The Great Secret of Mind

and enjoy ultimate happiness. Not only that, but even for those who do not accept
the likelihood of future lives, it is clear that, in each of us, as in society at large, the
five poisons—ignorance, attachment, aversion, pride, and jealousy—cause
suffering; clear also that anger and jealousy not only cause conflict between
countries and discord between couples but may even lead people to the drastic
measure of murder and suicide. It is my hope that this book will act as a means of
relief and solace for all of these people.
I have written this book mainly for those of the younger generation who have an
interest in dharma. Moreover, the monastery where I live, in the Humla district in
west Nepal, is not far from Mount Kailash, and I often meet young trekkers from
East and West who are on their way there. I have met many who, even though
they have no belief in buddha-dharma, are curious about it, and when I discuss it
with them and answer their questions, most of them seem to appreciate it. Not
only that, but several times I have received messages from people telling me that
the dharma I explained to them has been of great benefit in their lives. For these
reasons, with these young people in mind, I have often thought it would be
beneficial if I were to write a book. Further, my Taiwanese students, such as Shen
Yee Ling and others, told me repeatedly that it would be very helpful if I would
gather all the dharma teaching I had given until now and put it into a book.
To mention only the key people who helped during the composition of this book
and its translation into English, first of all, I would like to thank both Tulku
Kundrol Nyima and the monk Yonten for tidying up the text the first time round. I
would also like to thank the monk Kyabne, who helped me search for reference
texts and so forth while I was writing it, and Tsultrim, who later typed the Tibetan
text into the computer and proofread it several times.
I would like to thank my translator and editor, Keith Dowman, who gave so
much time and effort to translating the text into English, preparing the English
edition, and writing a critical introduction; Tenzin Dorje, who assisted him and
freely gave so much of his time; Sonam Lhundrub, who helped explain many
crucial points during the translation process; my student Nyima Gyeltsen, who
helped clarify different points to the translator while I was in a one-year retreat;
Michael Friedman for the final editing of the English translation; and my younger
brother Sangye Gyatso, who has overseen the entire project and also assisted with
interpreting into English. To all of those who have helped, I would like to thank
you from the depths of my heart.