A brief synopsis of Milarepa's life - one of the greatest Yogis of Tibet.
Milarepa was born into a prosperous family, but his father died when he was seven, and the house and property went to a greedy aunt and uncle, who treated the family like slaves; they lived in a hovel, ate swill, and toiled in the fields all day. When he was 15, Milarepa's mother demanded that he visit a certain sorcerer and learn black magic to extract revenge. If he didn't do her bidding, she threatened to kill herself in front of him.
To understand Milarepa's story at all, we have to imagine a culture where family honor was more important than life itself. Where a human incarnation was held to be infinitely precious, and your mother was revered as the chief giver of this gift. Where allowing harm to come to your mother if you had the power to prevent it was an unimaginable sin.
Milarepa chose to obey his mother. He went to the sorcerer and learned a complex practice that allowed him to invoke spirts who pulled down the stone house where his uncle's family was celebrating a wedding. Thirty-five people were in the house. Ironically, only the aunt and uncle survived.
All hell broke loose. The relatives of the dead were furious and gave chase. Milarepa barely escaped pursuit, but he couldn't escape his own conscience or the negative karma for 33 murders that was sure to land him in Buddhist hells for quite a few incarnations. His sorcerer contact advised him to seek out a famous guru named Marpa. When he heard the name, a thrill went through Milarepa, as if a glimpse of his destiny had just opened up. The night before he arrived, the guru dreamed of someone very special coming into his life. Though he instantly recognized Milarepa's potential, he also saw the dark karma and knew the boy would have to work it out before anything else could take place.
Milarepa asked for initiation into spiritual practice, but Marpa refused, saying such treasures were not for someone as "worthless" as he. Instead, he told Milarepa to move a stone tower to another location three miles away. It took Milarepa three years to carry the rocks on his back. Marpa looked at his work, scratched his chin, and said, "You know what? I think I liked it better at the first location. Move it back."
At that point, most of us would probably run away, but Milarepa did what he was told. In those days, spiritual seekers sometimes endured great hardships and life-threatening journeys for spiritual instruction. It was all right; for a Guru like Marpa would never wind up on the news with charges of fraud or scandal. Marpa himself was the disciple of Naropa, another legendary Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk.
Milarepa toiled for twelve years before receiving spiritual initiation. After that, he undertook an eleven month retreat in a sealed cave with only a butter lamp for light, and a little slot where someone passed him one meal a day. Later he moved to another remote cave where he lived on nothing but nettles and local vegetation. He looked like a living skeleton, but there he attained final awakening.
Milarepa's tale asserts that no one is beyond redemption once they sincerely turn in that direction.
* * *
Naturally many miracles are associated with Milarepa. Once Milarepa had placed his open hand against the cave's wall (where he meditated) at about shoulder level . . . and then continued to push his hand farther into the rock in front of him, as if the wall did not exist! When he did so, the stone beneath his palms became soft and malleable, leaving the deep impression of his hand for all to see…
Milarepa believed that he and the rock are not separate. His meditation taught him that he was a part of the rock, and everything else too, and therefore his hand could pass into/through the rock!
* * *
After becoming a Jeevanmukta, Milarepa would roam around the villages composing spontaneous poems. A few lines from one of his poetry follows:
"May I be far removed from contending creeds and dogmas.
Ever since my Lord's grace entered my mind,
My mind has never strayed to seek such distractions.
Accustomed long to contemplating love and compassion,
I have forgotten all difference between myself and others.
Accustomed long to meditating on my Guru as enhaloed over my head,
I have forgotten all those who rule by power and prestige.
Accustomed long to meditating on my guardian deities as inseparable from myself,
I have forgotten the lowly fleshly form.
Accustomed long to meditating on the secret whispered truths,
I have forgotten all that is said in written or printed books.
Accustomed, as I have been, to the study of the eternal Truth,
I've lost all knowledge of ignorance.
Accustomed, as I've been, to contemplating both nirvana and samsara as inherent in myself,
I have forgotten to think of hope and fear.
Accustomed, as I've been, to meditating on this life and the next as one,
I have forgotten the dread of birth and death.
Accustomed long to studying, by myself, my own experiences,
I have forgotten the need to seek the opinions of friends and brethren.
Accustomed long to applying each new experience to my own spiritual growth,
I have forgotten all creeds and dogmas.
Accustomed long to meditating on the Unborn, the Indestructible, the Unchanging,
I have forgotten all definitions of this or that particular goal.
Accustomed long to meditating on all visible phenomena as the Dharmakaya,
I have forgotten all meditations on what is produced by the mind.
Accustomed long to keeping my mind in the uncreated state of freedom,
I have forgotten all conventions and artificialities.
Accustomed long to humbleness, of body and mind,
I have forgotten the pride and haughty manner of the mighty.
Accustomed long to regarding my fleshly body as my hermitage,
I have forgotten the ease and comfort of retreats and monasteries.
Accustomed long to knowing the meaning of the Wordless,
I have forgotten the way to trace the roots of verbs, and the
sources of words and phrases.
You, 0 learned one, may trace out these things in your books
[if you wish].
"My religion is not Buddhism. My religion is to live and die without regret." – Jetsun (meaning revered) Milarepa.
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