Last Updated on May 19, 2024 by pg@petergamma.org
“The stunning lesson in impermanence gave Milarepa the final push he needed to follow Marpa’s command to meditate in mountain retreat. He stayed there for many years, until his clothes turned to rags, his bones protruded, and the nettles he ate turned his skin green. Hunters and thieves who came upon him thought he was a ghost. When he went begging for food, his uncle, aunt, and neighbors attacked him, and he barely escaped. His sister, who had also become a beggar, wept in misery at his apparently even sorrier state.”
- Milarepa lived many years of his life in complete seclusion, including long periods at the foot of Mount Kailash, which, according to legend, he was the only one to have climbed.
- He ate the simplest diet, practiced meditation and various tantric yoga techniques to ultimately realize the Mahamudra (Great Seal/Symbol).
- From then on he began teaching and instructing students.
His hundred thousand songs, in which he explained his life path and the tantric teachings in verse form, are famous.
- He is said to have perceived thim within himself in contemplation as an expression of his realization and then wrote them down.
- Milarepa’s most famous students were Gampopa and Rechungpa.
- According to Tibetan Buddhist legend, Milarepa resides in Akshobhya’s Abhirati Pure Land, where he attained full Buddhahood.
Comments are closed.