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The Lives of Marpa and Milarepa is a zintri (zin-bris)—a pupil’s record of what may
have been a single oral lecture by Gampopa. Many of his teachings are preserved in this
form in The Collected Works of Gampopa. Unfortunately, in this case the pupil has not
provided his name.
The latter text serves as an addendum to the former, perhaps a spoken lecture
following on from a reading of the text. Apart from the textual division created by the
title and format, The Lives of Marpa and Milarepa begins as a continuation of The Lives
of Tilopa and Naropa, the first line being ‘His pupil was…’ without explaining whom is
being referred to by ‘his’. Its literary style, in contrast with the previous text, is somewhat
ungainly and occasionally obscure.
In this earliest biography of Milarepa, key narrative details differ considerably from
later versions such as Tsangnyön’s, where more dramatic alternatives have replaced these
comparatively mundane events.
Milarepa’s father does not die while he is young, and his mother is never mentioned. It
is said that there is only the father and son, so she appears to have died while he was a
child. When Milarepa returns home, it is therefore to see his father, and he discovers that
he has died in the meantime.56 The word for sister and female cousin is identical in
Tibetan, and there is a point in the narrative when a paternal aunt and a female cousin
visit him. The latter is presumably the seed for the later narrative of the sister. There is no
mention of enmity between Milarepa and his aunt. On the contrary, she solely concerned
for his welfare.
Though he becomes a sorcerer, there is no mention of any use he made of this in his
early years, and at no point is it inferred that his training was a bad thing. Marpa does not
refuse to give Milarepa teachings,57 but as Milarepa has no money to pay for them he
does household tasks, such as carrying water in exchange for the instruction. He is not
said to erect or demolish buildings.58
When Marpa has finished teaching Milarepa he sends him to Ngoktön for more
detailed teaching. Milarepa therefore does not escape with Damema’s aid so as to secretly
study under Ngoktön.59
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