Meditation in the Mountains

AFTER A FEW YEARS OF MEDITATION IN THE MOUNTAINS, ONCE A DAY I MADE A THIN SOUP, USING MY SUPPLY OF BARLEY SPARINGLY, PRACTICING INNER-HEAT YOGA, WITHOUT MAKING DISTINCTION BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAY.

THE DAY HAD COME WHEN I RAN OUT OF FOOD COMPLETELY.

WHAT SHALL I DO NOW? I WON'T GO DOWN TO BEG FROM PEOPLE I MUST FIND SOMETHING TO STAY ALIVE...

OH MARPA! BLESS ME SO I MAY STAY IN THIS SOLITUDE. THOUGH I FEEL LONELY, LET ME KEEP MY SEAT UNTIL I KNOW MY OWN TRUE MIND.

LIVING ON NETTLE SOUP ONLY, I CONTINUED MY MEDITATION AND SLOWLY MY BODY BECAME LIKE A SKELETON, COVERED WITH GREENISH HAIR...

Mila

I COULD NOT MEDITATE ANYMORE AND FINALLY BROKE THE SEAL OF MARPA'S LETTER IN HIS HANDWRITING WERE PRECISE INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT WHAT EXERCISES TO PRACTICE UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.

PRACTICING AT ONCE, I EXPERIENCED PURE AWARENESS, EMPTY AND LUMINOUS.

EVERYTHING I HAD KNOWN ABOUT IN THEORY I NOW REALIZED IN A POWERFUL AND STABLE WAY.

I HAD THE SENSATION OF BEING ABLE TO CHANGE MY BODY INTO ANY SHAPE AT WILL AND MOVING FREELY THROUGH ANY SPACE. I KEPT ON MEDITATING UNTIL I COULD ACTUALLY FLY. S0 I FLEW TO THE CAVE OF THE EAGLE'S SHADOW, WHERE I PRACTICED INNER-HEAT YOGA.

IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, I MEDITATED IN MANY DIFFERENT PLACES.

THROUGHOUT THE LAND OF SNOWS, TIBET, MILAREPA BECAME RENOWNED AS A SUPREMELY POWERFUL YOGI. HE DISPLAYED MIRACULOUS DEEDS AS A SIGN OF HAVING ATTAINED THE ULTIMATE GOAL, BUDDHAHOOD