Marpa's commands in the Milarepa Life Story

John Pickens

doi:10.1017/s0041977x19000375

Abstract

AbstractIn the Milarepa Life Story the Buddhist teacher Marpa issues many commands to his student, Milarepa, his wife, Dakmema, and his co-religionist, Lama Ngokpa. In these commands the co-occurrence of the imperative stem (skul tshig) and a given pronoun or vocative (khyod, bu, rang re, etc.) indicates a varying level of distance between himself and the addressee. Marpa's speech is also nuanced by the use of pronouns, vocatives, and nicknames across a variety of registers. Marpa's interlocutors, however, invariably use honorific titles and the deferential verb zhu ba to make their requests. The contrast highlights Marpa's authority, as his speech alone determines how close he is with an interlocutor at a given time.

Highlights

The Milarepa Life Story was written by Tsangnyön Heruka (Gtsang smyon he ru ka, 1452–1507)[1] in 1488.2 The centrepiece of the biography is the relationship between Milarepa and his volatile Buddhist teacher Marpa
Marpa is demanding of Milarepa in this part of the narrative, repeatedly commanding him to work on the towers
In the Milarepa Life Story Marpa commonly issues commands that begin with the second person singular pronoun khyod

Summary

Introduction

The Milarepa Life Story was written by Tsangnyön Heruka (Gtsang smyon he ru ka, 1452–1507)[1] in 1488.2 The centrepiece of the biography is the relationship between Milarepa and his volatile Buddhist teacher Marpa. Milarepa completes the assigned tasks and receives the desired Buddhist teachings. He practises meditation in a secluded cave and departs from Marpa as his esteemed student. Throughout the story Marpa issues commands to his wife Dakmema (Bdag med ma) and co-religionist Lama Ngokpa (Bla ma rngog pa). In the Milarepa Life Story the temper of Marpa’s commands is usually communicated through the use of certain pronouns or vocatives.

Derogatory commands

Endearing commands

Formal requests

Conclusion