The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

by Milarepa, Garma C.C. Chang (translator)

Tibetans accord The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa a classic status comparable to that of the Mahabharata and the Bible, and revere its author as probably the best single exemplar of the religious life. Milarepa was an eleventh-century Buddhist poet and saint, a cotton-clad yogi who avoided the scholarly institutions of his time and wandered from village to village, teaching enlightenment and the path to Buddhahood through his spontaneously composed songs. Wherever he went, crowds of people gathered to hear his sweet sounding voice "singing the Dharma."

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, says the book's translator, "has been read as the biography of a saint, a guide book for devotions, a manual of Buddhist yoga, a volume of songs and poems, and even a collection of Tibetan folklore, and fairy tales." With titles like "The Salvation of the Dead," "A Woman's Role in the Dharma," and "Challenge from a Wise Demoness," Milrepa's poems are filled with fascinating tales of miraculous encounters and colorful imagery, and present a valuable insight into the living quality of Tibetan Buddhism. Central as this book is to Tibetan culture, the arcane dialect and obscurity of many original passages daunted translators for centuries; this was the first complete version of the classic to appear in the West.

Genres: Buddhism, Poetry, Spirituality, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, Mythology

730 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Jetsun Mila Shepa Dorje (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ, Wylie: Rje-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa), (c. 1052 – c. 1135 CE) is one of Tibet's most famous yogis and buddhas, and generally held—with his guru Marpa the Translator—to be the founder of the Kagyu school of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Reviews

[Derek Meier]

I bought this book after seeing this movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgFm2... and it's feeding my soul!

[Salvatore Familia]

Tibetans accord The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa a classic status comparable to that of the Mahabharata and the Bible, and revere its author as probably the best single exemplar of the religious life. Milarepa was an eleventh-century Buddhist poet and saint, a cotton-clad yogi who avoided the scholarly institutions of his time and wandered from village to village, teaching enlightenment and the path to Buddhahood through his spontaneously composed songs. Wherever he went, crowds of people gathered to hear his sweet sounding voice "singing the Dharma."

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, says the book's translator, "has been read as the biography of a saint, a guide book for devotions, a manual of Buddhist yoga, a volume of songs and poems, and even a collection of Tibetan folklore, and fairy tales." With titles like "The Salvation of the Dead," "A Woman's Role in the Dharma," and "Challenge from a Wise Demoness," Milrepa's poems are filled with fascinating tales of miraculous encounters and colorful imagery, and present a valuable insight into the living quality of Tibetan Buddhism. Central as this book is to Tibetan culture, the arcane dialect and obscurity of many original passages daunted translators for centuries; this was the first complete version of the classic to appear in the West.

[Sara]

If you've ever wondered about the roots of magic, meditative feats seen in movies and shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, look no further. This fabulous (and repetitive--yogis and dharma practitioners gotta repeat to remember) collection of songs and stories is not only a primer in sharpening your own meditative experience, but a collection of crazy, fun yarns about a crazy yogi and how he teaches wisdom to even the most unlikely characters. As a Western woman, I didn't care for Milarepa's casual sexism (just what was he doing while "enjoying the women of lower castes?!") nor that of ancient Vajrayana Buddhism, but overall I found much to enjoy and ponder here.

[Ourauspiciousmail]

One should be careful when reading this book , please...The secret and high magic of the blessed and holy man can manifest instantly in real life, right at the moment you are reading a word from it! This is not a soap opera book, please be aware!

[Jason]

Beautiful.

[Arpi Tadevosyan]

A have to!

[Kathy]

can't believe it took me this long to get around to reading these marvelous songs/poems/stories.

[Steve]

This book is a huge collection of amazing poems, Dharma and interesting and quirky stories set in Tibet a long time ago. It's the kind of book I would take on a desert island because it's so rich, and you can't encompass it in a review. In Sangharakshita's book about Milarepa, The Yogi's Joy, he only takes 3 songs to focus on. I started reading this book to review that book, and because the songs are awesome. I finally finished it. Now it's time to turn around and start reading it again. Amazing stuff.

[Iso]

I said previously that every person in the British Isles is probably 'currently reading' The Complete Works of Shakespeare, because our culture and language are so steeped in Shakespeare's words and thinking. In the same way, it could be said that Tibetans (whether free to do so, or sadly not), are probably all 'currently reading' The One Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. It's that important, both culturally, and in terms of Buddhist inspiration. Truly an amazing collection. More than that probably doesn't need to be said.

[C.D. George]

Milarepa, Marpa the translator, Tilopa, and Naropa are all my spiritual forefathers. This is a great book documenting the life of the great Mystic poet of Tibetan Buddhism Milarepa, and a great look at the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and it's lineage.

[Butsuri]

wrong cover

[Ludvig]

Very fun read. Milarepa is an amazing character. Lots of great events and storeis of this unique Buddhist character.