The story of the spiritual journey of the famous Tibetan yogi Milarepa is often told, but less well known are the stories of his encounters with those he met and taught after his own Enlightenment, eleven of which are the catalyst for volumes 18 and 19 of the Complete Works. The first three were originally published in The Yogi's Joy, and to these have been added an intriguing fourth, The Shepherd's Search for Mind.

The other seven stories form a sequence tracing the relationship between Milarepa and his disciple Rechungpa, from their first meeting to their final parting, when Rechungpa is exhorted to go and teach the Dharma himself. As portrayed in The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Rechungpa is a promising disciple, but he has a lot to learn, being sometimes proud, distracted, anxious, desirous of comfort and praise, over-attached to book learning, stubborn, sulky and liable to go to extremes. In other words, he is very human, and surely recognizable to anyone who has embarked on the spiritual path. He all too often takes his teacher's advice the wrong way, or simply ignores it, and it takes all of Milarepa's skill, compassion and patience to keep their relationship intact and help his unruly disciple to stay on the path to Enlightenment.

Sangharakshita's commentary is based on seminars he gave to young, enthusiastic but as yet inexperienced Dharma followers, and while much can be gleaned from it about the path of practice of the Kagyu tradition, the main emphasis is simply on how to overcome the difficulties that are sure to befall the would be spiritual practitioner, how to learn what we need to learn in short, the art of discipleship.
The Complete Works of Sangharakshita Volume 18: Milarepa and the Art of Discipleship I, Sangharakshita, Paperback, 2018, 711 Pages, $27.95

1925-2018

Sangharakshita was born Dennis Lingwood in South London, in 1925. Largely self-educated, he developed an interest in the cultures and philosophies of the East early on, and realized that he was a Buddhist at the age of sixteen.

The Second World War took him, as a conscript, to India, where he stayed on to become the Buddhist monk Sangharakshita. After studying for some years under leading teachers from the major Buddhist traditions, he went on to teach and write extensively. He also played a key part in the revival of Buddhism in India, particularly through his work among followers of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

After twenty years in the East, he returned to England to establish the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in 1967, and the Western Buddhist Order in 1968 now known as the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Triratna Buddhist Order respectively.

	Foreword	xi
	The Yogi's Joy
1	Milarepa's World and Philosophy	3
	First Story: The Tale of Red Rock Jewel Valley	7
2	Finding the Sangha	9
	Second Story: The Song of a Yogi's Joy	39
3	Beyond Fear	41
	Third Story: The Meeting at Silver Spring	55
4	A Man of the Beyond	57
5	Free from Ego	74
6	Pleasing the Guru	107
7	Listening for the Teachings	123
8	Laying Down Your Doubts	156
	The Shepard's Search for Mind
1	No Need of These Things	195
2	Observe Your Mind	224
	Rechungpa's Journey to Enlightenment
	Editor's Introduction	259
	First Story: Milarepa's First Meeting with Rechungpa	265
1	No Need for That Sort of Thing	267
2	Heavenly Farming	288
3	Someone Singing	305
4	Is My Guru Dead
	Second Story: Rechungpa's Third Journey to India	349
1	The Art of Debate	351
2	Never Give Yourself to Studying Words!	375
3	Think of the Meanings of This Song	403
	Third Story: The Story of the Yak-Horn	435
1	I Am Much More Learned Than He	437
2	Do Not Be Proud and Pompous	466
3	How Could a Son Ever Disrespect His Father?	481
4	Father and Son are in Harmony	500
5	Strong Thoughts, Full of Infidelity	527
6	I am Starving to Death Right Now	548
7	An Experience Powerful Like a Sharp Knife	572
8	Awakened from a Great Dream	586
9	Rechungpa's Mind Was Straightened Out	616
10	Wherever You Go, I Will Go	627
	Notes	641
	Index	671
	A Guide to The Complete Works of Sangharakshita	707