The Life of Marpa: The Translator

Marpa the Translator, the eleventh-century farmar, scholar, and teacher, is one of the most renowned saints in Tibetan Buddhist history. In the West, Marpa, is best known through his teacher, the Indian yogin Naropa, and through his closest disciple, Milarepa. This lucid and moving translation of a text composed by the author of The Life of Milarepa the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa documents the fascinating life of Marpa, who, unlike many other Tibetan masters, was a layman, a skilful businessman who raised a family while training his disciple. As a youth, Marpa was inspired to travel to India to study the Buddhist teachings, for at that time in Tibet, Buddhism had waned considerably through ruthless suppression by an evil king. The author paints a vivid picture of Marpa’s three journeys to India: Precarious mountain passes, desolate plains teeming with bandits, greedy customs-tax collectors. Marpa enduced many hardships, but nothing to compare with the trials that ensued with his gura Naropa and other teachers. Yet Marpa succeeded in mastering the tantric teachings, translating and bringing them to Tibet, and establishing the Practice Lineage of the Kagyus, which continues to this day.