Marpa Lotsawa

Biography & Significance

Marpa Lotsawa (Marpa the Translator) was a Tibetan householder-scholar who made three arduous journeys to India to receive teachings directly from the great mahasiddha Naropa at the famous Nalanda University complex. He translated numerous tantric texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan and brought back the transmission of the Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas of Naropa — practices that form the heart of the Kagyu tradition. Unlike many Tibetan masters, Marpa was not a monk but a householder farmer who lived with his wife Dagmema and their sons. His relationship with his student Milarepa is one of the most celebrated guru-disciple stories in Buddhist literature, involving years of seemingly harsh tests that were in fact compassionate means to purify Milarepa's heavy karma.

Key Teachings 主要教法

• ▸Mahamudra (transmission from Naropa)
• ▸Six Dharmas of Naropa
• ▸Hevajra Tantra
• ▸Chakrasamvara Tantra