Milarepa (milär'upu) [key], 1040–1143, saint and poet of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the second patriarch of the Kargyupa sect, the first being Milarepa's guru Marpa (1012–97), who studied under Naropa, the Bengali master of Tantra, at Nalanda. Milarepa's autobiography recounts how in his youth he practiced black magic in order to take revenge on relatives who deprived his mother of the family inheritance. He later repented and sought Buddhist teaching. After undergoing many tests and ordeals under Marpa, he received initiation from him. He spent the rest of his life meditating in mountain caves and teaching his disciples.
