Montecchio Maggiore, i castelli di Giulietta e Romeo

Percorso ad anello da Montecchio Maggiore passando per:
- Chiesetta degli Alpini (2.4 km)
- Castello della Villa detto di Romeo
- Sant' Urbano





THE CONVERSION OF
A DYING BONIST
Obeisance to all Gurus
EARLY one morning on the eighth day of a lunar month, when Jet-
sun Milarepa was meditating at Drajadorje Tson and observing
silence, a number of Oakinls dressed as earthly ladies carne to him
and prophesied:
Oh, silent yogi with great power of will
Who practices austerity,
The sole lion in the midst of all this snow,
Who sees, alone, Sarpsara in Nirviil)a,
Listen to us - the four ])akin! sisters
Who come to prophesy.
Tomorrow, in the early morning,
Go to the eastern shore of Baltang Lake,
Where people sin and sport in wanton pleasures.
You, the Lion of the snow mountain,
Should help them back into the path of virtue,
Guiding those who have lost their way to the
right Path.
After conveying this message to the Jetsun, the Oakinls vanished.
Accordingly the next day Milarepa journeyed eastward. On the way,
he met a shepherd. When the shepherd saw him walking above the
ground -his feet never touching the earth -an unshakable faith to-
ward Milarepa arose within him. He offered the Jetsun his own food,
and asked for the teachings of Dharma. Whereupon Milarepa preached
THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
on the Law of Kharma; on the errors of Saq~sara; on the difficulties of
obtaining favorable human birth, body, and environment; and lastly, on
the unpredictableness and inevitability of death. Convinced by these
teachings, the shepherd said, "Dear Lama, your preaching has been a
reminder of the great sufferings of Saf!1Sara. On thinking it over, [I find]
I have no more desire for any gain or loss, happiness or misery in this
life. The sufferings which you have mentioned, distress me so much that
I feel I cannot bear them any longer. Please give me some instruction
that can help me." "Very well," said Milarepa, "I shall teach you." The
shepherd then confided to him, "I - and I alone -know of a secret
cave called Mamo Tson. Please, let us go there."
When they arrived at the cave, the shepherd offered food and gave
service to the Jetsun, and then asked for the teachings that would re-
lease him from Saq~saric suffering. Milarepa then taught him how to
meditate. [Not long after], the shepherd confided, "When I am con-
centrating, I feel very peaceful and there is no suffering whatsoever. But
when my mind begins to wander, pictures of the miseries in Saq~sara all
appear before me; I can hardly bear the distressing experience of seeing
them. With your great compassion, please bring me to the state of eter-
nal happiness." Milarepa replied, "If you want to be always happy, you
must ever avoid sinful deeds and follow my example by practicing all
the virtues." The shepherd answered, "I am willing to do so for the sake
of attaining the longed for perpetual happiness. I would like to become
your servant. Please take me with you."
Milarepa recognized that this shepherd was a destined disciple, so
he took him in and granted him the Initiation and Pith-Instructions.
Later on, the shepherd was known as Tsiwo Repa, the most oustand-
ing student among those "Disciples-with-Realization."
On the morning of the day that the Jetsun met Tsiwo Repa, the Oa-
kinis said to him, "There is a place called Lapu; you should go there."
And so Milarepa went to Lapu where lived a very rich old man, a pious
follower of Bon, who had many sons. Recently he had contracted a very
serious disease. On the day of Milarepa's visit, one of this man's sons
had just returned home from consulting a diviner, who had said that the
reruedy was to kill one hundred yaks, one hundred goats, and one hun-
dred sheep, and with the meat to hold a great festival and sacrifice for the
Bon monks. Following this instruction, the rich man's sons had made all
the arrangements for the feast and were just about to slaughter the ani-
mals when the Jetsun arrived.
Milarepa, on first reaching Lapu, had met a girl on her way to fetch
water and had asked alms from her. She informed him of the-great Bon
festival to be held for the sick rich man, saying that she was sure he w