Norman - Secret lives of the Dalai Lama: the untold story of the holy men who shaped Tibet, from pre-history to the present day

It is my privilege first to thank Tenzin Gyatso, Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, for lending his support to this project from the outset. He did so in spite of my warning that I intended to tackle several of the most delicate and controversial aspects of Tibetan history. I take it that, by placing his confidence in me in this way, the Dalai Lama was honoring an association anddare I say ita friendship that began more than twenty years ago. In the intervening period, it has been my good fortune to work closely with him on two of his more important books as well as to collaborate with the Dalai Lama on several other projects, both spiritual and secular. I desire, therefore, to thank His Holiness for the extraordinary level of trust he has shown me.

Ippolito Desideri, the great Jesuit missionary in Tibet, records the hospitality he was shown by a people he found clever, kindly, and courteous by nature. I cannot improve on those remarks. I would like, however, to mention a number of people who have offered me the same great courtesy and kindness as was Father Desideri almost three centuries ago. These are Mr. Tendzin Choegyal and his wife Mrs. Rindchen Khandro, Kasur Tenzin Geyche Tethong, and Dr. Thupten Jinpa Langri, academic adviser to His Holiness and his principal translator into English. Each in their different ways has contributed enormously to my understanding of Tibetan history and culture. I am especially grateful to Dr. Langri, not only for his friendship over all these years but also for his scholarly advice during the research of this book and for his unflagging readiness to help during its writing and editing. He was, furthermore, a most attentive and perceptive reader of the final manuscript. I doubt that I would have undertaken the work had I not been able to rely on his encyclopedic knowledge of Tibetan literature and his deep familiarity with both Tibetan Buddhist and Western philosophical thought. All this is not to mention his personal generosity.

Among the community of Tibetan scholars, I have been kindly assisted by Mr. Tsering Dhondup Gongkatsang of Oxford University, especially in the matter of translation. Professor Samten Karmay responded readily to several requests for assistance. Geshe Lobsang Jhorden [Lhakdorla] has, over the years, favored me with a great deal of his time. In the UK, Dr. Charles Ramble, university lecturer in the Department of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at Oxford University, not only made available to me the full resources of his department but also put me in touch with several of the scholars I mention here. And in connection with Oxfords Bodleian Library, I would like to thank Ralf Kramer who, as Librarian of the Indian Institutes Tibetan collection, responded enthusiastically to literally hundreds of requests for assistance.

I was most fortunate to have Professor Don Lopez read the final draft of my manuscript. Not only did he make many useful suggestions, he also saved me from a number of embarrassing mistakes. Those that remain are mine alone. I would also like to acknowledge with gratitude the answers given to specific questions by Professor Paul Williams, Dr. John Peacock, E. Gene Smith, Professor Morris Rossabi and Dr. Susan Whitfield. For his translation from the Russian of Petr Kozlov, I would like to thank Mark Belcher. I have also received much patient assistance from Mike Gilmour of Wisdom Books; also from David Chilton of Taikoo Books, who enabled me to track down many elusive titles. I am fortunate to be able to count among my friends and acquaintance the following four distinguished writers: Patrick French (author of the matchless