrim, Tengu800,TheNeon, Tibetologist, UncleMartin, Vision3001, Viskonsas, Vmenkov, Wismike, Xufanc, Zinc.anode, Zujine, 64 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:Milarepa, Pango Chorten, Gyantse .JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Milarepa,_Pango_Chorten,_Gyantse_.JPG  License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: John HillImage:Gompa at Milarepa's cave.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gompa_at_Milarepa's_cave.JPG  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors:Original uploader was John Hill at en.wikipediaImage:Milarepa statue.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Milarepa_statue.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5  Contributors: This photo was taken by meSarah Lionheart, I own the copyright and asked en:User:Billlion to upload it to Wikipedia. SarahLionheart 15:59, 21 March 2007 (UTC)Image:Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th Century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan.jpg  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bhutanese_painted_thanka_of_Milarepa_(1052-1135),_Late_19th-early_20th_Century,_Dhodeydrag_Gonpa,_Thimphu,_Bhutan.jpg  License:Public Domain  Contributors: Takeaway, Wmpearl, Wst

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