Milarepa - Tibet's most famous mystic - an enigma for the Western mind

"My bed is small, but I rest at ease...
My clothes are thin, but my body is warm...
My food is scarce, but I am nourished..."

- Milarepa

Milarepa is the ultimate devotee - this quote shows a man who accepts utterly his fate and surrenders to what the universe gives him.

The biography I read of him claimed that his birthdate in 1052, is as well known in Tibet as 1066 is here or 1776 in the USA.

The life he lived, after indulging in the black arts and murdering relatives, is perhaps beyond comprehension to a modern westerner. His guru, Marpa, treated him with nothing less than cruelty. It was only by the intervention of Marpa's wife that Milarepa survived at all.

Marpa would ask Milarepa to build a house, only to have him knock it down and start again... This happened repeatedly.

Marpa instructed him to lead the most ascetic of lives. Often Milarepa is depicted with green skin; this is because all he ate was nettle soup...

Although I love his story, it does raise questions of how necessary it is to have a teacher who demands so much of you.

Deepak Chopra, when asked: "Do we need gurus?", replied: "Here in California - we say G - gee; U - you; R - are; U - You."

This implies that at this stage in human evolution the wisdom we need to pursue a spiritual path is available to us without the need of gurus or masters, whose agendas might be questionable.