Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
  • English
  • France
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • Poland
Jan 01

Gyalwang Karmapa’s “Life of Milarepa” Play Performed in Bodhgaya

January 1, 2010 – Bodhgaya, India

After three years of reading the biography of Milarepa to Kagyu Monlam attendees, two hours at a time, His Holiness transmitted the entire life of Milarepa in a single, magnificent evening. In what was nothing short of a world-class theatrical event, approximately 12,000 people turned out and many viewers were watching live online to view a play of Milarepa’s life created by His Holiness and performed by actors from the Tibetan Institute for the Performing Arts (TIPA). Adding the title of playwright to a list of accomplishments that already seems impossibly diverse, Gyalwang Karmapa himself composed the script for the six-act play. Over the past months, His Holiness has also overseen stage design, rehearsed actors in his temporary residence in Gyuto and generally provided creative direction at all stages of the production. According to TIPA, this was the largest theatrical event in Tibetan history.

A multi-level stage and massive performance arena were specially constructed under the instruction of His Holiness for the play was constructed as depicting the thousand arms Chenresig. 250 Bhikshu and Bhikshuni on left and another 250 on right portraying 500 eyes and 500 arms on each side making it 1000 eyes and arms of the Chenresig. The 11 steps on the top of the stage depicting 11 faces.

High-end theatre technology was imported for the event and put to great effect. Even before the performance began, the audience burst into rounds of applause as the stage lighting subtly shifted shades while the audience slowly filtered into the arena. Multiple cameras captured the event for projection on massive screens that flanked the arena, greatly enhancing visibility for the massive crowd.

The troupe of over 60 actors and singers traveled from Dharamsala to perform for the event, held on New Year’s day. The play incorporated elements of traditional Tibetan opera into a modern theatrical format, without sacrificing a distinctly Tibetan flavor. In the interludes between acts, Tibetan monks and nuns chanted Buddhist prayers, set mostly to melodies composed by His Holiness. The evening concluded with a rousing series of folk dances from the three regions of Tibet.

Signaling the cultural importance of the play, Kagyu Member of Parliament Sherab Tharchin opened the event mentioning such events were celebrated at the conclusion of Monlam from the times of 7th Karmapa Choedrak Gyatso, and Gyalwang Karmapa himself provided the concluding remarks. Plans for a DVD of the play are already in progress.

As His Holiness himself pointed out, the performance of life stories of important spiritual figures on New Year’s Day is a deep-rooted Tibetan tradition. While the life of Milarepa has already been captured in numerous works of Tibetan literature, a number of features distinguish His Holiness’ production from other representations of the life of the great Tibetan yogi. On the most basic level, whereas generally a literary Tibetan is most commonly used in theatrical performances, His Holiness created a script in colloquial Tibetan.

This renders the play far more accessible to a general public, and even for audience members who are highly conversant with literary Tibetan, the shift to a colloquial register of speech allows for a more intimate and immediate encounter with Milarepa as a human being.

Additionally, His Holiness treatment of the character of Nangasa Kargyen, Milarepa’s mother, reflected great sympathy for her plight as a mother rendered powerless in her efforts to care for her children. With visceral scenes of the physical, verbal and psychological abuse inflicted on her children by their Uncle and Aunt, the drama made clear that Milarepa’s mother had exhausted all other options before charging Milarepa with the task of learning sorcery to bring low their enemies.

As she sends Mila off to study sorcery, she tells him, “Other people’s sorcery is the hobby of the rich and pampered. Our sorcery is the last chance of desperate people.”

Throughout, His Holiness made full use of the genre of theatre to bring Milarepa’s suffering and spiritual transformation to life, allowing the audience to connect with Milarepa’s in new and vivid ways. When Milarepa returns to his native land hoping to see his mother, he learns instead that she has long since died of a heartbreak, and her neglected corpse was left to rot in their abandoned home. Finding her weathered bones piled in the ruins of the house, Mila falls to his knees and tenderly gathers her bones in his lap. The viewing screens erected throughout the arena were put to great effect during this scene, as a close-up shot of the tears streaming down Mila’s grieving face allowed the audience to share in the depth of Mila’s emotions. At this point, tears were shed by many audience members as well.

