Milarepa
disciple of the famous Indian Buddhist master Naropa. Marpa proved a hard task master. Seeing Milarepa's great potential mixed with dark karma, Marpa put Milarepa through many years of severe trials and tests and before he would teach him had Milarepa build and then demolish three houses in turn.
When Marpa still refused to teach him, Milarepa went to Marpa's wife, who took pity on him. She forged a letter of introduction to another teacher, Lama Ngogdun Chudor, under whose tutelage he began to practise meditation. However when he was making no progress, Milarepa confessed the forgery and Ngogdun Chudor said that it was vain to hope for spiritual growth without the guru's approval. . Milarepa returned to Marpa, and after practicing very diligently 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 known as Milarepa, which means the "Mila, the cotton clad one" (the suffix "repa" is given to many tantric yogis since they wear white robes) At the age of forty-five, he started to practice at Drakar Taso (White Rock Horse Tooth) cave, as well as becoming a wandering teacher. Here, he subsisted on nettle tea, leading his skin to turn green--hence the greenish color he is often depicted as having in paintings and sculpture. Rejecting the formalism of religious position and the endless squabbles of theological discourse, he adopted the life of a mendicant, traveling from village to village, speaking directly with the people he met, singing spontaneous songs of enlightenment and wisdom. Milarepa is famous for many of his songs and poems, in which he expresses the profundity of his realization of the dharma with extraordinary clarity and beauty. He also had many disciples, men and women, who attained enlightenment under his guidance. His heart-son, Gampopa,became his spiritual successor and continued his lineage, becoming one of the main lineage masters in the Kagyu tradition. “Milarepa himself has said that whosoever has heard of him, seen statues or representations of him, they will be reborn in one of the pure lands in seven lifetimes. Whenever you think of Milarepa, whenever you pray to Milarepa, Milarepa is right in front of you.” ~ H.E. Garchen Rinpoche "Just like the sun which lights up the mighty mountain tops, there is one 'Tho-Pa-Gah' in the dark northern country of Tibet, before whom I bow down." ~ Naropa's praise to Milarepa
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The practice, "Glorious Blazing Wisdom", is a guru yoga practice of the great yogi Milarepa.
Jetsun Milarepa, 1052-1135 (approx), was one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka'-brgyud) school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is said to be the first to achieve the state of Vajradhara (primordial Buddha) in one life time. His devotion to his teacher Marpa Lotsawa, his monumental forbearance and perseverance, and his ultimate final attainment are a great inspiration today for all brought the light of wisdom to sentient beings everywhere. Born in the village of Kya, Ngatsa in Tibet to a prosperous family he was named Mila Thö paga (Thos-pa-dga), which means "A joy to hear". But when his father died Milarepa's uncle and aunt took all the family's wealth. At his mother's request Milarepa left home and studied sorcery. While his Aunt and Uncle were having a party to celebrate the impending marriage of their son, he took his revenge by causing the house they were in to collapse, killing 35 people, although the Uncle and Aunt are supposed to have survived. The villagers were angry and set off to look for Milarepa, but his mother got word to him, and he sent a hailstorm to destroy their crops. In the aftermath of this incident, Milarepa felt such guilt for his actions that he vowed to cleanse himself of the evil karma he had accumulated. In his search for a pure spiritual teacher, Milarepa eventually met his guru, the Buddhist yogi and translator, Marpa, who was himself a Je Mila Shepa Dorjela Solwa Deb So
Suplication to Jetsun Milarepa Om Ah Guru Hasa Vajra Hung
Mantra of Jetsun Milarepa |