Marpa

Marpa

(OSHO on Marpa - Marpa was a very strange man. His master Milarepa used to say, "Even I bow down to Marpa." No master has ever said that, but Marpa was such.)

Marpa the Translator, or Marpa Lotsawa (ca. 1012 - ca. 1097), was a founding father of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He is credited with translating many Buddhist teachings into Tibetan - teachings. He also worked to transmit  teachings of value to disciples in his lineage.

Marpa's full name was Lhodak Marpa Choski Lodos. He was born as Marpa Chökyi Lodrö, in Lhodrak Chukhyer in the southern part of Tibet. (Excuse us for the long unfamiliar names in Tibetian Langage)

He was born into a quite prosperous family, began studying at a young age, and came to master Sanskrit. He travelled to India to study with renowned Indian Buddhist teachers, and then came home to Lhodrak, where he traded away his entire inheritance for gold to fund his travel expenses and to be better able to offer gold to teachers to pay for their teachings and initiations.

First he went to Nepal. There he studied with two students of Naropa. One of the students later accompanied Marpa to somewhere near Nalanda University, where Naropa taught. Marpa spent twelve years studying with Naropa and other Indian gurus that Naropa sent him to to study beneath, or get instructions from, and most prominently Maitripada. After twelve years he travelled back to Tibet to teach and carry on. He now married Dagmema, and they prospered as farmers.

After some years, he went south again to study for a further six years with Naropa. Before leaving to go home again, he promised his guru he would return to complete his training. And finally, well into middle age and against objections of his family, he set out for a third and final journey to India.

In India, he learned that Naropa had disappeared into the jungle and that his whereabouts were unknown. However, eventually Marpa found him and got the final teachings and instructions from him. On this occasion Naropa foretold that Marpa's lineage would be carried on by his disciples; not by his kin, although , Marpa and Dagmema had even sons.  

Marpa now had received the full transmission of teachings, and therefore Naropa declared Marpa to be his dharma successor, that is, successor in the teachings and lineage holder. Naropa had other major followers too, and Maitripa was one of them.

(In Tibet, there is a beautiful story about Marpa. It may not be factual, but it is tremendously significant.

I don’t care much about facts. My emphasis is on the significance and the truth, which is a totally different thing.

Marpa heard about a master. He was searching and he went to the master, he surrendered to the master, he trusted totally. And he asked the master, “What am I supposed to do now?”

The master said, “Once you have surrendered to me, you are not supposed to do anything. Just believe in me. My name is the only secret mantra for you. Whenever you are in difficulty, just remember my name and everything will be all right.”

Marpa touched his feet. And he tried it immediately — he was such a simple man. He walked on the river. Other disciples who had been with the master for years could not believe it — he was walking on the water!

They reported to the master that, “That man, you have not understood him. He is no ordinary man, he is walking on water!”

The master said, “What?”

They all ran towards the river and Marpa was walking on the water, singing songs, dancing. When he came to the shore, the master asked, “What is the secret?”

He said, “What is the secret? It is the same secret that you have given to me — your name. I remembered you. I said, `Master, allow me to walk on water’ and it happened.”

The master could not believe that his name…. He himself could not walk on water. But perhaps… he had never tried.
But it would be better to check a few more things before he tries. So he said to Marpa, “Can you jump from that hill?”

Marpa said, “Whatever you say.” He went up on the hill and jumped, and they were all standing in the valley waiting — just pieces of Marpa will be there! Even if they can find pieces of him, that will be enough — the hill was very high.

But Marpa came down smiling, sitting in a lotus posture. He came just under a tree in the valley, and sat down. They all surrounded him. They looked at him — not even a scratch.
The master said, “This is something. You used my name?”

He said, “It was your name.”
The master said, “This is enough, now I am going to try,” and the first step in the water, he sank.
Marpa could not believe it when he sank. His disciples jumped in and somehow pulled him out. He was half dead. The water was taken out of his lungs… somehow he survived.

And Marpa said, “What is the matter?”

The master said, “You just forgive me. I am no master, I am just a pretender.”

But Marpa said, “If you are a pretender, then how did your name work?”

The pretender said, “My name has not worked. It is your trust. It does not matter who you trust — it is the trust, the love, the totality of it. I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust anybody. I cheat everybody — how can I trust? And I am always afraid to be cheated by others, because I am cheating others. Trust is impossible for me. You are an innocent man, you trusted me. It is because of your trust that the miracles have happened.”

Whether the story is true or not does not matter

But marpa became a great master. His teacher's name is not known. Marpa managed to transform the whole of tibet to the path of the buddha.

So sometimes it has happened that the teacher may not know, but if the disciple trusts, his trust can create the miracles. Buddha has said, "let people read the scriptures, let them listen to teachers... The teachers may not know that the scriptures are dead words; but who knows, if these people have trust, their trust can resurrect the dead words. Their trust can get inspiration from people who don't have anything that can inspire.

Finally it is trust in yourself, but it takes a little time to find the trust in yourself. It is easy to trust in somebody else. But once you have understood that it is trust -- then why trust in individuals? Why not trust in the whole existence? Then your whole life becomes a mystery, and things start happening around you which you are not doing. . – OSHO)

Back in Tibet, Marpa lived with his wife Dakmema and their sons in Lhodrak, southern Tibet. He translated Buddhist scriptures for many years, and also founded a Buddhist Monastery in Zanskar in 1052 CE, presumably. He continued to practice and give teachings and transmissions to many students. Milarepa was one of them, and also became his spiritual heir in the lineage of Nalopa.

