Milarepa: Tibet's great yogi

Milarepa: Tibet's Great Yogi
by Walter Evans-Wentz

CLICK on this image to see an enlarged version of it

I may add 2 this page up at some stage (famous last words) ...

Here's a few excerpts that caught my eye ...

From the rear cover -

Despite the many sectarian differences among Tibetan Buddhists, they all unite in holding the Great Yogi Milarepa in the highest reverence and esteem, considering him the prototype of a great saint. However, a disciple of Milarepa, suspecting that his teacher may have been a fully enlightened buddha, once asked the religious leader his true identity. Not flattered, Milarepa explained that there could be no greater insult than to suggest that he was an emanation of a buddha. To do so was to deprecate the excruciating suffering he had to undergo in order to expunge from him the sins of his youth; to do so was to minimise the remarkable efforts he made living in solitary caves and eating only nettles; to do so was to create a barrier to one's own practice.

In this extraordinary biography of Milarepa, readers gaina rich and vivid perspective of the celeberated man's struggles, work and insight. Moreover, W.Y. Evans-Wentz offers - through the lens of Milarepa's experiences and teachings - an unprecedented amount of knowledge that accompanies the ancient and universal wisdom that is Buddhism. But the story of Milarepa is not solely about religion; it also addresses the legacy that followed the death of one of the greatest religious gurus, exploring questions of lineage and legitimacy that were important in the centuries after Milarepa died.

Although the second volume in the tetralogy by Evans-Wentz, this work is undoubtedly the most successful. For this new edition, Donald S Lopez Jr, a renowned author, editor, and translator of some twenty books on Buddhism, presents an illuminating and critical foreword. He deftly explores the many aspects of Milarepa's life - and death - updating and contextualizing this crucial part of Evans-Wentz's scholarship within the yoga tradition.

The late Dr Walter Evans-Wentz, formerly of Jesus College, Oxford, studied occult doctrines intensively in India and Sikkim, during the early years of the twentieth century. His tetralogy of works on yoga are pioneering achievements that contributed to the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Donald S Lopez Jr is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan and author of Prisoners of Shangri-La

* * *

Page 83 -

LIFE ON THE PATH
'I heeded all He said and left the world
And all its cares behind, and gave myself
To follow where he taught, and realize
Life on the Path to great good fortune bound.
Now all my sorrows are hewn down, cast out,
Uprooted, brought to utter end,
In that I now can grasp and understand
The base on which my miseries were built.
Psalms of the Early Buddhists
(Mrs. Rhys Davids' Translation)

Next came the acts of his attaining the Perfect State of Buddhahood, which are as follows:

First: the act of his repentance and his sincere search for a gifted and accomplished Guru [to guide him towards Nirvana].

Second: The act of his unwavering obedience in fulfilling every command of his Guru when once found, despite the pain and anguish and despondency to which he was subjected that his sins might be expiated.

Third: The act of his obtaining the Truths which procured for him spiritual development and Final Emancipation.

Fourth: the act of his meditation upon the personal guidance of his Guru, whence the shoots of experience and knowledge began to grow.

Fifth: As the Truths began to take their own course of development, the act of his obtaining the final ear-whispered occult truths, when led by an injunction, given in a dream, after which he departed from his Guru.

Sixth: The act of his impulsion to take the vow of devoting his life wholly to the attainment of the Highest Goal, having been impressed by unfortunate occurence with the triviality of worldly pursuits.

Seventh: the act of his carrying out the commands of his Guru, by an undistracted application to ascetic devotion in an entirely secluded place, high on a hill, far removed from the haunts of men, putting away all thoughts of worldly fame, with boundless energy and untiring perseverance.

Eighth: the act of his acquiring Transcendental Knowledge and Experience ass the result of such devotion, whereby he was able to confer great benefit upon all sentient beings.

Ninth: his final act, that of the dissolution of his mortal body into Cosmic Space, with intent to impart by example his last teaching of all, so that every sentient being might find in it an impulsion to live the religious life.

