Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche

Khetsun Sangpo (1921–2009) was born in central Tibet and worked in a monastery as a servant when he was a boy, learning to read and write during his free hours. He later pursued study for several years with a renowned nun. (It was unusual for a man to seek teachings from a woman.) He eventually pursued formal monastic education in both the Gelukpa and Nyingma traditions. He fled Tibet to India in 1959. He had a close relationship with Dudjom Rinpoche, who asked him to teach in Japan for ten years as his representative. After that period, he spent the rest of his life in India and Nepal.

Jeffrey Hopkins

Jeffrey Hopkins (1940-2024), PhD, served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books, he was Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program in Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.

Jeffrey Hopkins

Jeffrey Hopkins (1940-2024), PhD, served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books, he was Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program in Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.

Jamgon Mipham

Jamgon Mipham (1846–1912), one of the great luminaries of Tibetan Buddhism in modern times, has had a dominant and vitalizing influence on the Nyingma School and beyond. He was an important member of the Rimé, or nonsectarian movement, which did much to strengthen and preserve the entire tradition. A scholar of outstanding brilliance and versatility, his translated works are eagerly anticipated by English-language readers.

"The combination of topic, well-known authors, and accessible presentation of the material should make this an important book for practitioners. In Khetsun Sangpo, we meet Tibet's finest traditions of contemplative education, literary expression, and gentle courage. In Jeffrey Hopkins, we encounter an intrepid explorer and virtually peerless expositor of Tibetan Buddhist inquiry into the practical and profound. It is wonderful to read this record of their mutual interests and startling discoveries drawn from a collaboration that stretches over more than three decades." —Jules B. Levinson, PhD, Light of Berotsana Translation Group

"This collaboration is a valuable introduction to the concept of fundamental mind." —Tricycle