LIFE STORY OF MILAREPA - Credits to a portal on Milarepa.
According to a blessing Milarepa uttered towards the end of his life,
anyone who but hears the name Milarepa even once attracts an instant
blessing and will not take rebirth in a lower state of existence during
seven consecutive lifetimes. This was prophesied by Saints and Buddhas of
the past even before his lifetime. Milarepa of Tibet.Milarepa is one of the most widely known Tibetan Saints. In a superhuman effort, he rose above the miseries of his younger life and with the help of his Guru, Marpa the translator, took to a solitary life of meditation until he had achieved the
pinnacle of the enlightened state, never to be born again into the Sansara
(whirlpool of life and death) of worldly existence. Out of compassion for
humanity, he undertook the most rigid asceticism to reach the Buddhic state
of enlightenment and to pass his accomplishments on to the rest of humanity.
His spiritual lineage was passed along to his chief disciples, Gambopa and
Rechung. It was Rechung who recorded in detail the incidents of Milarepa's
life for posterity. The narrative of his life has thus been passed down
through almost a millennium of time and has become an integral part of
Tibetan culture. In addition to Rechung's narrative of his life, summarized
below, Milarepa extemporaneously composed innumerable songs throughout his
life relevant to the dramatic turns of events of himself and his disciples
in accordance with an art form that was in practice at the time. These songs
have been widely sung and studied in Tibet ever since and have been recorded
as the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. His faithful devotion, boundless
religious zeal, monumental forbearance, superhuman perseverance, and
ultimate final attainment are a great inspiration today for all. His
auspicious life illumined the Buddhist faith and brought the light of wisdom
to sentient beings everywhere.
The Life of Milarepa Milarepa was born into the family of Mila-Dorje-Senge in the year 1052. His father was a trader in
wool and had become wealthy by the standards of the time when his wife bore
a son. The son was named Thopaga which means delightful to hear, and
Thopaga, later known as Mila-repa (Mila, the cotton clad), lived up to his
name as he had a beautiful voice and charmed his companions with his
singing. The family lived in a large stone house that consisted of three
stories held in place by a large central pillar and supporting columns - a
mansion in comparison to the modest homes of his neighbors. The brother and
sister of Milarepa's father had also settled in the area along with their
families, and the clan would often congregate at the great stone house of
Mila-Dorje-Senge. The family was well to do and generous and became the
darling of all the relatives and neighbors in the area. They would often
gather at the house to enjoy feasts. The gathering of friends and neighbors
would often fawn over the small children - the young son Milarepa (then
called Thopaga), and his sister, Peta who was four years younger. During
this period the family enjoyed the admiration and attention of their
neighbors, ate only the finest food and wore nothing but fancy clothes and
jewelry. About this time the father, Mila-Dorje-Senge, became gravely ill
and accepting his impending death, called together the extended family and
made known to all that he wanted his entire estate and all possessions put
into the care of his brother and sister until such time as Milarepa had
grown and married Zesay, one of the neighboring girls who had been betrothed
to him in childhood according to the tradition of the times. After the
fathers death, however, Milarepa's greedy Aunt and Uncle who had been given
charge of the property, divided the estate between them, dispossessing
Milarepa, his mother, and sister Peta of all their worldly possessions. They
were forced to live with them in the lowest accommodations and were given
only coarse food and even made to work in the fields. Over the ensuing years
their health suffered, their clothes were rough and tattered, the heads of
the two children became invaded by lice. The mother and her two children who
had formerly been the darlings of the village, now became objects of
derision and abuse by all, who now spurned and ridiculed them. When Milarepa
reached his fifteenth year, his mother decided on a plan to recover the lost
inheritance. She scraped together whatever resources she could borrow from
neighbours and relatives and put on a feast, inviting all who had been
present when her husband had died and made known his last wishes. As the
assembled neighbors and relatives were feasting and drinking large cups of
chang (fermented barley), she stood up and recounted all that her husband
had said on his deathbed, reminding her husband's brother and sister that
they were to be only caretakers of the estate. Now that Milarepa had
attained his majority, she requested that all the property be restored to
them.But the greedy Aunt and Uncle now claimed that they had been the
original owners and had only loaned the property to the Mila-Dorje-Senge
family and thus, Milarapa and his mother had no real claim on the property.
The aunt and uncle now began indignantly slapping Milarepa's mother and the
two children, calling them ungrateful wretches to act thus after accepting
the charity of living with them and eating their food. Thus they drove them
out of the large stone house to let the mother and children fend for
themselves. Some of the relatives and neighbours were sympathetic to
Milarepa's family, but they were not sufficient in strength or numbers to
oppose the clan of the Aunt and Uncle. And so it happened that the three
were turned out of their own house. After that they lived meagerly,
supported by the relatives of Milarepa's mother and charity from Zesay's
family. The three were forced to work hard, exchanging their labor for a bit
of food or a scrap of clothing. During this time they found no joy in their
lives whatsoever. One day Milarepa happened to be singing loudly, proud of
his voice, when his mother overheard him and was stung to the quick by his
unseemly outburst of happiness. She immediately berated him for his
transgression in the face of the relentless misery of their existence. She
thought over the situation and decided to take action. She wanted him to
learn the black arts of sorcery in order to wreak vengeance on their
enemies, the greedy Aunt and Uncle. Milarepa agreed that he would apply
himself under a good teacher if his mother provided him with fees for the
apprenticeship and living expenses. In order to do so, She sold half of the
small plot of property that had belonged to her side of the family before
her marriage and sent Milarapa off with money. Before he took her leave she
very solemnly told him that she would kill herself in his very presence if
he returned without having learned sufficient magic to be able to wreak some
havoc on their enemies. Milarepa traveled a distance away to a Lama who was
known about the countryside as one who was proficient in the black arts.