* * *

Page 85 -

... I do not, however, feel confident that this superficial knowledge would stand the test of real danger. I therefore wish now to devote myself to such sound doctrine as will stand firm and solid in the face of everything that may threaten.

...

The Lama said, "My doctrine, called The Great Perfection, is perfect indeed. It is excellent alike in its root, in its trunk, and in its branches - profitable to him from whom it hath been obtained, to him who hath obtained it, and in its fruit, which is the knowledge of Yoga. He who meditateth upon it in the day is delivered in the course of that day; and the like happeneth to him who meditateth upon it in the night. To the gifted, to those whose karma favoureth, the mere hearing of the doctrine is sufficinet to procure them Deliverance; they do not need to meditate upon it. This is a doctrine for those intellects that are most highly developed. I will impart it to thee." He initiated me there on the spot and gave me the necessary instruction.

At this the thought arose within me that formerly, while I was engaged in learning sorcery for killing purposes, it had taken me fourteen days to attain my desire, and in the case of launching hail-storms I had required seven days, whereas now I had met a doctrine which would emancipate me at any time, by day or by night, whenever I chose to meditate upon it; while to the gifted and specially favoured by their good karma the mere hearing thereof was sufficient to deliver them. I said to myself, "Why, I myself may be one of these favoured and gifted persons!" Thus was I so puffed up with pride that I would not meditate, but instead went to sleep over my task, and so failed to put the doctrine to the test of practice.

After a few days, the Lama came to me and said, "Thou didst call thyself a great sinner, hailing from the Highlands, and in that thou wert quite correct. On my part, however, I have been rather too lavish in my praises of my doctrine. At all events, I see quite well that I shall not be able to convert thee. Now there is a monastery called Dowo-Lung (Wheat Valley), in Lhobrak, wherein liveth at present a faithful disciple of Naropa, the great Indian Saint. He is the worthiest among the worthiest of men, a very prince among translators - one who hath obtained supernormal knowledge in the new Tantric Doctrines, unequalled in all the three worlds; he is called Marpa the Translator. Between thee and him there is a karmic connexion, which cometh from past lives. To him thou must go."

On hearing the name Marpa the Translator, my mind was filled with an inexpressible delight, and a thrill went through my whole body, setting in motion every hair, while tears started from mine eyes, so strong was the feeling of faith aroused within me. I therefore set out with the single purpose of finding this Guru, carrying only a few books and provisions for the journey. All along the way I was possessed by but one idea: "When shall I set eyes upon my Guru? When shall I behold his face?"

...

* * *

Page 233 -

For it is by the great power of the Sacred Dharma alone that I have ben able to attain such spiritual development as to be very near Perfect Buddhahood in the latter portion of my years, although I had been guilty of such heinous sins in my youth and early manhood. It was because I firmly believed in the reality of the Law of Karma that I applied myself zealously to the Truth, giving up all thoughts of this life and world. And, more especially, was I fortunate in being taken in hand by a perfected Guru, who was able to give me those very Truths and Texts which were most adapted to me, and which enabled me to follow the Short Path of the Mystic Mantrayana. He gave me the Truths divested of all superfluous adornments and clothing (That is flowery rhetoric and parables), conferred on me the necessary Initiations, and empowered me to meditate on these Truths in the right way. If anyone else had obtained these, and continued to meditate on them, there is not the least doubt about his obtaining perfect enlightenment within one lifetime.

{May well type up more of this section later ...}

* * *

Page 175 -

... I would go away to the Dragkar-Taso Cave and there pass my whole life in constant meditation. I determined to sit there day and night, till death should put an end to my life. I vowed that if any thought of worldly ambition should allure me, I would commit suicide rather than allow myself to be overcome by it. I prayed to the Tutelary Deities and Dakinis to cut short my life if ever I should come to think of an easy sort of devotion.

{May well type up more of this section later ...}

Footnote: All Tantric yogis are exhorted by the guru to practice meditation in cemeteries and in places where corpses are cremated or else thrown to the birds of the air to be devoured, in order to overcome the dislike of horror, universal among human beings, of such environments, and to realise the transient nature of worldly existence.