The Invitation from the King of Kathmandu of Mön

　　From the songs of Milarepa

　　commentated on by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

　　In chapter twenty-seven of The One Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, the yogi Milarepa was staying in solitude in a cave on Katya mountain of Nyishang Gurta (present-day Manang, Nepal), in the area of Mön, keeping silence and resting in a continuous stream of meditation.

　　Some hunters came along and saw Milarepa, motionless and staring. They thought he was a demon, and ran away, but then summoning up their courage, they returned, ready to shoot him with their poisoned arrows. They asked him, “Are you a human being or a demon

　　” But, Milarepa did not respond at all. They fired their arrows at him but they could not pierce his body. They decided to throw him over a cliff, but they couldn”t lift his body. They stacked wood around him and set it on fire, but Milarepa didn”t burn. They carried him to a wide river and threw him in, but Milarepa, rose up out of the water, perfectly dry, still in the vajra posture (crossed legged meditation posture), and floated back up to his cave and back onto his meditation seat.

　　The astounded hunters left the mountain and told the nearby inhabitants about this amazing yogin that was living there.

　　One man named Chirarepa recently became Milarepa”s pupil; he was a hunter and had come across Milarepa on the mountain as described in the preceding chapter of The One Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. Chirarepa said to the other hunters, “That must be my Tibetan lama that you are talking about. He is a true siddha. He even taught the Dharma to my dog and the deer when I was hunting, making them sit together and meditate.”

　　The reputation of Milarepa spread throughout Nepal. The King of Patan and Bhaktapur developed great faith and devotion towards Milarepa. The King dreamt that Tara, a female Bodhisattva, told him, “You have Benares cotton and a yellow myrobalan fruit. There is a great Tibetan yogin presently staying at the Katya cave. If you offer these things to him it will be of great benefit to you.”

　　The king sent a man who could speak Tibetan to find Milarepa. When he came to Milarepa”s cave and saw how Mila had forsaken material life and was remaining in meditation all the time, he felt great faith and was certain that he had found Milarepa. Nevertheless, in order to avoid any mistake he asked, “What is your name

　　 Isn”t it terrible to live like this, without anything to eat or drink

　　 Why have you given up all possessions

　　”

　　Milarepa replied, “I am Milarepa, the yogin from Tibet. There is a great purpose to not having possessions.” He then explained what he meant in a song:

　　I have no desire for wealth or possessions, and so I have nothing. I do not experience the initial suffering of having to accumulate possessions, the intermediate suffering of having to protect and keep possessions, nor the final suffering of loosing these possessions. This is a wonderful thing.

　　I have no desire for friends or relations. I do not experience the initial suffering of forming a mental attachment, the intermediate suffering of having a disagreement, nor the final suffering of parting from them. Therefore it is good to be without friends and relations.

　　I have no desire for pleasant conversation. I do not experience the initial suffering of seeking conversation, the intermediate suffering of wondering whether it will continue, nor the final suffering of the conversation deteriorating. Therefore I do not delight in pleasant conversation.

　　I have no desire for a home land and have no fixed residence. I do not experience the initial suffering of partiality of thinking that “this is my land and that place isn”t.” I do not experience the intermediate suffering of yearning for my land. An…

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