Milarepa, a great yogi

Milarepa was a young man that lived a life

that was not virtuous 

he went about lying and stealing and even murdering 

he spared none from his angry tongue 

which sliced his fellow men to the bone with his 

rough words that spoke in low ways 

that sent them to feel ashamed and heated with anger 

he lived like a man that was not in honesty in the least 

and he did not stop for a long time 

this kind of behavior 

even though his world was in ruins and 

ashes 

a life that could not be rebuilt easily or 

made to be set on a good foundation again 

due to his actions 

he lived this way for many a day and dark night 

and his soul was very consumed with hate and ill feelings 

he did not have a friend on the earth 

he did not have a soul that trusted him

he lived alone in a barren place in the foothills of india

and hid his soul from the light 

because he was a man that was prideful and was not 

to begin to question himself 

until one day when he was walking along and saw a sage 

that was doing siddha yoga with fire 

this fire appeared out of nowhere and lit up the space they 

both sat and Milarepa's eyes grew wide and he thought, 

wow, this is amazing and seems to be out of the ordinary

there must be some other force working that moves things of 

the heavens and earth

and he sat with this awhile and then walked on until he came across

another sage that was sitting in the forest 

this being was absorbed in himself and glowed fully

he did not seem of this world in the way of being 

caught up in thoughts of past and future or of himself 

but empty it seemed 

so Milarepa sat down and stayed a long time by him

until the sage finally came out of it and said

young man you are here because you have done wrong

you have been within evil, destructive ways and now seek 

to know something other

this is very sad that you have been destructive to life 

in the way you have 

you have a great debt to pay to the universe for this rain 

of violence and sorrow you have left in your wake 

you will repay the universe by building a great structure 

for any that want to stay 

this is what you will do, so go and do it 

Milarepa was caught very off guard by this and he said 

you want me to go build a structure with nothing 

no tools, no study, no labor, only me?

this is what i said to you spoke the sage 

now go, and do not say another word or you will be 

made to be out of my sight for all of this life and then some 

Milarepa shook in himself when the sage said he would be 

banished from his presence if he did not obey his words 

he shook terribly inside at the daunting task before him

but he knew in himself that he was in dire straits as far 

as choices now 

for he could return to his former life and be a recluse

sought out by those that he harmed and eventually 

killed or tortured 

or he could do what the sage told him to do 

which seemed to him now equally hard

but maybe there would be a different outcome at the end 

so he stood up with nothing but his body and thin clothes he 

was wearing and walked away into the heat of the afternoon sun

with this great task before him looming heavy and seeming 

impossible 

he slept on the ground in the hot air with bugs and ants 

and mosquitoes pestering him continuously 

and dreamed of a great gate that was open in the night air

very still looking on the other side 

yet so very dark and unknown to him 

he was compelled to look and go closer and when he did 

he came up to the bars and they were hot to his hands and 

burned him badly and scorched his skin to the bone and he shook 

inside and then he walked thru and found that he was in 

a place of great rest and peace and joy

and he felt like he was not as he was 

just within deep stillness

he looked behind him and the gate was gone from his sight 

and then he woke up to the nightmare of his life 

and said, i wish that i could return there instead 

for i am now a man that is powerless over what is before me to do 

i have no way of understanding what is happening 

nor do i know how i will go about this task 

nor do i know if i will complete it 

nor do i know what will happen if i do complete it 

and i do not know anything at all, thought he 

i am stripped of my understanding of what is to come 

oh dear he said and sat and thought and thought 

when the sun came up 

he walked on into the vast land so hot and dry

so to the bone it set deep in and he was parched with thirst

he found a few sticks and began to build a foundation for a house 

and he found a few more and a few more 

and then he found a few rocks and some earth 

and then he found a bit of water in a sunken place in the earth 

that had contained some rain from a few days back and he soaked his clothes 

and wrung out the water onto the earth

and patted it dry 

and kept on like this 

and kept on 

until there was a little room built that seemed to resemble the 

coming together of a house 

he slept in it and got up and continued 

he ate berries and dry earth and leaves that he found 

he was emaciated and parched and kept going 

then he felt finally that maybe he was done with his task 

and he sat back and looked and yes it did look a bit like a house 

he thought 

okay, so i will go back and tell the sage about it and he will say

good job son, you are now done and on your way

and he returned to the sage that was sitting in quietude and said

dear sir, i have finished the task you gave me, now what am i to do?

would you like to see it?

and the sage did not even open his eyes and said, no -- tear it down now ..

Milarepa was floored and said, what? 

tear it down, said the sage 

and do not speak to me again or i will have you out of my life for all eternity 

i will not want to look upon you ever again, now go...

Milarepa went off on his way, completely floored and exhausted 

looking like skin and bones and dry flesh that was wasting away

he went back to the house he built with his hands and heart 

and tore it down every bit of it ...

he sat on the dry earth and cried and cried with his head in his hands 

he trembled and shook and swore and cursed and everything that could be 

said that made him vent his frustration and sorrow he said...

he was told by his sage later to build another house and tear it down 

and another and another and another 

and then he was sent to live in solitude by himself and sit many, 

many hours in quiet meditation 

in the caves where there was not a soul around but himself 

and he sat and he sat and he sat.....

until milarepa finally broke through his cage of mind 

and entered beautitude and undying perfection

he became a light in the very same life that he took lives

by slaughter and dark ways
and he went on to be a very honored yogi
for humanity with his bright words that rested in stillness
and pointed always to the importance of surrender to Guru
and steady efforts...
he was very much of an example of a man that pulled himself
out of the debris of his  dark past
and rose above it as a light
to be seen then as a blessing for all that came near him..