Of all the origins of Kagyu, the most shocking thing is not magical powers or auspicious signs, but a person moving rocks.

When Milarepa first met Marpa, he did not accept the law immediately. This yogi, who later attained Mahāmudrā, was sent by his master to build one stone tower after another. As soon as it was built, he was ordered to demolish it, and the stones were transported back to the original place; he built it again, and then demolished it again. To others it seemed like abuse, and Marpa's wife Dagmema also cried. But Milarepa didn't ask why, it just moved again and again.

This koan about "taking hard labor as the inspiration" is the most classic example of Kagyu's "guru correspondence". What it wants to say is actually very simple: the transmission of the Dharma does not occur at the moment you understand the truth, but at the moment you hand yourself over.

When Milarepa (Milarepa, 1052–1135) was young, his family fell into ruin. His uncle and aunt seized the family property, and the mother and son were reduced to servants. His mother vowed revenge and sent him to learn spells. After he learned it, he used black magic to rain down hailstones and curse his enemies to death. He took revenge overnight and also created serious bad karma.

After revenge, he did not feel pleasure, but was gripped by fear - he clearly saw what he had done. It was this clarity that pushed him onto the path of seeking the Dharma. He first practiced the Dharma according to Master Nyingma but failed to get any response. Later, he was guided by others and came to the door of Marpa translator in Lodhar.

So when Milarepa first met Marpa, it was not a blank sheet of paper. He had a lot of karma, a look of fear, and a heart eager to "wash away his sins." It is this heart that Marpa wants to sharpen.

The first assignment Marpa gave Milarepa was to build a tower on a hillside. Milarepa goes all out, the tower is completed, invite teachers to come and see it. Marpa took one look and said, "No, tear it down and put the stone back in its place."

Milarepa complied. Then rebuild. Dismantle again. Build again.

Repeatedly. Historical materials and biographies record that he successively built a round tower, a triangular tower, a half-moon tower, a nine-story tower... Each of them was made of huge stones, and each of them was torn down. His back was bleeding, scabbed, and abraded; his palms were cracked and he was covered in wounds. Master Damima couldn't stand it anymore and begged for mercy in private, but Marpa was unmoved.

Until one day, Marpa confirmed that the apprentice's arrogance and habits had been worn away, and his heart was as soft as cotton, so he called him to his side and formally taught him the formulas of Mahāmudrā and the Six Yogas of Naropa.

The sharp point of this koan lies in its "meaninglessness".

If Marpa wants Milarepa to build a truly useful tower, it is still talking about conditions and exchanges - "When you finish it, I will give you the method." But building and demolishing it is equivalent to taking away all the "merit", "achievement" and "meaning", leaving only one naked thing: Are you willing to still fully deliver when you can't see any return?

Almost all of our daily troubles come from "I" being offended, "my efforts are not seen", and "why have I done so much". Marpa used the stupidest method to rub away the "I" of Milarepa layer by layer - not by reasoning, but by using stones. When the "I" is thin, Dharma can flow in.

This is the ultimate of Kagyu's "training the mind through things": the truth can be understood, but the ego cannot understand the truth, it can only be polished.

What happened next, almost everyone in Tibet can sing: Milarepa went into seclusion in the mountains, practiced hard in caves near Mount Kailash and Lachi, ate only nettles for many years, and his body turned green, and finally achieved Mahāmudrā. He sung his enlightenment into a song and left behind "One Hundred Thousand songs of realization", which saved countless shepherds, hunters and mountain gods.

But what really made him Milarepa was not the song, but the tower that was repeatedly knocked down.

The tower fell, but the people stood still. This sentence can be regarded as a footnote to this origin: all external "buildings" can be demolished, but what cannot be demolished is the heart that gradually becomes clear through repeated demolition and construction. Most people who read this koan today will not move stones; but in everyone's life there are several towers that have been "built and demolished" - a relationship that is exhausting but fruitless, a job that is repeatedly overturned, and a persistence that sees no reward. The origin of Milarepa reminds us: it is not in vain, it may be the process of wearing away "I".

Q: Was Marpa too harsh?

A: By ordinary standards, yes, severe. But in the Kagyu context this is 'initiation through hard labor'—first wearing away the disciple's self-clinging, so the Dharma can fit in. The biography also records that Marpa's intent toward Milarepa was misunderstood even by his wife, and only understood later.

Q: Did the building and demolishing of the stupa really happen?

A: This account appears in The Life of Milarepa and the Kagyu oral transmission, and is one of the most important kōans of the school. Its historical details may be embellished, but as a model of practice it carries the esoteric meaning of the teaching, not a factual investigation.

Q: What use is this for ordinary people?

A: It reveals that 'letting go of self-clinging' is the core of practice. Most of our daily afflictions arise because 'I' feel offended; Marpa wore away Milarepa's 'I' through meaningless repetitions of labor, so the Dharma could truly enter his heart.

Q: Why did Milarepa's body later turn green?

A: His biography records that he ate only nettles (a green plant) for a long time, tinting his body green—a symbol of asceticism and realization; it is best read as a model of practice rather than a strange tale to be scrutinized.

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Image source: YouTube (Milarepa building and dismantling towers documentary), verified by oEmbed and can be embedded.

This article is compiled based on public Buddhist historical data, aiming at cultural and faith exchanges, and is not a final conclusion of religious authority. If there is any discrepancy with the inheritance received by readers, please refer to their respective masters and classics.

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Images (all from Wikimedia Commons, see notes for licensing):

• Lord Milarepa (Samye Monastery mural style) — Tonii (it.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0
• 18th century Tibetan gilt bronze Milarepa statue (Linden Museum, Stuttgart) — Unknown author, Public domain
• Image: YouTube documentary (can be embedded after oEmbed verification)