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Lot Essay
Milarepa (1040-1123) is sometimes thought of as the first ordinary Tibetan to become a perfect Buddha in one lifetime. As a young man he successfully mastered black magic to take revenge on a wicked uncle wrongfully claiming his inheritance. He then repented to practice Buddhism with his teacher Marpa, who put him through terrible ordeals of constructing and reconstructing a nine-story tower four times over before agreeing to teach him. Profoundly gifted as a singer and poet, he communicated Buddhism through song and poetry and is credited with numerous popular Tibetan folk songs. His characteristic gesture of holding his right hand to his ear may be interpreted as listening to the 'echoes of nature'.