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proud mother. He found his teacher and upon completing his
learning, he used his magic skills to kill forty to fifty people that
were related to his two deadly enemies, his cruel uncle and aunt.
He also destroyed their crops and their property. Afterwards,
Milathogapa deeply regretted his actions. He was intensely
disturbed and wanted to find a teacher and learn the way of
cultivation. He wished to be enlightened and liberated and he
would sacrifice anything including his life to obtain this goal.
The path of great virtue and great austerity became Milathogapa's
destiny.
He finally met his predestined guru who was the great
translator Marpa, the original founder of the Kargyutpa sect of
Tibetan Buddhism. After he was thrown eight times by Marpa to
the bottom of the pit of despair, the Deities cleansed his sins. He
then received the secret teaching from Marpa and after
prostrating himself to say good-bye to Marpa; he headed for a
deserted cave in the mountain to meditate on the way of supreme
liberation. His mission was to become enlightened so that he
could help sentient beings. He had made the same vow as Prince
Siddhartha had made 17 centuries earlier under the Bodhi tree in
India. If he failed to reach enlightenment he would never return
to ordinary life.
Milarepa spent ten years in the snowy mountains of the
Himalayas pursuing the ascetic path. His body became weak due
to lack of food and inadequate clothing. Milarepa had thus
dedicated himself completely to the truth, uniting his heart with
heaven and his soul with the Great Being. He had become one
with the eternal truth and essence of the wonderful universe.
Having attained enlightenment and liberation for himself,
Milarepa was able to save sentient beings in the three realm s b y
singing beautiful hymns. His voice was soft and flowing like the