Rechung Puk

One of  Milarepa’s foremost disciples was a yogi named Rechungpa(1083-1161) He was eleven years old when he met milarepa and spent many years practicing under his guidance. He traveled twice to India,where he also studied extensively with Indian teachers. In contrast to Milarepa’s other main disciple,the scholar-monk Gampopa,Rechungpa was a lay yogi. Rechung Puk (Rechung’s cave) is one of the places where Rechungpa spent time meditating. Three hundred years later the site was associated with another famous lay yogi,Tsangnyon Heruka (1455-1529),who claimed to follow Rechungpa’s oral tradition rather than the clerical approach of Gampopa. Tsangnyon (The lazy one from Tsang) is best known for his outrageous behaviour and as the author of the biography and collected songs of Milarepa. Tsangyon Heruka spent the last years of his life at Rechung Puk.Ironically,perhaps,the site subsequently became the base for a large monastic institution.