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Milarepa & The Heart Sutra

Milarepa (Tibetan: Rje-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa. c1052—c1135 CE)
is one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a
major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka'-brgyud) school of Tibetan
Buddhism. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagyu )

The essence of Milarepa lies in his writings rather than the legends that
have grown up around him.
These writings, often referred to as the Songs of Milarepa, are canonical Mahayana Buddhist texts and in
particular emphasize the temporary nature of the physical body and the
need for non-attachment.
In contrast, the legends of Milarepa's life are full of references to magic and lack the same sense of devout
non-attachment.

At the age of forty-five, he started to practice at Drakar Taso (White Rock Horse Tooth) cave - 'Milarepa's Cave', as
well as becoming a wandering teacher.
Here, he subsisted on 'nettle tea', leading his skin to turn green,
hence the greenish color he is often depicted as having in paintings and sculpture.

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The Heart Sutra (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदय Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya; thought to have been composed in the 1st century
CE ) is a well-known Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra that is very popular among
Tibetan Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning.

The Heart Sutra is a member of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā)
class of Mahāyāna Buddhist literature, and along with the Diamond Sutra,
is perhaps the most prominent representative of the genre.

Briefly, the sutra describes the experience of liberation of the bodhisattva of
compassion, Avalokiteśvara, as a result of insight gained while engaged
in deep meditation to awaken the faculty of prajña (wisdom).
( http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/heart... )

The insight refers to the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena, the five
aggregates of human existence (skandhas) -- form (rūpa), feeling
(vedanā), volitions (samskārā), perceptions (saṁjñā), and consciousness
(vijñāna).
("...in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, ... no attainment and no non-attainment")

Heart Sutra Om Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Soha
Pronunciation: ɡəteː ɡəteː paːɾəɡəteː paːɾəsəŋɡəte boːdʱɪ sʋaːɦaː
Translation; "gone gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening(enlightenment), hail!"