The Red Covered Book: Milarepa

About four years ago before being part of the film Milarepa I was just a student attending my classes from morning to evening. On one of those boring days I decided to clean my garage, which was crowded with trashes to treasures. I stumbled across a red covered book and picked it up. The cover read, “Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa.” I had heard of Milarepa and that he was a great yogi who reached enlightenment in one lifetime. That was the only knowledge I knew about him at that time. So, after finding the book I had forgotten why I came in the garage in the first place. With the book in my hand I went straight to my room and started reading. At that time, little did I know that this would be one of my all time favorite books and that it would play a role in my near future.

Once I started reading the book, there was no turning back. I felt like I was right there next to Milarepa from his birth till his enlightenment. Of course, the hardships we face today is nowhere near comparison to what Milarepa went through. By reading the book you will know what I am talking about or you can watch the movie, which will be out in the near future. The down fall is that this movie is just the beginning of Milarepa’s life story and all the hardships he goes through will only be seen in the next part. For that reason, I believe by supporting the first movie, there is better chance in making the next part sooner.

Talk about the movie, this is how I became apart of the movie. After multiple times of crying while reading the book I realized I was finished with the book before I knew it. After that, Milarepa was always on the back of my mind and I was totally inspired and taken away by his life story. I couldn’t stop talking about him; I would start telling his stories to my friends and family. Few months pasted. And one late evening, I got a call from the director and he asked me if I would like to play a role in his up coming film, Milarepa. Well, when I heard that I thought I was dreaming. I was not in shocked but I was more like, “Are you for real?” That time I was getting ready to go back to my fall semester classes. So, what do I do? I said, “When, and where?” I took the semester off, and took a flight out to New Delhi, India. That was where my journey began. I felt like the luckiest person a live. Don’t you think so? First, Milarepa came into my life in a book form and after I got to actually exist in his time while filming the movie. Wow, what a wonderful experience it was.
Well, this is my story on how Milarepa came into my life and how I took part in his. Most importantly, I am grateful for that day when I found the red covered book in my garage.