The Life of Milarepa
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- Create Date：2022-10-16 06:56:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Tsangnyön Heruka
- ISBN：0140193502
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Summary
The Life of Milarepa is the most beloved story of the Tibetan people amd one of the greatest source books for the contemplative life in all world literature。 This biography， a true folk tale from a culture now in crisis， can be read on several levels: a personal and moving introduction to Tibetan Buddhism， it is also a profoundly detailed guidebook in the search for consciousness。 It presents the quest for spiritual perfection， tracing the path of a great sinner who became a great saint。 But it is also a powerful and graphic folk tale， full of magic， disaster， feuds， deceptions， and humor。 This definitive translation， originally published in 1977， was the first to appear in any Western language in half a century and renders this classic of spiritual literature into a simple modern English that reflects the direct power of the original。
Reviews
William Smith
，
A beautiful exposition of faith and mircale from civilisations long-since evolved from existence。
Julia
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Preciatne ako komentovany preklad od Kvetoslava Minarika
Beatriz
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Como la vida de los santos， las biografías de los seres iluminados de otras religiones o filosofías no tienen otra finalidad que la de inspirar al aspirante y motivarle a entregarse a la vía de la doctrina。 Transmiten la enseñanza de una manera superficial， cierto; transmiten， sobre todo， el impacto de esa enseñanza en la vida y como debe ser la personalidad de quien al practicarla quiere alcanzar los frutos。 Aunque no puede desligarse al asceta iluminado del hombre que fué， no leí con interés r Como la vida de los santos， las biografías de los seres iluminados de otras religiones o filosofías no tienen otra finalidad que la de inspirar al aspirante y motivarle a entregarse a la vía de la doctrina。 Transmiten la enseñanza de una manera superficial， cierto; transmiten， sobre todo， el impacto de esa enseñanza en la vida y como debe ser la personalidad de quien al practicarla quiere alcanzar los frutos。 Aunque no puede desligarse al asceta iluminado del hombre que fué， no leí con interés real hasta que llegué al cápitulo 7。 Casi el final。 Es difícil evaluar este libro porque no sé si evaluar su función， su redacción， su contenido。 Su función está al cien por cien conseguida; la redacción， pues supongo que sigue el modus operandi de la época; el contenido， pues es el que es。 Por lo tanto， no le voy a poner estrellas， porque no se puede valorar。 A mi， personalmente， me ha merecido la pena hacer como el Jetsün realizado （pg 214） que "accompagne tous les phénomènes jusqu'à leur terme naturel。" 。。。more
Kacie
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Cited in Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart
Justin Ngo
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The story of Milarepa is often viewed as the quintessential Tibetan story。 The Life of Milarepa is a hagiography written about the great tantric practitioner， Jetsun Milarepa。 Unlike prior Buddhist stories， it was written with a religious function in mind。 Milarepa’s tantric practices and redeeming spiritual journey were written as a model to be followed by Buddhist practitioners。 In the story， Milarepa is taught by Marpa— the figure credited for traveling to India to bring back the tantric teac The story of Milarepa is often viewed as the quintessential Tibetan story。 The Life of Milarepa is a hagiography written about the great tantric practitioner， Jetsun Milarepa。 Unlike prior Buddhist stories， it was written with a religious function in mind。 Milarepa’s tantric practices and redeeming spiritual journey were written as a model to be followed by Buddhist practitioners。 In the story， Milarepa is taught by Marpa— the figure credited for traveling to India to bring back the tantric teachings widespread in Tibet。 Although it's not perfect， I think it's a good story containing a lot of insight into Tibetan culture。I believe the story of Milarepa is so greatly admired in Tibet because Tsangnyon Heruka was the first to inspire audiences with a Buddhist rags-to-riches story: Milarepa was an ordinary and flawed human who， through great devotion to tantric practices， was able to transform into an enlightened bodhisattva。 In contrast to the bodhisattvas in prior Buddhist texts， Milarepa does not begin his story enlightened or in a place of power。 He is instead， deprived of wealth and subjected to poor conditions by his aunt and uncle。 The story of Milarepa’s transformation from a place of poverty under his evil family members to eventual enlightenment parallels that of many other popular Cinderella-esque stories。 People are known to love stories of an individual going from rags to riches， and the story of Milarepa is no different。 The story of Milarepa inspired many to be good， kind， and devoted to the tantric path in the hope that one day they would be recognized by higher spiritual authorities。Another takeaway from my reading that I would like to note is that I believe Tsangnyon Heruka’s goal in telling the story of Milarepa was not to simply tell the same story as others such as Tenzin Chogyel’s The Life of Buddha。 Instead， his goal was to take stories that his audience thought they knew and undermine it by challenging the traditional themes contained in prior Buddhist texts。 Heruka wanted to make people think they knew where a story was going and surprise the reader when it is otherwise revealed to take a different direction than anticipated。 