Milarepa Quotes

Life is short and the time of death is uncertain; so apply yourself to meditation. Avoid doing evil, and acquire merit, to the best of your ability, even at the cost of life itself. In short: Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves and hold fast to this rule. ~ Milarepa

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once. ~ Milarepa

You menace others with your deadly fangs. But in tormenting them, you are only tormenting yourselves. ~ Milarepa

He who avoids misunderstandings,
Amused at the play of his own mind,
Is ever joyful. ~ Milarepa

Know emptiness, Be compassionate. ~ Milarepa

My religion is to live - and die - without regret. ~ Milarepa

I, Milarepa, fear neither demons nor evils;
If they frightened Milarepa, to what avail
Would be his Realization and Enlightenment?

Ye ghosts and demons, enemies of the Dharma,
I welcome you today!
It is my pleasure to receive you!
I pray you, stay; do not hasten to leave;
We will discourse and play together.
Although you would be gone, stay the night;
We will pit the Black against the White Dharma,
And see who plays the best.
Before you came, you vowed to afflict me.
Shame and disgrace would follow
If you returned with this vow unfulfilled. ~ Garma C.C. Chang

His Consciousness

To Glorious Wisdom of Love
To the Profound Heart Sound
To Great Awareness of the enlightened few
To Limitless Space of Compassion
To Alertness of Bliss and Emptiness

To the Mind riding on the wind of Light
To Amitaba and Amideva
To Milarepa and Baba Ji
To you my Father and Mother
Whose Merge brought me here
To experience
The Diamond Being
Within the Primordial Consciousness
of One ~ Natasa Nuit Pantovic

When ye look at me I am an idle, idle man; when I look at myself I am a busy, busy man. Since upon the plain of uncreated infinity I am building, building the tower of ecstasy, I have no time for building houses. Since upon the steppe of the void of truth I am breaking, breaking the savage fetter of suffering, I have no time for ploughing family land. Since at the bourn of unity ineffable I am subduing, subduing the demon-foe of self, I have no time for subduing angry foe-men. Since in the palace of mind which transcends duality I am waiting, waiting for spiritual experience as my bride, I have no time for setting up house. Since in the circle of the Buddhas of my body I am fostering, fostering the child of wisdom, I have no time for fostering snivelling children. Since in the frame of the body, the seat of all delight, I am saving, saving precious instruction and reflection, I have no time for saving wordly wealth. ~ Milarepa

The world knows caterpillar becomes butterfly but they don't care that it also becomes a moth. One is diurnal another nocturnal.Human once awakened can change the view to change self from Angulimala to a Buddha ~ Milarepa

However beautiful a song may be,
it is just a tune to those
who do not understand its meaning. ~ Milarepa

When you are strong and healthy, You never think of sickness coming, But it descends with sudden force, Like a stroke of lightning. When involved in worldly things, You never think of death's approach; Quick it comes like thunder, Crashing round your head. ~ Milarepa

If one stays too long with friends They will soon tire of him; Living in such closeness leads to dislike and hate. It is but human to expect and demand too much When one dwells too long in companionship. ~ Milarepa

Accustomed long to contemplating love and compassion I have forgotten all difference between myself and others ~ Milarepa

Deep in the wild mountains, is a strange marketplace,where you can trade the hassle and noise of everyday life, for eternal Light. ~ Milarepa

Take the lowest place, and you shall reach the highest. ~ Milarepa

In horror of death, I took to the mountains - again and again I meditated on the uncertainty of the hour of death, capturing the fortress of the deathless unending nature of mind. Now all fear of death is over and done. ~ Milarepa

Sri Krishna's message is the message of anyone who comes from far away. His message is the same as Buddha, Lao Tsu, Bodhidharma, Milarepa, Padmasambhava. ~ Frederick Lenz

Hasten slowly and ye shall soon arrive. ~ Milarepa

He who knows that all things are his mind, That all with which he meets are friendly, Is ever joyful. ~ Milarepa

Sit down and have a cup of coffee
With your firm conviction that they're out to get you
Sit down and have a cigarette with your awful fear of death
I saw Milarepa at the all-night diner sharing a table with his personal demons
He said You've got to invite them in with compassion on your breath

Stop running away, 'cause nobody runs as fast as pain and sorrow
Stop pushing away, you're just making it hard
Stop putting it off, 'cause it'll be back to kick your ass tomorrow
Breathe in, breathe out, let down your guard

Sit down and start shooting the shit
With the fear that you'll never measure up to your ideals
Sit down and have a bottle of beer with the ache of all you've lost
I saw Milarepa at the coffee house having a Danish with his hurts and hatreds
He said You've got to invite them in, or you pay ten times the cost.

Stop running away, 'cause nobody runs as fast as fear and loathing
Stop pushing away, you're just making it worse
Stop putting it off, cause it'll be back again in different clothing
Just pop the clutch and go into reverse

Invite them in and let them be there while you learn to stand it
Invite them in and give them room to stomp and shout
When they can come and go
They won't be always pounding on your door
If you let them in you can let them out.

Sit down and have a conversation
With the loneliness that's eating yo ~ Allison Lonsdale

To attain Buddhahood ... we must scatter this life's aims and objects to the wind. ~ Milarepa

Mental activity in the daytime creates a latent form of habitual thought which again transforms itself at night into various delusory visions sensed by the semi-consciousness. This is called the deceptive and magic-like Bardo of Dream. ~ Milarepa

In the monastery of your heart, you have a temple where all Buddhas unite. ~ Milarepa

One should see that all appearance is like mist and fog. ~ Milarepa

My religion is not deceiving myself. ~ Milarepa

In harvesting of evil deeds, the human race is busy; and doing so is to taste the pangs of Hell ... The piling up of wealth is the piling up of others' property; what one thus storeth formeth but provisions for one's enemies ... I wash off human scandal by devotion true; and by my zeal, I satisfy the Deities. By compassion, I subdue the demons; all blame I scatter to the wind, and upward turn my face. ~ Milarepa

Desires achieved increase thirst like salt water. ~ Milarepa

Pilgrimages are journeys to places of power. People sometimes make pilgrimages to the caves where Milarepa or other great yogis meditated. ~ Frederick Lenz

Let distractions melt away like clouds disappearing in the sky. - MILAREPA ~ Dalai Lama XIV

All meditation must begin with arousing deep compassion. Whatever one does must emerge from an attitude of love and benefitting others. ~ Milarepa

In brief, without being mindful of death, whatever Dharma practices you take up will be merely superficial. ~ Milarepa

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation. ~ Milarepa

If ye realize the Emptiness of All Things, Compassion will raise within your heart;
If ye lose all differentiation between yourselves and others, fit to serve others ye will be;
And when in serving others ye shall win success, then shall ye meet with me;
And finding me, ye shall attain to Buddhahood. ~ Milarepa

Strong and healthy, who thinks of sickness until it strikes like lightning? Preoccupied with the world, who thinks of death, until it arrives like thunder? ~ Milarepa

In the gap between thoughts
nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously. ~ Milarepa

Even though peak experiences might show us the truth and inform us about why we are training, they are essentially no big deal. If we can't integrate them into the ups and downs of our lives, if we cling to them, they will hinder us. We can trust our experiences as valid, but then we have to move on and learn how to get along with our neighbors. Then even the most remarkable insights can begin to permeate our lives. As the twelfth-century Tibetian yogi Milarepa said when he heard of his student Gampopa's peak experiences, 'They are neither good not bad. Keep meditation.' ~ Pema Chodron