PREFACE

      Tibet, always known as the inaccessible, is even more isolated now because of recent political events. As a result of this situation, there is a greater interest in the country, its religion, and its customs. We are fortunate in America that we have much material in our museums and in private collections which gives us information on the religion and culture of Tibet. Images, ritual objects, and manuscripts, both in the original Tibetan and in translations, are available for study.

      It is unnecessary at this point to go into detail in regard to the Tibetan religion. Briefly, it is a form of Buddhism which was brought into Tibet in the seventh century by the two wives of King Srong-san-Gampo. About a century later, Padmasambhava, a teacher from India, brought the Mahayana form of Buddhism into Tibet. It is known as Lamaism by Occidentals. Padmasambhava is worshipped as the founder of this orthodox sect, called rNin-ma-pa (the Old Ones) and more familiarly known as the Red Cap sect. Subsequently, other teachers added new doctrines, and other sects were formed in which the ritual and discipline differed in greater or lesser degree. An important phase of Tibetan Buddhism was the practice of yoga, which is a form of physical and mental discipline characterized by meditation and various kinds of austerities. Many pupils, after studying with a teacher (guru), retired to caves in the high mountains and, after months or years in solitude, came back to the villages to make known the results of their meditations and to guide the faithful believer on the "Path."Such a one was Milarepa (sometimes spelled Milaraspa), the best known and most remarkable figure in Tibetan history and legend.

      Milarepa, or Mila the Cotton-clad, is known as the poet-saint of Tibet. There are some biographies of Mila; the best known are those written by two of his disciples, Gtsan smyon-Heruka, "the Mad Yogi of Tibet," and Chung. The Hundred Thousand Songs is a collection of Milarepa's poems, quoted and loved by all Tibetans.

      Mala was born of a wealthy family in the eleventh century (1039). At his father's death, the inheritance was entrusted to Mela's uncle and aunt, who deprived the family of its property and reduced his mother and sister to servitude. In order that the family might achieve vengeance for this misfortune, Mala was sent to study with a famous lama in the hope of his learning the arts of black magic. He went to several teachers who were adepts in the use of spells and charms. Legend says that he learned to create hailstorms and that, as a result of this, crop damage and misfortune came to many of his relations and to the villagers through his powers. But he was not happy. After working with various teachers, he finally apprenticed himself to Marpa, called the Translator. Here his real work began. After years of study and almost unendurable hardships, he was initiated through the efforts and help of Damenma, the wife of Marpa. He retired then to caves in the mountains to meditate in solitude. His friends were the glaciers, the winds, and the snows. He conversed with the Dakinis or "sky-goers" and with the demons and beasts. Periodically, he came down to the villages and preached by way of song to the lamas and their disciples. He called himself "Old Man, Storehouse of Songs." These songs were collected, and they comprise the mGur-Bum or The Hundred Thousand Songs. The Tibetans quote or recite them at every opportunity.

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