| Milarepa is the second founder of Kagyu Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and the great Yogi known for the austerities. He had achieved buddhahood in his current lifetime. Early he practiced the black magic for revenge by orders of his mother, so he become a murderer and committed grave sin. He deeply regretted what he had done, arising a firm resolve of questing for the true teaching. He tried his best to pass Marpa’s test, finally became one of Marpa’s successor. Then he lived in the mountain and continued his austerities, and achieved buddhahood in his current lifetime with his current body. Later his biography became a paradigm of pure conversion in Tibetan Buddhism.Tibetan life story of Milarepa is the most interesting life story in Tibet. Nowadays, The biograghy of Milarepa written by Heruka in15th is the most intact and popular biography.This study, based on The Biography of Milarepa, identified the story of the earliest of Milarepa thangka, compared the differences between the text and the thangka, argumented whether this biography thangka according to the biography and proved tibetans pleased with the characteristics of the image narrative. This article will also discuss other biographical thangkas of Milarepa and compared them to analyze the formation and the content change of biographical thangkas of Milarepa.This paper consists of introduction, body, and conclusion. Body is divided into three chapters.The first chapter introduces the main life story of Milarepa, explained versions of the biography.The second chapter describes the background of biographical thangka of Milarepa, compared the differences between the text and the thangka. The thangka is earlier than the biography.The third chapter analyzed other biographical thangkas of Milarepa and compared them, argumented the change of the biographical thangkas of Milarepa.Conclusion presents the oldest biographical thangka of Milarepa is not completely rely on the biography of Milarepa. Tibetan like to use the image of narrative. |
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