Along with some other young apprentices, Milarepa spent nearly a year
learning mostly ineffectual magic rites with high sounding titles. At the
end of the year, the pupils were sent off and told that if they applied
themselves diligently they would succeed in their quest. Milarepa
accompanied his companions for a time as they took their leave but then
turned back to the Lama's house. Along the way, he collected a quantity of
manure and dug a hole and buried it in the Lama's garden as a small gift to
his teacher. The Lama observed this from his roof, and is said to have
remarked that he had never had a pupil more affectionate and industrious as
the young lad Milarepa was. The latter, went in to the Lama's presence and
told him of his mother's vow to kill herself in his presence if he didn't
learn some real magic. He then recounted his tale of woe in all its detail
to the Lama who was greatly saddened by the story. The Lama decided to
confer some real power on Milarepa but he wanted to make sure that the magic
would not be used unjustly so he sent a fleet disciple to Milarepa's
homeland to find out if the tale was true. On the disciples return, he
agreed to show him the true and potent rituals for invoking the Tutelary
deities to take revenge. Milarepa absorbed all the teachings thoroughly and
carefully carried out the prescribed ritual for 14 days. At the end of the
ritual the Tutelary deities appeared to him in a vision with the bloody
heads and hearts of 35 of the relatives who had most ill-treated him. The
Lama informed him that two of the guilty ones had been missed and asked
Milarepa if he wanted their lives as well. He replied that he wanted them to
be spared as witnesses to the power of his magic. Thus it came to pass that
his two very worst enemies, the greedy Aunt and Uncle were spared from harm.
From a phenomenal aspect, the sorcery took the form of a disaster that
occurred at the family wedding. All the relatives and friends who had been
most offensive to him had gathered at the great stone house to celebrate the
wedding. There was a big commotion outside and some of the horses kept in
the yard started kicking and running about violently agitated, until one of
them ran into the main supporting column of the three story house with such
force that the entire house came crashing down on the wedding party with
tremendous noise and force killing everyone inside except for the Aunt and
Uncle. All this was observed by some of those sympathetic to the Milarepa
family who were just approaching the house. Milarepa's mother quickly
learned of the catastrophe and was ecstatic with cruel joy. She came
gloating over the destruction that her son had caused telling everyone what
joy her son had brought to her aging heart by causing so much death and
destruction. The relatives of the dead were quite upset at the tragedy and
more so to learn of her gloating. They talked it over but were divided on
whether to get together and kill her in revenge, or to go after her son
Milarepa, who had directly caused the destruction. After due consideration
they decided to find and kill the son. Soon word of their plans got back to
the mother so she sent a message to her son, along with several gold pieces
she got from selling the remaining half of her plot of land. In the note she
described her joy at his success and requested him now to launch a powerful
hail storm on the area, ruining the crops of their enemies and striking fear
into their hearts so as to prevent further retaliation. Milarepa received
the note from the pilgrim courier and gave the gold pieces over to the
Sorcerer-Lama, requesting him to teach him the art of launching hail storms.
Armed with his new magic, Milarepa traveled incognito back to his homeland
and set up his ritualistic site on a hillside overlooking the valley of his
homeland below. He began his incantations and soon dark clouds began to
gather and then a succession of three powerful hail storms utterly ruined
the entire barley crop of that year, a crop that had promised to be one of
the heaviest in years. After the destruction, Milarepa retreated to a cave
in the hillside to escape the cold wind and lit a fire for warmth. After a
few hours he heard some of his former neighbors walking by the cave he had
taken refuge in. They had guessed who was responsible for this fresh mischief
and were immensely angered by the all destruction he had caused, first to
the 35 people killed in the wedding party, and now to the season's rich
harvest of barley - utterly laid waste. The men were talking amongst
themselves, saying as they walked past the cave that if Milarapa fell into
their hands at that very moment, their vengeance could hardly be satisfied
by chopping his body into tiny bits; such was their anger. At that instant
one of them spotted the fire and guessed that it was Milarepa himself taking
refuge in the cave. They hurried quickly and quietly away to go gather a
party to go after him. Meanwhile as soon as they had left, Milarepa made
good his escape and journeyed back to the Sorcerer-Lama. The Lama
congratulated Milarepa on his success but by now Milarapa was deeply
repenting all the evil deeds his mother had urged him to commit. He longed
for religion and wanted to be delivered from committing further evil acts.
He worried greatly over the heavy debts of karma he had incurred through his
evil actions and could think of nothing else. He wanted to ask the Lama Guru
for religious instruction but didn't have the nerve to broach the subject so
he stayed on, faithfully serving the Lama and waiting for an opportune
moment to bring up the subject of his salvation. The Lama now was called
away to attend to one of his followers who had died after a short illness.
