The biography and songs of the Tibetan saint Milarepa are well known in the West, but only on the basis of the work of a single author writing around 1500. In the present study, a wide range of sources are brought into play, including little-known texts and oral teachings of Tibetan Buddhist masters of our own day, providing an eminently readable yet at the same time scholarly work of great learning and methodological sophistication. The author presents not only what in all likelihood are the original words of the Saint, but also a fascinating discussion of the religious background and literary traditions involved.
This is a work that establishes, for many years to come, a firm foundation and a new point of departure for studies of Milarepa and his exemplary life and rich spiritual message.
-Per Kvaerne, Professor emeritus, University of Oslo, Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Twenty four years ago, Tiso uncovered a hitherto unknown biography of Milarepa -- one that provides fresh insights into Tibetan biographical practices and reveals a more explicitly tantric Milarepa.
Over the past past two decades, Tiso has applied his formidable scholarly skills to this rare and in some respects eccentric source to elucidate the meaning of the lives of tantric saints and the Tibetan process of sacred transmission. His work offers new insights into bKa' brgyud pa practices in accessible and fluid language. It's a must read.
-Serenity Young, American Museum of Natural History, author of Dreaming the lotus (1999)
