Hundred Thousand Songs. Antoinette K. Gordon

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      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.

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