The Lama returned lamenting that such an excellent man in the prime of his
life had died so suddenly. He spoke on the transitoriness of life and the
misery of this earthly existence and then started ruminating over his own
life. He had spent his entire life up to that point practicing the art of
dealing death and destruction and teaching those same black arts to many
others. By doing so he had to take at least a portion of the karmic
responsibility for all the evil acts that had come out of it. In his mood of
deep remorse, he urged Milarepa to go and seek out a teacher of the Holy
Dharma and at least deliver himself and maybe even the Lama into a higher
state of existence in a future life. This was precisely the opportunity
Milare pa had been waiting for. He prayed to be allowed to take to the
religious life and his teacher readily agreed, giving him gifts and a letter
of introduction to a well known Lama versed in a doctrine called "The Great
Perfection". Milarepa went to the Lama and requested to be taught. The Lama
gave him some meditation instructions and told him to go practice but after
a few days, the Lama had an insight that he was not the proper teacher for
Milarepa, so he sent him on to a very learned Lama he knew of, named "Marpa
the Translator". Marpa was known widely among other religious centers for
his trips to India to procure sacred teachings which he had brought back to
Tibet in large of scrolls. Marpa had been initiated by the famed Naropa, a
powerful Saint who had fully transferred his exalted state of enlightenment
to his disciple Marpa.Naropa, Guru of Marpa 1016 - 1100 AD.He gained
enlightenment under Tilopa. Tilopa is believed to have been an incarnation
of Amitabha - the B uddha of Boundless Light. When Milarepa first heard the
Lama utter the name "Marpa", he felt a thrill go through his body. Suddenly
all his hairs stood on end and tears of joy started flowing from his eyes.
He set out thinking of nothing else but the moment he would finally set eyes
on his new guru. Meanwhile, the day before Milarepa arrived, Marpa the
Translator had a dream in which his own Guru, the Great Saint Naropa
appeared to him and gave him a five pointed dorje (sceptre) made of the
precious gem lapis lazuli. The dorje, however, was slightly tarnished and
Naropa urged him to wash the dirt off with an elixir of holy water from a
golden pot until it shone in splendour and then to raise it up upon a Banner
of Victory. In his dream Marpa saw that the dorje, once polished and raised
up emitted a brilliant radiance that shone on all the sentient beings in the
six Lokas (the physical and spiritual realms or worlds). In his dream, the
spectacle of the radiant dorje was blessed with the benedictions of the
Victorious Ones (previous humanity who had passed into the state of
Buddhahood, or enlightenment). Marpa was a member of the Kargyutpa sect and
one of the specialties of the lineage was to divine future events through
the reading of omens. From the dream he knew that a momentous meeting with
his chief disciple was about to take place and that his task was to expiate
some evil karma by which the disciple had been tarnished and then to bring
him to the state of enlightenment. Marpa left his house telling his wife
Damema that he was going to plow his field that day, a thing he had never
done before. Marpa walked down the road a ways and kept busy at the plowing
until he spied Milarepa coming up the road towards him. As soon as Milarepa
approached and laid eyes on the Lama Marpa, an inexpressible bliss gripped
him and for a few moments he lost consciousness of his surroundings swept up
in an ecstatic state. As soon as he had recovered he addressed Marpa as
Reverend Sir and asked him where he might find the faithful disciple of the
famous saint Naropa who was called Marpa the translator. Milarepa added that
he wanted to learn the True Doctrine by which he might obtain deliverance in
one single lifetime. At this Marpa was inwardly pleased but he showed no
emotion and only said that he would procure an introduction to the Lama
Marpa if only Milarepa would finish the task of plowing the field. Marpa
offered Milarepa some chang (barley beverage) as refreshment. Milarepa
thanked him and drank the entire quantity of chang offered. Milarepa then
plowed the field with enthusiasm and even when one of the disciples came to
call him to the Lama's presence, Milarepa asked him to wait until he had
finished plowing the field thoroughly and completely as requested by Marpa.
Marpa took these two omens as signs of his new disciple's thoroughness and
willingness to work towards the spiritual goal.After that initial meeting
began a period during which Marpa held out the goal of spiritual instruction
and kept Milarepa busy at strenuous physical labours building various stone
edifices. By nature Marpa was outwardly a rough and tyrannical teacher but
inwardly he was all love and compassion. By the previous omens and
Milarepa's recounting of his evil deeds, Marpa knew there was a great deal
of evil karma to be worked out so he pretended to be always short tempered
and demanding with the sincere and faithful lad. He had Milarepa build a
stone structure on a high rocky ridge only to have him tear it down again,
and take all the rocks and boulders back to where they were found, telling
him he had changed his plans and now wanted a new structure built in another
place. This was repeated on three different ridges until finally he had
Milarepa build a grand many storied edifice on yet a forthridge. Throughout
the tasks, Milarepa never lost faith that he would receive the instructions
he was looking for and put forth a Herculean effort, moving stones that
ordinarily could only be moved by the combined strength of three men. He put
forth such strenuous effort that he wore his body out until his back was one
great sore from carrying rocks and mortar. His arms and legs were all
cracked and bruised. Yet he continued working on, every day hoping at last
to be favored with some religious instruction. Out of sympathy with his
wounds, Marpa showed him how to pad his back and allowed him to rest while
his body healed, but never did he allow Milarepa to avoid any of the
building work that he had set out for him to complete. Milarepa's Guru,
Marpa the Translator of Lhobhrak1012-1096 AD Marpa made the dangerous trek
to India three times during his life, each time taking back esoteric Tantric
and other teachings which he translated into the Tibetan Language During the
years when all this building was going on, Marpa continued giving
instruction to his other students. On several different occasions, various
individuals among the disciples underwent initiations to receive the sacred
instructions and Milarepa would try to join them but the Lama would drive
him away with angry shouts and fierce beatings, causing him great mental
distress. Each time Milarepa would be plunged into deep despair thinking
that Marpa's actions were due only to the evil he had previously done.