Heruka crafts The Life of Milarepa under the assertion that Milarepa is not a god and is in fact constrained by human principles。 Milarepa， just like everyone， else faces tough moral decisions that are not always necessarily right or wrong。 Milarepa challenged traditional Tantric Buddhism because tantric practices were often conducted as an excuse to do whatever one wanted without concern for immorality。 For example， in prior Buddhist texts Buddhism consistently justified men immorally leaving their family to practice Buddhism and pursue enlightenment。 However， in The Life of Milarepa， Milarepa sets out to pursue enlightenment with the intention of eventually returning to his family。 Therefore， in contrast to the characters in prior Buddhist texts， Milarepa does not use his practice of Buddhism as an excuse to make immoral decisions and to do whatever he wants: Milarepa demonstrated that he was able to become an accomplished practitioner all without choosing to willingly leave his family to practice Buddhism。 。。。more
Pema
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i feel like this would be idk。。 more serious？。。 in the original boekyed。 this version made me giggle quite a bit though。 the way milarepa was crying throughout his ordeals he's just like me fr also the names being translated threw me off。。。 i would be referred to as 'lotus full-of-melody' or sth had i been in this book lol i feel like this would be idk。。 more serious？。。 in the original boekyed。 this version made me giggle quite a bit though。 the way milarepa was crying throughout his ordeals he's just like me fr also the names being translated threw me off。。。 i would be referred to as 'lotus full-of-melody' or sth had i been in this book lol 。。。more
Rogelio Melo
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Confusing in several parts but there's indeed wisdom in this book if you try hard to understand and focus in certain passages and chapters。 Compassion is the key。 Confusing in several parts but there's indeed wisdom in this book if you try hard to understand and focus in certain passages and chapters。 Compassion is the key。 。。。more
Leren
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Read again for jgyatso’s class。 What a masterpiece。 Incredibly complex relationships between Mila and Marpa， mila and dakmema。 Masterful translation too。
Fengyang Song
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It's a wonderful story， but the true meaning of it， probably is lost on me right now。 Maybe I'll re-read it again in the future， and my opinion may differ then。 It's a wonderful story， but the true meaning of it， probably is lost on me right now。 Maybe I'll re-read it again in the future， and my opinion may differ then。 。。。more
dp
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The Life of Milarepa simultaneously motivated me and put me to shame。 I laughed， I cried， and felt damn near everything else in between。 He was a saint。 10/10 would recommend
Benjamin Counter
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Faithful retelling
Joshua
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I had no idea what I was getting into when I read this book。 Excellent if you are in any way spiritually inclined。 I did not think I was， though now having read the book- I am not so sure！
Jay Rao
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A classic。 If you are a Tibetan Buddhist， a must read。
Amrita Chattopadhyay
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Beautiful story of Milarepa。 Faced all the challenges and emerged as triumph。 He did not have favorable conditions but continued to fight against all the odds and attained Bodhisattva。 His life was his preaching。
Tenzin Dorji
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My homage to venerable Milarepa， how fortunate am I to read your great story。 The story that has relieved my spiritual impoverishment and shown the paths that is doable by mediocre people like me。 I prostrate myself at your feet， the great lama， who gracefully subdued the Eight Worldly Reactions and attained enlightenment in single life， may your compassionate wisdom rivulets in my mind and never be ensued by Eight Worldly Reactions。 My deep admiration and respect for your will to give your whol My homage to venerable Milarepa， how fortunate am I to read your great story。 The story that has relieved my spiritual impoverishment and shown the paths that is doable by mediocre people like me。 I prostrate myself at your feet， the great lama， who gracefully subdued the Eight Worldly Reactions and attained enlightenment in single life， may your compassionate wisdom rivulets in my mind and never be ensued by Eight Worldly Reactions。 My deep admiration and respect for your will to give your whole life for the sake of your mother and save the sinking ship of your own destiny。 This story has tremendous power to evoke Buddhahood that has been veiled by defilements and illusions。 The great lessons ensued by reading this book summarises in Cause and Effect。 Whatever you sow， shall you reap。 May all my vengeance and defilements that caused me to believe in illusion rivulets by your two resplendent manifestations。 As said by venerable Milarepa， whoever read his story shall never reborn in lower realm。 May I at least be restrain from evil deeds and server to sentient beings。 。。。more
Jan Morrison
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A completely captivating and fully inspiring story of the wondrous life of Milarepa， the Buddhist siddha and poet born in Tibet in 1052。
Lulu
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1488？
Darrell Kinney
