MI LA RAS PA (MILAREPA)
Mi la ras pa (pronounced Milarepa, 1028/40–1111/23)
was a highly revered Tibetan yogin. He is considered
an early founder of the BKA’ BRGYUD(KAGYU) sect of
Tibetan Buddhism. Mi la ras pa is esteemed through-
out the Tibetan cultural world as an exemplar of re-
ligious dedication, perseverance through hardship,
and meditative mastery. His life story has been the
subject of a vast hagiographic tradition in Tibet. The
most famous biographical account (Lhalungpa 1977)
and collection of spiritual songs (Chang 1962), both
composed in the late fifteenth century, remain ex-
tremely popular within the Tibetan Buddhist world.
The themes associated with his biographical
tradition—purification of past misdeeds, FAITHand
devotion to the guru, ardor in MEDITATIONand yogic
practice, and the possibility of attaining buddhahood
in a single lifetime—have influenced the development
of Buddhist teaching and practice in Tibet, and the
way they have been understood in the West.
Mi lawas his clan name; ras pais derived from the
word for a single cotton robe (ras) worn by Tibetan
anchorites—an attire Mi la ras pa retained for most of
his life. The name is therefore an appellation, perhaps
translated as “The Cotton-Clad Mi la.”
Although his dates are debated, biographies agree
that Mi la ras pa was born to a prosperous family in
the Gung thang region of southwestern Tibet. At an
early age, after the death of his father, he and his fam-
ily were dispossessed of their wealth and home by Mi
la ras pa’s paternal aunt and uncle, and thereby re-
duced to a life of poverty and privation. At the behest
of his mother, Mi la ras pa studied black magic in or-
der to exact revenge upon his relatives, and he even-
tually murdered a great number of people. Later,
feeling contrition and realizing the magnitude of his
misdeeds, he sought to redeem himself from their
karmic effects through the practice of Buddhism. He
studied briefly under several masters before meeting
his principal guru, the great translator of Indian texts
MAR PA(MARPA) (1002/1012–1097). Mar pa, however,
did not immediately teach Mi la ras pa, but rather sub-
jected him to continual abuse, forcing him to undergo
various ordeals, such as the famous trial of construct-
ing immense stone towers. Pushed to the brink of ut-
ter despair, Mi la ras pa even contemplated suicide.
Mar pa finally assuaged his disciple, revealing that the
trials were actually a means of purifying previous neg-
ative karma. He explained that Mi la ras pa was, from
the beginning, his disciple as prophesied by the Indian
master NAROPA(1016–1100). Mi la ras pa received nu-
merous tantric initiations and instructions—
especially those of MAHAMUDRAand the practice of yo-
gic inner heat (gtum mo)—together with the command
that he should persevere against all hardship, meditat-
ing in solitary caves and mountain retreats.
Mi la ras pa spent the rest of his life practicing med-
itation in seclusion and teaching small groups of dis-
ciples, mainly through poetry and songs of realization.
He had little interest in philosophical discourse and no
tolerance for intellectual pretension. His songs are
composed in vernacular idioms, abandoning the
highly ornamental formal structures of classical poetry
in favor of a simple, direct, and often playful style. Ac-
cording to tradition, he was active across southern Ti-
bet from Mount KAILAS ́A(KAILASH) to Bhutan. Dozens
of locations associated with the yogin have become im-
portant pilgrimage sites and retreat centers. Foremost
among Mi la ras pa’s disciples were Sgam po pa Bsod
nams rin chen (Gampopa Sonam Rinchen, 1079–
1153) and Ras chung pa Rdo rje grags (Rechungpa
Dorje Drak, 1084–1161).See also:TibetBibliography
Chang, Garma C. C., trans. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Mi-
larepa,2 vols. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1962.
Reprint, Boston: Shambhala, 1999.
Lama Kunga Rinpoche and Cutillo, Brian, trans. Drinking the
Mountain Stream.Novato, CA: Lotsawa, 1978. Reprint,
Boston: Wisdom, 1995.
Lama Kunga Rinpoche and Cutillo, Brian, trans. Miraculous
Journey.Novato, CA: Lotsawa, 1991.
Lhalungpa, Lobsang P., trans. The Life of Milarepa.New York:
Dutton, 1977. Reprint, Boston: Shambhala, 1984.ANDREWQUINTMANMILINDAPAÑHAThe Milindapañha, or Milinda’s Questions,is a Pali
text that, though normally regarded as extracanoni-
cal, is nonetheless accepted in Myanmar (Burma) as
part of the Khuddakanikayaof the Pali canon. Possi-
bly based on a Sanskrit or Prakrit original, it dates
prior to the fourth century C.E., when it—or the San-
skrit original—was translated into Chinese. Some even
surmise that the original text was written in Greek.MI LA RAS PA(MILAREPA)