One learned Tibetan geshe commented that while viewing this play he was moved to tears on five separate occasions, including the moment when Milarepa’s mother collapsed in anger when he arrived home drunk from the classes she had arranged in seeking to give him an education.

Another audience member—not herself a student of the Gyalwang Karmapa—noted that for her the drama brought Milarepa to life more vividly and movingly than any of the films or other performance she had observed thus far.

The drama offered moments of comic relief as well, much appreciated by the audience. When Milarepa introduces himself to Marpa as “a great evildoer from Lato,” Marpa replies: “Maybe you are a great evildoer. But why are you bragging to me about it? I’m not the one who made you commit evil deeds. What evils have you done, anyway?” prompting bursts of laughter from the audience.

A winter chill further heightened the realism and contributed to the intensity of audience involvement in the performance as well: As temperatures dropped steadily during the evening, the character of Milarepa appeared on the windswept stage, clad in scene after scene in a thin white cloth, as audience members huddled together shivering in their jackets and wool shawls. Viewers were left to reflect on the contrast between Milarepa’s unflinching mountaintop asceticism and their own responses to the relatively mild cold of the Bodhgaya night. Meanwhile, the 500 bhikshus and bhikshunis seated to either side of the stage continued to watch intently with right arms bared and shaved heads exposed to the night air.

During his concluding comments, His Holiness gazed out upon the many thousands of audience members for a moment, and then commented that the benefits of having heard Mila’s life story include protection from rebirth in the lower realms and liberation. Gyalwang Karmapa expressed how happy he was that everyone had come to the play, and with great generosity, thanked the audience for their forbearance of the cold.

Gyalwang Karmapa’s “Life of Milarepa” Play Performed in Bodhgaya

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • E-Mail

Related Posts

  • A Prayer for the Swift Return of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche by the Gyalwang KarmapaFebruary 23, 2022
  • Full Transcript of the Address from His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa to the 36th Kagyu MonlamJanuary 27, 2019
  • Postponement of the 35th Kagyu MonlamNovember 1, 2017
  • The Gyalwang Karmapa Expresses His Birthday Wish – To Visit His HomelandJune 27, 2017

[ long read ]

MIND TRAINING TEACHING
The Gyalwang Karmapa gave an extensive teaching on the 8 Verses of Training the Mind

[ video series ]

THE PRAJNAPARAMITA
Taught over six sessions, this is a direct explanation of the Buddhist view of emptiness

[ long read ]

THE CHENREZIK PRACTICE
The Gyalwang Karmapa taught on how to practice Chenrezik and recite his mantra

[ video series ]

100 SHORT INSTRUCTIONS
Taught over nine sessions, this text by the 8th Karmapa was taught in great depth by the present Karmapa.

[ long read ]

THREE PRINCIPLE ASPECTS
A comprehensive teaching that condenses the entire Buddhist path by Tsongkhapa

 

Recent Updates

  • Fifty Verses on the Guru • Day Five
  • Fifty Verses on the Guru • Day Four
  • Fifty Verses on the Guru • Day Three
  • Fifty Verses on the Guru ● Day Two
  • Fifty Verses on the Guru • Day One
  • Long-Life Offering from The Three Roots Combined to Chamgön Tai Situ Rinpoche and Drung Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche
  • The Gyalwang Karmapa on the Life of Atisha • Session 4

Kagyu Office Around the World

中文 // Français // Polski // Español
The Karmapa’s website is carbon neutral. //

About the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world.

Born in 1985, the Karmapa resides in his temporary home at Gyuto Monastery in India after making a dramatic escape from Tibet in the year 2000.

Traveling the world, the Karmapa skillfully teaches traditional Tibetan Buddhist Dharma while also advocating topics such as environmental conservation, feminism, digitization of the Dharma, and much more.

Please use the icons below to find the Karmapa on social media maintained by his office of administration.

// // // //

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please view our Privacy Policy. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo