The Life of Marpa the Translator : Seeing Accomplishes All

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Summary: Life of a Mahasiddha
Review: Adventure, courageous effort, dedication, humor, tragedy, magic, and enlightenment. Must reading for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism and Tantra in particular. Read the biographies of Naropa and Milarepa to get a larger picture of this lineage of masters. For those involved in Dharma practice reading these biographies gives a clearer sense of what hard practice is, and what a life in Dharma may be like for sincere practitioners. It is always refreshing to hear about the actions and words of truely clear headed masters.

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Summary: Marpa, the guru of Milarepa
Review: Nearly every spiritual aspirant has read about Milarepa, the master yogi of Tibet. Now there is information about his guru Marpa, the translater and actually importer of Buddhism from India to Tibet. Marpa stands in the lineage of Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and then the Karmapas. But Marpa was no regular saint or yogi. He was married and had an awkward personality. His tough and difficult character made it possible to persevere unbearable hardships of traveling, finding a guru in a remote country and following that gurus path. And it was no easy task to become accepted by Naropa as a pupil. And it was no easier to deal with his own pupil Milarepa. Marpas power has proved to outlast history: The Karmapas are still around and they are no easier to deal with today.