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Marpa the Translator, the eleventh-century farmer, scholar, and teacher, is one of the most renowned saints in Tibetan Buddhist history. In the West, Marpa is best known through his teacher, the Indian yogin Nâropa, and through his closest disciple, Milarepa. This lucid and moving translation of a text composed by the author of The Life of Milarepa and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa documents the fascinating life of Marpa, who, unlike many other Tibetan masters, was a layman, a skillful businessman who raised a family while training his disciples.

As a youth, Marpa was inspired to travel to India to study the Buddhist teachings, for at that time in Tibet, Buddhism has waned considerably through ruthless suppression by an evil king. The author paints a vivid picture of Marpa's three journeys to India: precarious mountain passes, desolate plains teeming with bandits, greedy customs-tax collectors. Marpa endured many hardships, but nothing to compare with the trials that ensued with his guru Nâropa and other teachers. Yet Marpa succeeded in mastering the tantric teachings, translating and bringing them to Tibet, and establishing the Practice Lineage of the Kagyüs, which continues to this day. 

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Shambhala; Reissue edition (June 18, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570620873
ISBN-13: 978-1570620874
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

ISBN: 9781569571125 1569571120
OCLC Number: 430835399
Language Note: Translation of: Mar-pa-rnam-thar.
Notes: Includes index.
Reprint. Originally published: Boulder : Prajñā Press, 1982.
Description: l, 267 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Other Titles: Mar-pa-rnam-thar.
Responsibility: Tsang Nyön Heruka ; translated from the Tibetan by the Nālandā Translation Committee, under the direction of Chögyam Trungpa.