Sometimes Milarepa considered taking drastic action but each time he was on
the verge of either taking his own life or running away, Marpa's wife,
Damema, would give him sympathy and comfort, telling him the Lama would
surely soon favor him with some instruction. Soon another opportunity for
instruction presented itself with the grand initiation of some disciples
into the Mandala rite of Gaypa Dorje'. Marpa's wife Damema secretly gave a
rare colored turquoise which had been in her family to Milarepa as an
offering of the initiation fee and then urged him to take his place once
again with the other participants to the initiation. When the time came for
the ceremony, Marpa approached Milarepa, carefully examined the turquoise
and asked him how he came to possess it. Milarepa had to confess that the
Reverend Mother (Damema) had given it to him. In reply Marpa merely told him
that if he had anything of his own to offer he could stay. Thinking that
maybe the Lama would soften and allow him to take initiation, Milarepa
stayed on a while and waited. But this only made Marpa furious (at least
outwardly) and he threw young Milarepa to the ground with great force and
made as if to beat him with a stick. At this the young lad felt as if his
heart was breaking, and weeping openly he left the house. The next day the
Lama summoned him and asked him if his refusal to confer initiation on him
had shaken his faith. Milarepa replied that he only considered that it was
the result of his own evil deeds which had prevented him from taking his
place in the ceremony, whereupon he burst into tears anew. At this, the Lama
ordered him out in an angry voice, asking him how he dared try to blame the
Lama for this by his weeping so in his presence. Again Milarepa was sunk
into the utmost despair feeling as if his heart were being torn out.
Milarepa went off by himself and thinking things over he concluded that the
Lama never would confer on him the spiritual truths he was seeking and that
he would have to seek them elsewhere. So he sought out Damema and told her
of his plans to find another Guru. She reluctantly agreed that it appeared
the Lama never would give him any instruction. Therefore she gave him some
relics of Marpa's Guru Naropa as a gift and sent him off to another highly
developed Lama, Ngogpa, who was of the same sect as Marpa. She wrote a note
asking Lama Ngogpa to teach Milarepa some religious instructions and then
sealed the note with Marpa's own seal. After a short journey to the Lama's
monastery, Milarepa arrived just as Lama Ngogpa had reached an auspicious
point in a lecture to a large number of his pupils. He was reading: "I am
the Expounder and I am the Truth. I am the Teacher of the World. I am the
Being who has passed beyond all states of worldly existence. I am the
Blissful one." Just as he said these words, he looked up to see Milarepa
prostrating before him in salutation. The Lama took this simple sign as an
omen that Milarepa would one day become a master of all religious lore. As
soon as Milarepa presented the Lama with Naropa's sacred relics and the note
requesting instruction, the Lama was overjoyed to be so favored with such
auspicious gifts and he then ordered a great celebration. Lama Ngogpa had
heard about the Great Sorcerer (as Milarepa was called) staying with Marpa
and had thought about sending for him. The Lama explained to Milarepa that
many of his pupils had been waylaid and robbed of their meager possessions
and supplies by the lawless inhabitants of one of the nearby provinces as
they journeyed to and from the lamasery. He therefore dispatched Milarepa to
launch a powerful hailstorm on the area. He promised Milarepa that as soon
as this was accomplished, he would give him the instructions he sought. Now,
Milarepa bitterly repented his fate that instead of getting religious
instruction, he was now being asked to commit still more evil acts. But he
saw no way he could refuse so he set out for the province and set up his
apparatus on a hillside and began the rites. Soon a large and violent storm
gathered and let loose huge quantities of rain and hail. After the storm had
passed he saw that the fields of grain had all been wasted, the hills around
were deeply cut by ravines, and many of the domestic animals of the
residents as well as even birds, rats, and other animals had perished in the
storm. Finding a shepherd who had lost his entire flock, Milarepa made known
to him that the people of the province had better refrain from robbing the
religious pilgrims passing through the area or risk having more disastrous
hail storms visited upon them. On hearing of this the people were profoundly
impressed with the power of Lama Ngogpa and not only refrained from robbing
the pilgrims in the future, but many of them became devoted followers and
faithfully served him. Milarepa returned to the Lama in despair bewailing
the fact that he came to the Lama searching for religious teaching but
instead had been required to heap up even more sin. The Lama comforted him
by telling him that all that had perished in the flood would in future times
become themselves pupils on the path to Buddhahood. Lama Ngogpa now
fulfilled his promise to Milarepa and initiated him into the sacred rite of
the Mandala of Gaypa Dorje. Milarepa was then conducted to a solitary cave
where he was walled up inside of it with a stone wall held in place with mud
as mortar. Now he was to commence his meditation practices. A small aperture
was left for handing in food and water. Milarepa followed the Lama's
meditation instructions with great zeal but despite a prodigious effort on
his part, he failed utterly to experience any kind of spiritual development.
