During the journey towards his house, Mila met master Gnogpa from whom he received the initiation to buddhism and the order of retiring to meditate in a cave. After a while, when Gnogpa was invited to the celebration festivity for the majority of Marpa's son, Mila asked if he could accompany him as a servant.

In that occasion Mila was accepted as a disciple by Marpa, appointed lower monk (ge-nyen) and sent to meditate in a cave for a year. At the end of the prescribed time, Marpa summoned his main disciples and transmitted to each of them one of the instructions he had received from master Naropa: the illusory body (sgyu-lus), the radiating light (hod-gsal), the intermediate stage (bar-do), the control of dream (rmi-lam) and the transfer of conscience (pho-wa).

To Mila was transmitted the power of the miraculous heat (gtum-mo), that allows not to use woolen garments; therefore from that day on he took the nickname of re-pa (cloth-dressed).

"In an icy winter night, those who think they can get through the test successfully are led to the bank of a river or a lake; if all the water courses of the region are frosted, a hole in the ice is dug. During a moonlighted night with strong winds, not rare in Tibet in the winter months, the neophytes sit naked on the ground and some cloths are dipped in the icy water: everyone wraps himself up in one of them and must let it dry on his body.

As soon as the cloth is dry, it is dipped again in the water and the ceremony goes on until daybreak. Some cloths are as small as face towels and others are as large as shawls. The rule states that at least three cloths must be dried before can obtain the qualification of expert in the miraculous heat." (A. David-Neel).