Marpa is also credited with the tradition of dohas, songs of realization that his disciple Milarepa made very famous, after producing large numbers of them. Marpa had many other disciples too. One of them specialised in Tantras, another in phowa  practice (consciousness-transferral), a third mastered the practice of luminosity, ösal.

Marpa died at eighty-four. People reported seeing a rainbow and showers of flowers at that moment, hearing the sound of music, while there were delightful scents in the air.

( A Snippet …

Somebody once said to Marpa, "Do you believe in Milarepa? If so then jump into this fire!" Immediately he jumped! People ran from all sides to extinguish the fire knowing that Marpa had jumped into it. When the fire was put out they found him sitting there in a buddha posture laughing hilariously!

They asked Marpa, "Why are you laughing?"

He said, "I am laughing because trust is the only thing that fire cannot destroy.")

Marpa’s Poems

Fixated neither on Samsara nor Nirvana,
Free of both acceptance and rejection,
Not hoping for fruition from others,
With mind free of preoccupation and complexity,
Avoiding all of the four extremes,
Non-meditation and non-wandering,
Free from thought and speech,
Beyond any analogy whatsoever –
Through the kindness of the Guru, I realized these.

Since these realizations have dawned,
Mind and mentation have ceased,
And space and insight are inseparably one.
Faults and virtues neither increase nor decrease;
Bliss, shunyata and luminosity are unceasing.
Therefore Light arises beyond coming and going

Innate essence is by nature luminous.
Unconditioned, meditation is unceasing.
Free of negation, beyond loss and gain,
Without desire or attachment – such is meditation.

Arising from natural coincidence,
The play of illusion is unhindered.
Free of negation, all things
Are unpredictable and sudden – such is action.

The merit of praising the guru
Is equal to offering to the Buddhas.
Through praising the masters,
May all beings serve spiritual friends.

If I explain all of my realization,
Some of you would not be able to hold it in your mind.
If I were to explain just an aspect, it would be this:

Confidence in luminosity
Is perception free from bias or partiality.
Meditation is continuous, like the flow of a vast river.
By refusing to limit meditation to the four periods,
And by renouncing even the vestige of hypocrisy,
There is no distinction between meditation and what comes after it.
By gaining the power of prana and mind,
The fear of Samsara disappeared long ago.
This is my realization.

Further more about life of Marpa

Marpa, the first Tibetan founder in the Kagyü lineage, was born in 1012 in southern Tibet of relatively prosperous parents.  A young man with a violent temper, he was sent by his parents to study the Dharma.  However, he became frustrated by his experiences with various teachers, and decided to go to India.

After an arduous trek through the Himalayas, in the forest of what is now Nepal he found the siddha, Naropa.  For twelve years, he studied with him and also with others, such as Maitripa, from whom he also received instruction on Mahamudra.  He learned the local languages and so, was able to translate essential texts into Tibetan.

He then returned to Tibet where he married Dagmema, and they prospered as  farmers.  After some years, he went south again to study for a further six years with Naropa.  Before leaving to go home again, he promised his guru he would return to complete his training. 

Back in Tibet, he attracted a group of students including Milarepa.  Finally, well into middle age and against the objections of his family, he set out for a third and final journey to India.

Marpa's last stay in India was full of difficulty.  He learned that Naropa had disappeared into the jungle and that his whereabouts were unknown.  Just as he was feeling frustration and despair, and ready to give up, his guru appeared.  Then Marpa ccompleted a further three years of training, and taking a large number of texts with him, he returned home to Tibet to stay. 

Now, Marpa and Dagmema had had seven sons, but only one, Darma Dode, was particularly gifted.  He was mortally injured while riding on his way to a festival. As he lay dying in his parents' house, he performed phowa, the ejection of consciousness.  His consciousness entered the body of a pigeon, that flew to India just in time to enter and revivify the body of Tipupa, a brahmin boy who had died.

After Darma Dode's death, Milarepa became Marpa's primary dharma heir.  The 9-storey tower he constructed at Marpa's request was dedicated to Darma Dode. 

Marpa died at age 84 amidst many auspicious signs.  People reported seeing a rainbow and showers of flowers.  They experienced the sound of music, and delightful scents on the air. 

It is said that Naropa escorted him to a celestial realm accompanied by hosts of dakas and dakinis, just as he had promised. 

Marpa brought to Tibet the lineage of Tilopa and Naropa.  He translated many important Indian texts, and he also is credited with the tradition of dohas, songs of realization later made famous by Milarepa.   (Khenpo Tsultrim continues that doha tradition, today.)

When one has reached the level of

the nondiscriminatory yoga,

one meditates by blending

the diverse forms of dualities.

Do not let your undistracted

mindfulness lose its focus;

Do not modify or meditate

on the abiding nature of phenomena;

Do not desire to define that

which transcends the mind;

Do not distort it

by investigation.

Maintain this state openly!

You will unify the meditation on

and attainment of the nondiscriminatory yoga,

like the reunion of a mother

and her only daughter.

Je Yanggönpa