Jetsun Milarepa (1040–1123) is celebrated as Tibet’s greatest yogi, or practitioner of Buddhist tantric yoga, as well as the father of the Kagyu lineage. His dramatic biography recounts how, as a young man, Milarepa mastered the arts of black magic and sorcery to avenge injustices done to his family.  After wreaking death and destruction upon his enemies, Milarepa reflected upon his evil deeds and felt overwhelming remorse. Seeking to throw himself upon the mercy of an enlightened guru, he took refuge under the great tantric master Marpa the Translator. 

After much diligent and sincere practice under the guidance of Marpa, Milarepa eventually received signs of spiritual accomplishments as well as the direct visions and blessings from dakinis. Milarepa’s radical ability to overturn his wicked actions into the highest spiritual accomplishment in a single lifetime has become an inspirational legacy bringing hope and encouragement to ordinary practitioners.

Well-known stories of Milarepa’s life are illustrated in the background of this painting amid the subtly colored surroundings and landscape representing the rigorous life endured by Milarepa in his quest for enlightenment.