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Milarepa surely struggled to achieve freedom from samsara in one lifetime。 He persisted on a diet of nettles and lived in a cave for much of his life。 His abusive lama Marpa made him perform many senseless tasks such as building a tower and then tearing it down multiple times just to obtain the secret teachings。 Milarepa teachers immediate and direct salvation through mortification and renunciation of desire。 He is a quintessential Buddhist Saint and a key figure in the annals of Tibetan Buddh Milarepa surely struggled to achieve freedom from samsara in one lifetime。 He persisted on a diet of nettles and lived in a cave for much of his life。 His abusive lama Marpa made him perform many senseless tasks such as building a tower and then tearing it down multiple times just to obtain the secret teachings。 Milarepa teachers immediate and direct salvation through mortification and renunciation of desire。 He is a quintessential Buddhist Saint and a key figure in the annals of Tibetan Buddhism。 I was intrigued by his stories of sorcery in his youth。 Milarepa did some pretty gnarly things to his thieving relatives。 He definitely felt some guilt for his usage of magic to cause harm and he later strove to live a life free from causing suffering。 。。。more
Ronald J Schulz
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This book made Buddhism real and personal to me as a teen， hooking me into the practice & eventually to spend 9 months in Nepal。 Maybe I never really left or even arrived， but I'm slogging along， singing his songs。 This book made Buddhism real and personal to me as a teen， hooking me into the practice & eventually to spend 9 months in Nepal。 Maybe I never really left or even arrived， but I'm slogging along， singing his songs。 。。。more
JD Moore
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The translator collaborated with Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup to produce one of the first translations of a widely-known book in Tibet。 It covers the life of the founder of the Kargyupta School of Tibetan Buddhism， a more ascetic view and practice compared with the older Nyingma practice， the original practice that Padma Sambhava brought to Tibet in the eighth century。They consulted as many local editions as humanly possible。 They also consulted people in India who were familiar with the text。 In this The translator collaborated with Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup to produce one of the first translations of a widely-known book in Tibet。 It covers the life of the founder of the Kargyupta School of Tibetan Buddhism， a more ascetic view and practice compared with the older Nyingma practice， the original practice that Padma Sambhava brought to Tibet in the eighth century。They consulted as many local editions as humanly possible。 They also consulted people in India who were familiar with the text。 In this way， they could observed variances in the different printed editions。In Tibet， this is often a companion volume to the "Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa。" 。。。more
Tom
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I’ve have been interested in Buddhism and in Tibet for a long time。 I found this book interesting and enjoyed it for the most part。 As a non Buddhist I lost interest in passages listing all the caves Milarepa meditated in， or in listing of all the disciples。 Overall it was a good read。
Charlie Wilson
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beautiful， ecstatic， divine
Malum
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2。5 stars。 I went into this thinking it was a straight biography， and was a little disappointed when people started throwing magic spells out like a horror movie。 Also， if you were to cut out the long lists and repetitive bits， this would be half as long and twice as readable。 Still， if you are interested in the subject there is enough meat here to make it worth reading。
Jean Prieur Prieur
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Very influential in Tibetan and Nepali Buddhism。
Mira Meteo
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Was a slog to read through， though I wanted to be more interested than I was。 It just read very pedantically （whether this is the fault of the translation or the author I don't know）， and since I've been reading late at night， it's a bad combination。Not sure whether or not to tag as nonfiction。 Despite its claim to being a biography， which I generally believe， being a religious text， I'm sure there are artistic exaggerations。 Was a slog to read through， though I wanted to be more interested than I was。 It just read very pedantically （whether this is the fault of the translation or the author I don't know）， and since I've been reading late at night， it's a bad combination。Not sure whether or not to tag as nonfiction。 Despite its claim to being a biography， which I generally believe， being a religious text， I'm sure there are artistic exaggerations。 。。。more
Rizky Diana
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This is the first time I read a book like this and it was amazing。 I can imagine how Tibet looks like。 And this book also played your emotions。 It was a really peaceful book and really calming。
Alok
