Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ; Wylie: Rje-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa), (c. 1052—c. 1135 CE) is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka'-brgyud) school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The essence of Milarepa lies in his writings rather than the legends that have grown up around him. The writings, often referred to as the Songs of Milarepa, are cano...
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Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ; Wylie: Rje-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa), (c. 1052—c. 1135 CE) is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka'-brgyud) school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The essence of Milarepa lies in his writings rather than the legends that have grown up around him. The writings, often referred to as the Songs of Milarepa, are canonical Mahayana Buddhist texts and in particular emphasize the temporary nature of the physical body and the need for non-attachment. In contrast, the legends of Milarepa's life are full of references to magic and lack the same sense of devout non-attachment. They are popularly known from the romanticized biography Mi-la-rnam-thar by Gtsang-smyon he-ru-ka rus-pa'i-rgyan-can (1452-1507); although they may be of questionable historic validity, the biographical details given in this article are based upon this account or its derivatives.
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