Milarepa

Biography & Significance

Milarepa is Tibet's most beloved spiritual hero — a man who began life studying black magic to avenge his family's oppressors, then underwent extraordinary hardship and penance under his teacher Marpa before attaining complete enlightenment within a single lifetime. His story, recorded in the Hundred Thousand Songs and the Life of Milarepa, represents the quintessential Kagyu teaching on devotion to the guru, the power of perseverance, and the possibility of liberation in one lifetime through intensive practice. Milarepa spent years meditating alone in mountain caves wearing only a thin cotton robe (sustained by the inner heat practice Tummo), his body reportedly turning green from subsisting on nettle soup. His spontaneous spiritual songs (dohas) remain among the most treasured literature in Tibetan Buddhism. His principal student was Gampopa, who systematised the Kagyu teachings into a monastic tradition.

Key Teachings 主要教法

• ▸Mahamudra
• ▸Six Dharmas of Naropa (especially Tummo)
• ▸Guru Yoga
• ▸Dohas (spontaneous songs of realisation)