After a while the Lama came to him and asked him if he had experienced such
and such to which Milarepa replied in the negative. The Lama was greatly
puzzled as even the least advanced pupil should have had at least some
measure of experiences by that point. Milarepa was inwardly alarmed by this
and guessed that it was because he did not have Marpa's blessings. He was
afraid to say anything though, so he kept quiet and the Lama directed him to
continue with his practices. At about this time, Lama Ngogpa received
summons from Marpa to join him for a great religious event. The letter also
stated that Lama Ngogpa should return the "wicked person" who had taken
refuge with him. The Lama went to Milarepa's cave and read the letter to
him. At this Milarepa confessed that indeed, it was not Marpa that had sent
him there for instruction, but his wife, the Reverend Mother Damema. The
Lama then stated that in that case, they had been engaged in totally
profitless work. Lama Ngogpa now collected all his pupils and taking a large
number of objects and all his livestock as offerings in the ceremony, they
proceeded to the residence of Marpa. When they were a short distance away,
Lama Ngogpa sent Milarapa ahead to inform Marpa that they were near so that
he could send some disciples back with refreshments (according to Tibetan
custom). Milarepa hurried to Marpa's residence and first encountered Damema.
They greeted one another with great joy like reunited mother and son. She
then told him to go inside and pay his respects to Marpa. Marpa was on the
top floor of the house and when Milarepa approached from one direction,
Marpa turned in another. Milarepa approached him again and Marpa turned back
in yet another direction. Then Milarepa informed him that though he was
unwilling to accept his own obeisance, Marpa should at least prepare a
reception for Lama Ngogpa's party who was now only a short distance away.
Marpa became enraged at this and replied that when he himself had returned
from India with a load of precious teachings, not even as much as a lame
bird hopped out to greet him. At this Milarepa left to find Damema. The two,
along with some of Marpa's disciples went back with a quantity of chang to
greet Lama Ngogpa's party. Once the entire group had assembled, the
religious consecration of the completed residence of Marpa's son was carried
out. Then a few days later, Marpa conferred on Lama Ngogpa the final ear
whispered teaching that he lacked - the Short Cut of the Immutable Path -
through which it is possible to attain to Nirvana in a single lifetime.
After this Marpa put on a great feast, including his own disciples and all
those who had assembled there from far distant locations. During the feast,
Marpa sat looking fiercely at Lama Ngogpa and suddenly pointing an accusing
finger at him and glancing at his long staff he had by his side, he demanded
that the Lama account for his inexcusable behaviour in granting teachings to
the wicked and evil Milarepa. The Lama was terrified and replied to him that
he had only carried out the instructions that Marpa himself had written in
his letter, signed with his own seal and accompanied by the relics of Saint
Naropa to show their authenticity. Marpa then turned on Milarepa and
demanded to know where he got the relics of Naropa to give to the Lama.
Milarepa shrunk in terror and felt his soul within sinking. He quickly
passed from a state of extreme terror to one of extreme anguish, feeling
once again as if his heart were being torn out. He began trembling and could
scarcely talk for his terror. He felt compelled to inform Marpa that the
Reverend Mother Damema had sent him to the Lama with the note and the relics
of Naropa. At this Marpa turned fiercely to Damema to accuse her, but
anticipating just such an event, she had already escaped the room and went
into the chapel, barring the door behind her. Marpa then demanded that Lama
Ngogpa return to his monastery and bring back the garlands and rosary of
rubies that had once belonged to the great saint Naropa. The Lama left
immediately to do so and encountered Milarepa outside who had also made his
escape when the Reverend Mother had run out of the room. Milarepa was in a
corner weeping from the deepest depths of despair and he asked the Lama to
please ensure that he would get a proper birth in his next life with a
chance to attain enlightenment. He explained that because of all the evil
deeds he had committed he had not only had made himself suffer but had also
involved the Lama and the Reverend Mother in his suffering. He had now lost
all hope of attaining teachings in this life and in his despair, planned to
take his own life on the spot. The Lama himself burst into tears at this and
pleaded with Milarepa not to take his own life. He informed him that the
Mystic Doctrine held that all the various bodily principles and faculties
are divine and that to prematurely end the present life before it's natural
period of dissolution was the greatest sin of all incurring the severest of
punishments. Then Lama Ngogpa sought to comfort Milarepa as did many of the
disciples who joined in to offer their own sympathies. But Milarepa remained
in deep despair, bitterly repenting the black deeds he had previously
committed that were now producing all his present suffering. Meanwhile, all
the anger seemed to drain out of Marpa and he became calm and mild and asked
one of his disciples to go and bring Lama Ngogpa, Damema, and Milarepa back
into his presence, but this made Milarepa even more despondent. He envied
the others, called back to Marpa's presence, but as for himself, he knew
that his teacher would only show fresh displeasure at him if he returned
with the others. So he remained there still weeping with despair and Lama
Ngogpa remained with him to soothe him and make sure he didn't do anything
rash. Marpa now sent Damema to request Milarepa to return saying that he was
now to be the honored guest. Damema went to him smiling broadly and told him
that it appeared that Lama Marpa was now really going to favor him with some
teaching. Milarepa very much doubted that this could be so but nonetheless
returned with the others and all took their seats around Marpa. Now, Marpa
made a detailed recounting of all that had occurred from the time he first
met his worthy disciple. He first said that he had set Milarepa at hard
labor building various edifices to help absolve him of his sins. His own
anger, he said was not common anger, but spiritual or religious anger and it
had as its aim to incite repentance and contribute to the spiritual
development of the recipient. If he had had the chance of plunging his
spiritual son (Milarepa) into abject despair nine times he would have been
able to cleanse him completely of all his sins. But owing to the misplaced
pity and narrow understanding of his wife Damema, who had interfered with
his plans, he was only able to do this eight times. However, the sufferings
that Milarepa had undergone had cleansed him of his major sins and his other
chastenings had cleansed him of most of his minor sins leaving him with only
a residual amount of demerit to be worked off. Now,Marpa announced that he
was going to finally confer on Milarepa those initiations and teachings of
his sect that bring liberation in a single lifetime and then he planned to
shut him up in a cave to begin his meditations. Milarepa was not sure if he
was dreaming or awake but if dreaming he wished the dream to continue and
began to weep, not out of misery, but for the pure inexpressible joy that
was now possessing his soul. He made obeisance to the guru Marpa and all
those present admired Marpa for his stern and inflexible will while
chastening Milarepa, and for his wisdom and mercy in working out his
salvation. All were now beaming and smiling as they partook of the
sacrificial cakes. The next day, Marpa erected the Demchog Mandala and
through mantras, invoked the presence of the deities who presided over the
succession of gurus in the Kargyutpa Sect of which Marpa was now the current
youngest lineage holder. Milarepa now had the vision of the presiding
tutelary deities invoked by the Mandala, thus receiving their benediction on
his initiation. Then Marpa gave him instruction in the methods of meditation
and explained the meanings of all the omens and events that had occurred
since the initial meeting of the two. He told Milarepa that he in his turn
would have disciples full of faith, intelligence, and energy, owing to his
own patience, faith and acceptance in all the trials he had undergone during
his cleansing period. Now, Milarepa began his meditation training. Marpa shut
him up in a cave with a supply of provisions. Milarepa used to start his
meditations each day by putting a lighted lamp on his head. He would
continue meditating until the Lamp went out. After eleven months of this
Marpa and Damema came to take him out of isolation and assess his Progress.
