IT IS TO MY two main Tibetan masters that I first of all wish to express my gratitude: Geshe Rapten and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who so kindly transmitted to me a little of their knowledge.
And also to Tulku Ugyen, so skillful in revealing the nature of consciousness.
With Sayadaw U Pandita I discovered the rigor of silent retreats.
I am indebted to Joseph Goldstein for the countless pieces of advice he has given me for deepening my practice.
I also want to thank my wife Patricia for the many discussions about specific points of meditation and for her patience in reading my text again and again.
I found support in the attitude of my fellow students Steven Batchelor, Georges Dreyfus, Tom Tillemans, and Fred von Allmen, who did not sacrifice the honesty of their quest for the certainty that dogmatism offers.
I would also like to thank the translator Anna Iatsenko who has spared no effort to make the English translation understandable — not a simple matter, I should add.
And I would like to express also my gratitude to Josh Bartok, my editor at Wisdom Publications, who has supported my writing with unwavering conviction.
I remember how my master of painting, Gen Jampala, gave life to his thanka by drawing the eyes of the deity at the very end of his work. Similarly, my friend Dean Sluyter gave life to this text: he knew how to render the clarity and lightness that I tried to give to the French version of my book. By a slow and artful work Dean has, in a way, opened the eyes of the English text. May he find here the expression of my deep gratitude.