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The Kagyu Lineage: Milarepa

The Kagyu Lineage: the Tibetan Lineage Masters: Marpa the Translator Tibet's most famous meditator Mila Sherab Gyaltsen, Milarepa's father, married Nyangtsa Kargyen when he was 21. The couple lived happily and prosperously in the village of Kya Ngatsa (also known as Tsa). Then some relatives of Mila's grandfather - an uncle named Yungdrup Gyaltsen and an aunt named Khyung Tsha Pedon - moved to the area.By then, Mila's family had been settled there a long time and had an impressive house, considerable land and a thriving business in trade. According to the custom, Milarepa's family helped their newly-arrived relatives to establish a business, to find land and to build a house, and so things went well for these relatives as well. While Nyangtsha Kargyen was pregnant with Milarepa, her husband went away on a long trading tour, and during his absence the child was born. A messenger was sent to find the father and inform him that he had a new son, asked him to give a name and to return for a festival. (It is considered auspicious to have a special festival to celebrate the birth of a child.) The father replied: "This is truly wonderful. Within each generation of our family, there is only one son born. I am delighted to hear that this son has been born, and I will call him Töpa Ga." "Töpa" means to hear, and "ga" means happy or joyous, so his name meant "Milarepa, a Joy to Hear" or "Milarepa Good News." This name actually accords very well with Milarepa's attributes, since later as a great practitioner he sang wonderful songs, and when people heard them their minds were filled with delight. After a while, the father returned home and gave a big celebration in honour of their son.

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