Milarepa

Milarepa is Tibet's most celebrated yogin-poet, traditionally the disciple of Marpa and a foundational figure of the Kagyu school, born in the Gungthang district of western Tibet. A historical ascetic of this name and lineage very likely existed, and a body of 'songs of realization' (mgur) is associated with him. But the famous life—black magic to avenge a wronged family, years of harsh trials under Marpa, solitary cave retreats, awakening in a single lifetime—comes from a vivid later hagiography (most influentially Tsangnyön Heruka's 15th-century Life), and his birth and death years are genuinely disputed across sources. He is presented here as a figure of tradition, the historical yogin distinguished from the legend.