Milarepa was reluctant to take a break from his meditations because of the
great progress he was making but he followed his Guru's dictates. Marpa now
asked him what understandings he had obtained from his Meditations. Milarepa
first sang a song which he extemporaneously composed honoring his Guru and his wife and the teachings he had been given. In his song he requested that
Marpa remain in the world until "The Whirling Pool of Being is emptied".
After that he summarized his realizations. After the recounting, Marpa was
exceedingly pleased and told Milarepa that he had expected much but that his
expectations had all been exceeded. Milarepa was then allowed to go back to
the cave for more meditation. By now Marpa was getting on in years. Since he
began teaching Milarepa, he had made two more trips to India to visit his
Guru Naropa and receive the final texts he had not brought back in his
earlier trips. Marpa now called together all his chief Lamas and disciples,
including Milarepa, and gave to each those mystics texts that would be most
valuable according to each person's line of development. Each also received
some relic that had belonged to Naropa. To Milarepa was given the teaching
of Tum-mo in which the ascending and descending flows along the spinal
column are united to produce the vital heat so necessary for meditation in
the cold and solitary caves of the Himalayas. Then all returned to their own
province except Milarepa who continued for several more years of meditation
in a cave under the direction of Marpa. Usually Milarepa never slept but
meditated continuously, however one particular day he had slept for a long
time and had a vivid dream wherein he saw the house he had lived in as a
child all in ruins. He saw his sacred books within the fallen house being
wasted by rain water, his old mother had died, and his sister was roving
about the countryside with no attachments and no friends. In his dream he
was weeping with great sadness and longing for his mother and sister and he
woke up feeling very sad. He tried again to meditate but could not shed his
sadness; instead the feeling grew stronger and stronger until he vowed to
himself to go out into the world and try to find his family. So he pulled
down the rock wall and went to see his guru Marpa. As he entered Marpa's
quarters he found him asleep with the rising sun just lighting his head like
a halo. Just at that moment, Damema came in with his morning meal. Marpa
awoke, alarmed to find Milarepa had left his cave retreat. Milarepa
explained that he was overcome with sadness thinking of his beloved mother
and sister he had left behind many years ago. He explained to Marpa his
great longing to see them once more. Although Marpa felt there was little
chance in finding the mother alive and little merit in making the search, he
agreed to allow him to go. But, he warned, the fact that Milarepa had
entered his quarters and found him asleep was an omen that they would not
see each other alive again in this life. Marpa was much grieved at heart
thinking he would not again see his spiritual son alive but knowing this was
the way of all the perishable things of the world, he requested Damema to
deck the alter with offerings for their parting ceremony. He then gave
Milarepa the final and highest initiation as well as the sacred
ear-whispered tantric doctrines. These doctrines he gave only to Milarepa,
among all his disciples. He charged Milarepa in his turn to hand them down
to his most worthy disciple and so on for thirteen generations. Then in a
final ceremony with the entire assembly of Lamas and disciples, Marpa
occultly manifested himself in the forms of Gaypa Dorje and other of the
tutelary divinities of the Kargyutpa sect and also other divine shapes and
forms along with the various symbols associated with each deity such as
bells, gems, lotuses, swords, etc. He then explained that these were various
psycho-physical powers obtained after enlightenment and that they should
never be manifested for an unworthy cause. This was his parting gift to
Milarepa, and this, his spiritual son, greatly exalted in his heart to see
that his Guru Marpa was veritably a Buddha himself. He vowed that he himself
would gain such powers and show them in his turn to his own disciples. Marpa
then told him that he could now depart since he had demonstrated the mirage
like nature of all existing things. He instructed Milarepa to meditate in
various caves made holy by previous saints in the locale of Mount Kailas,
Lapchi Kang (Mt. Everest), and other sanctified places. He then gave to
Milarepa a sealed scroll that was to be opened only on dire threat of
imminent death. With great sadness, knowing they would not meet again in the
present life, Milarepa took leave of his beloved Spiritual Father and Mother
with the thought that they would all meet again in the celestial realms. He
journeyed quickly to his homeland, crossing several high and dangerous
mountain passes to get there. When he arrived he found things just as he had
seen in his dream. His mother had died, his house was in ruins and all the
neighbours were afraid to go near it thinking it was inhabited by evil ghosts.