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HOW A SINNER TURNED INTO A SAINT Milarepa was different from other spiritual masters。 He was not a good person from the beginning。 He became a victim of his relatives' greed， learn black magic for vengeance， killed many people to settle the score， repented for his crimes， decided to wash his sins and earn buddhahood in a single life， met his guru Marpa， started doing meditation under his guidance， went through extremely tough manual work and meditation practices to grow spiritually， showed a rar HOW A SINNER TURNED INTO A SAINT Milarepa was different from other spiritual masters。 He was not a good person from the beginning。 He became a victim of his relatives' greed， learn black magic for vengeance， killed many people to settle the score， repented for his crimes， decided to wash his sins and earn buddhahood in a single life， met his guru Marpa， started doing meditation under his guidance， went through extremely tough manual work and meditation practices to grow spiritually， showed a rare breed of perseverance towards his goal， and became a buddha after years of indefatigable hard work。In the world of Christs， Krishnas and Gautam Buddhas， who were gifted individuals from their birth， Milarepa has a unique place。 He showed that even the worst sinner can become the most enlightened saint if he is determined to become so。The author has done a brilliant job by doing a strenuous research for many years to find the various bits and pieces of Milarepa's life story and give it the shape of a comprehensive and engrossing biography。 The elaborate footnotes are very helpful in understanding the various terms related with Buddhist and Hindu spiritual practices。I especially loved the chapter 'The Renunciation' which describes Milarepa's emotions when he comes back to village after many years。 He finds his house in a shattered state and his mother as a heap of bones。 He finds out that his sister has become a beggar somewhere。 He realizes how impermanent everything in this world is。 He understands that nothing lasts forever， and spending more time with his family won't have made any significant difference since death takes everything away， sooner or later。 Then he makes a mental vow that he will do anything and everything to find the truth。 And he keeps the promise he has made to himself。 。。。more
Huy Thông MAI
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Dans ce très beau texte， on suit le difficile parcours de Thopaga dans sa quête vers l'éveil en une seule vie et un seul corps。A travers ses souffrances， sa persévérance， son endurance， il montre la voie à tous les humains et non humains le chemin vers la délivrance du samsara。Les chants sont très beaux et contiennent matière à méditerCette philosophie， ces traditions ainsi que la culture tibétaine survivront-elles à l'occupation chinoise （depuis 1959） et à son génocide en cours ？ Dans ce très beau texte， on suit le difficile parcours de Thopaga dans sa quête vers l'éveil en une seule vie et un seul corps。A travers ses souffrances， sa persévérance， son endurance， il montre la voie à tous les humains et non humains le chemin vers la délivrance du samsara。Les chants sont très beaux et contiennent matière à méditerCette philosophie， ces traditions ainsi que la culture tibétaine survivront-elles à l'occupation chinoise （depuis 1959） et à son génocide en cours ？ 。。。more
P。D。 Maior
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I think I love this biography so much because， like Milarepa’s life， I was also “studying all kinds of good magic when my aunt on my father’s side stole my Mother and I’s inheritance from us” upon my father’s “death。” Albeit it was a psychological death only， in my case; but that lasts longer than mortal coil death nonetheless。。。he severed from family completely deceptively and in abandonment to be “happy” with another man’s wife。It truly speeds up your renunciation of inner and outer violence t I think I love this biography so much because， like Milarepa’s life， I was also “studying all kinds of good magic when my aunt on my father’s side stole my Mother and I’s inheritance from us” upon my father’s “death。” Albeit it was a psychological death only， in my case; but that lasts longer than mortal coil death nonetheless。。。he severed from family completely deceptively and in abandonment to be “happy” with another man’s wife。It truly speeds up your renunciation of inner and outer violence to reach the first step of the Buddha to have father and outer future torn from you all at once。 I think something similar happened to David Bowie when someone stole his rights from his most popular song just as he was getting famous and needed the money。 It is like a tort heated up in a laboratory if you are a primordial traditionalist like George MacDonald， Evola， Gurdjieff and I and hold that your connection to your Father is related to your connection with God （and count one’s free time as more valuable than pure gold to give back to a greater cosmic cause， then that is stripped from you by poverty created by the theft of a deceptive， materialist， greedy， relative）。 But Abraham （Abu Rama） was permitted to be thrown in the fire by his father as a child if the apocryphal texts are historic enough about him。 And he still became what he became （learning more from his ancestors， before that father， all he needed to know）。 So there is always a way beyond。 One sees how Milarepa， the high， central， first Lama & founder （at least of these millenium’s Thibetan Buddhism - I think the oldest Thibetan Buddhism is more Jainist and has Lama’ going back into primordial times） became what he became; and how to change onself， as he did。 。。。more
David Williams
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Not Buddhist but enjoyed thisBeautifully rendered into English， and the narrator is excellent。 Often find US narrators accents off-putting， but this guy is wonderful to listen to and made the book a real joy。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Life of Milarepa
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Life of Milarepa&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Life of Milarepa&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0