The Life of Milarepa

Here is the illustrated biography of Milarepa, the eleventh-century yogi and poet, who is the most renowned saint in Tibetan Buddhist history. It can be read on several levels: as the biography of a mystic, it presents a quest for spiritual perfection, a piece of inspirational, literature, tracing the path of a great sinner who became a great saint. It is also a personal and moving introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time it is also a powerful and graphic folk tale, full of magic, disaster, feuds, deceptions, and humor. Milarepa is a holy but captivatingly, human figure who developed from an avenging black magician to a supremely powerful yogi, pointing the way to spiritual liberation and complete self-knowledge. Lobsang P. Lhalungpa was born in Lhasa, Tibet, and has passed through the disciplines of the major branches of Tibetan Buddhism under many of its greatest living masters. His life has drawn him into all aspects of the effort to maintain the Tibetan tradition while bearing in mind Western needs.