His sister wandered homeless, none knew where. His field was choked with
weeds. He entered the ruin that was his house and found a mound with grass
growing thickly over it. Moving the dirt he found the bones of what he knew
to be his mother. He had the unbearable thought that he would never see his
mother again and a deep sadness gripped his soul. He wept bitterly in his
loneliness. Remembering his Guru's teachings on the transient nature of
reality, he laid down using the mound as a pillow and entered into deep
meditation. He soon passed over into the samadhi state in which he remained
for seven days. On returning to normal consciousness, he reflected that the
world now had nothing left to tempt him or bind him to it. He vowed again
and again to himself that the life of solitary meditation was the only path
for him. Exchanging his house and land for some food, he left forever his
former homeland and proceeded to the Draktar-Taso Cave, the first of many
caves he was to inhabit over the remainder of his life. There he settled in
the spacious comfortable cave, not even sleeping, but meditating
continuously except for a single break once a day to prepare a meal of flour
and water mixed with whatever root or edible he might find. At about his
time Milarepa gained proficiency in the yogic power of Tum-mo, the
generation of the Ecstatic Internal Warmth, in which the body generates a
great deal of heat. This allowed him to stay relatively warm through the
cold Tibetan winters with nothing but a thin cotton covering whereas most
people had to wear thick wool and leather hides. For this reason he came to
be called Mila - repa or Mila the cotton clad. His daily routine of
meditation continued for four years until his supply of flour ran out. This
caused him great concern because he had vowed to himself not to return to
the world for any reason - but with no food, he was afraid he might die
without having attained liberation. He decided to walk about outside the
cave in search of some kind of food. Not far from the cave he found a sunny
spot with springs of fresh water, an expansive view of the area, with a
large quantity of nettles growing all about. He made a soup of nettle broth
and found it to be somewhat palatabl.This was now to become his sole
source of food for some time to come. He continued his meditations on his
new diet, but without any nurturing food, his body soon became emaciated and
the hair on his body began to take on a greenish tinge from the nettles. He
became very weak and often thought of opening the scroll that Marpa had
given him for a time of dire need. But he continued to make progress in his
meditations. About this time some hunters chanced to be in the area after
failing to find game. When they first laid eyes on Milarepa's pale green
form, they fled in terror thinking he was not a man but some kind of evil
spirit. But on assuring them he was indeed a human like themselves they lost
their fear of him. They demanded that Milarepa share some of his provisions
with them as they were out of food but Milarepa told them he had none to
share. They did not believe him, so they searched the area and not finding
any began to ill treat him. Three of them picked him up several times and
dropped him causing him great pain but in his misery he only pitied them and
shed tears thinking of the evil karma they were creating for themselves. The
fourth hunter entreated the others to stop ill treating him and leave him
alone as he did indeed seem to be a real lama for showing such forbearance
over his ill treatment. Before leaving, the fourth man requested Milarepa to
remember him in his prayers since the man had done nothing to offend him,
and then the group of them left, laughing boisterously. Later Milarepa
learned that divine retribution had overtaken them as they were arrested by
the Governor of the province. The leader was killed and all but the fourth
man, who had restrained the others from harming Milarepa, had their eyes put
out. The meditation continued and Milarepa grew even thinner. The hair on
his body took on a more greenish colour. Again,some hunters chanced upon his
cave and also wanted provisions but seeing that he was living only on
nettles, they left him the remainder of their own provisions and a large
quantity of meat. Milarepa was very grateful to have some real food and he
began to take some daily. The food gave him a sense of bodily comfort and
spiritual zeal which he had not experienced in a long time and his
meditations took on a new intensity. But eventually the food ran out and
once again he fell back on his nettle broth for sustenance. Several more
years passed in this way and Milarepa's long lost sister Peta heard tales
from hunters that had stumbled across his camp. They informed her that her
brother was there and looked on the verge of death from starvation. She was
amazed to hear even that he was alive and took the news to Zesay, who had
been betrothed to Milarepa in childhood. Between the two they agreed that
the sister should first go to see him and find out if the rumors were true
Approaching the cave, Peta was horrified to see the emaciated green body of
her brother, with protruding bones and eyes sunk in his skull. At first she
took it to be some strange being or ghost but recognizing her brother's
voice, she ran to him crying and bewailing their fate. She expressed to him
that they two were the most luckless people in the whole world. At this
Milarepa explained that rather he was the most fortunate person in the world
because he had attained to transcendent knowledge and Bodhi mind (the
internal vision of a Buddha). But his sister felt he was only deluding
himself. Peta had brought provisions and a supply of chang and after
partaking of some food his mood was greatly elevated. However when he tried
to meditate afterwards his mind was filled with a mix of pious and impious
thoughts and he was unable to concentrate. A few days later both the sister,
Peta, and his betrothed, Zesay, came to visit him bringing cured meat,
flour, butter, and chang. They chanced to come upon him when he was out
getting water and he had absolutely no clothes on since his wearing cloth
had fallen into tattered pieces over the years. His sister told him that no
matter how she regarded him he seemed not to be in any way a sane person.
They both urged him to at least go out begging for supplies on occasion.
