Happy Milarepa Day! Today we celebrate the life of Tibet’s great poet-yogi, Jetsun Milarepa (1040-1123 CE). A disciple of Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa was a major Kagyu lineage figure who attained enlightenment in one lifetime and is known for his spontaneous spiritual songs.
In honor of the occasion, the Library is releasing Milarepa: His Life and Example, a short seminar Chögyam Trungpa gave at Karmê Chöling, Vermont, in 1976. These four talks draw connections between Milarepa’s life in medieval Tibet and ours as modern-day students and meditators. Trungpa Rinpoche illuminates Milarepa’s relationship to his principal teacher, Marpa and his path of discipline, honesty, and perseverance that led to his spiritual realization.
Milarepa: His Life and Example was published in the book Milarepa: Lessons from the Life and Songs of Tibet’s Great Yogi, edited by Judy Lief. With the addition of this new seminar, the Library now contains all four main seminars included in the book: 100,000 Songs of Milarepa (Karmê Chöling, 1970), The Message of Milarepa (Karmê Chöling, 1973, with video!), Milarepa: His Life and Example (Karmê Chöling, 1976), and Yogic Songs of Milarepa (Naropa University, 1976).
Click the button below to access all four Milarepa seminars listed above, featuring the latest release to the Library, Milarepa: His Life and Example.
Listen to the seminars and a clip
“An important point in the practicing lineage, particularly in the example of Milarepa, is that fundamental devotion tends to bring a certain sense of heroism and pride free from arrogance. When we talk about arrogance, we are talking in terms of an individual’s attitude of working towards one-upmanship. But when we talk about heroism, we are talking in terms of a sense of reality, trust, and devotion. Devotion from that point of view does not come from one direction; it seems to come from two directions—two-way traffic, so to speak. That is to say, devotion to the guru brings devotion to the path, and devotion to the path makes individuals sacred, so therefore there is devotion to oneself. As we go on, one’s trust in one’s own innate nature can be explored, uncovered, and realized.”
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from the Milarepa: His Life and Example seminar, Talk 4: “Heroism and Celebration”
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