Then they went to get some cloth to cover his body with. But Milarepa felt
that the hour of death was uncertain. His Guru had told him that his only
avenue of success in this life was through continued meditation. He himself
was afraid that if he didn't reach enlightenment in this very life, he would
be reborn in a lower state due to the evil he had committed early in life,
and so he ignored their advice and persevered in his meditation. He finished
the chang that Peta had brought and was eating well from the food left by
Zesay but he found that his mind was now disturbed and his body was
experiencing various pains. No matter how hard he tried to meditate he could
no longer enter the samadhi state. Feeling there was no greater danger than
not being able to continue with his meditations, he opened the scroll that
Marpa had given him for just such a time of dire emergency. In the scroll he
found the exact instructions needed for treating the present emergency and
he immediately put the instructions into effect with the result that his
meditations now increased as never before because of the healthy food he was
now eating. The knot of the central spinal column along which the psychic
energy flows was now cleared at the plexus (i.e. chakra center) below the
naval and the psychic energy current rose up his spine in its fullness. He
now experienced a supersensuous calmness and clearness that far exceeded in
its ecstatic intensity any of the states he had previously reached. He
attained to new heights of realization in which he saw that the highest
state of Nirvana and the ordinary state of Samsaric consciousness were but
opposite and inseparable states resting on the base of the Voidness of
universal or Supra mundane Mind (ie Ultimate Awareness). In his new
realization he could clearly see that the sansaric or phenomenal existence
results when the Universal Mind is directed along the path of self centered
and self oriented awareness, and that the Nirvanic state of transcendence
results when it is directed on the path of selfless or altruistic awareness.
Milarepa Manifesting Occult Powers greatly encouraged by this new development,
Milarepa redoubled his zeal and began to develop the siddhis or yogic powers
that accompany full enlightenment. His production of the inner vital heat
also developed fully so that he could easily sit amongst the frozen snows
and melt the ice into water. A few of the people he had encountered now,
knew about his siddhis (psychic powers) and so Milarepa determined to go to
even more isolated caves to prevent a steady flow of people coming to him
with selfish aims. As he was about to leave the area, his sister Peta came
once again bringing him some cloth for him to fasten into a garment for his
naked body. She remained a while and he tried to talk her into taking to a
life of meditation with him. But the very thought was repugnant to her and
she saw only his great deprivation. To her, he was the most miserable person
on the earth and she felt that even though she had to beg for her own food
and clothes, her life was far better than his. She tried to talk him into
becoming a lama of the people so that they might bring him offerings in
return for religious blessings. Milarepa saw that he would not be able to
convert her to a religious outlook so he atleast explained to her the
doctrine of karma (i.e. the law of retribution) so that she would at least
refrain from incurring any fresh debts from harmful actions. While Peta was
visiting, their evil aunt arrived, the aunt who had started the entire chain
of events so many years back by seizing the property of Milarepa's widowed
mother. Peta saw her approaching and tried to prevent her from reaching the
cave by withdrawing the bridge that spanned the chasm to the other side, but
the Aunt pleaded to be heard. Her brother, the evil Uncle who had conspired
with her, had died, and she now deeply repented all she had done and so she
had brought a yak load of supplies and found Milarepa by asking about in the
villages until she was told a wandering monk resembling a green caterpillar
had indeed been through the area. Milarepa finally agreed, although
reluctantly, to talk to her and he delivered several religious discourses to
her reminding her of all the sufferings and misery she had inflicted on
them. In her state of misery, the aunt took his teachings to heart and went
on her way having been converted to a path that would confer eventual
liberation. The sister Peta now also took her leave, having her mind
somewhat turned to religion. Milarepa now removed to Lapchi-Kang (Everest)
and continued his meditation amidst the snows and isolation there.Altogether
he meditated in and made holy twenty caves covering the region from Mount
Kailas and Lapchi-Kang in Tibet to far off Nepal. It is said that besides
his many human converts he also brought to enlightenment some superhuman (ie
non-embodied) beings as well, including the Goddess Tseringma (one of the
twelve guardian deities of Tibet who reside at Mt. Kailas). The Goddess came
to tempt him with her powers during his meditations and instead was herself
liberated. During his travels over the 84 years of his life he met many
worthy disciples that were destined to come under his tutelage. Highest
among the disciples was Dvagpo Rimpoche (Gambopa). The most well known among
them was Rechung who entreated him to tell in detail the story of his life
(summarized in this narrative) which was recorded for the benefit of all
sentient beings, even into the far future. These two disciples were
respectively like the sun and the moon. The most exalted of beings met by
Milarepa was a Maha-Purusha (Great Being) he had the excellent fortune of
meeting - an Exalted Being mentioned by the Buddha himself as one of the
guardians and protectors of the human race who live on through the centuries
far from human habitation. Besides his two chief disciples, Milarepa had 25
additional highly accomplished disciples, both men and women, who became
saints. Another hundred made such progress that they did not take rebirth.
Another hundred and eight Great Ones obtained excellent experience and
knowledge from meditation. A thousand sadhus and yogis, both men and women,
renounced worldly life and lived lives of exemplary piety. Innumerable lay
disciples formed a religious relationship with Milarepa so that the gateway
to lower states of existence was closed to them forever.Thus did Milarepa
radiate spiritual light like a beacon, drawing vast numbers of sentient
beings forward toward the light of deliverance and dispelling in all
directions the darkness of selfishness and ignorance.
at thy lotus feet,
radhika
PICTURES OF SWAMI RAM.
