Recognizing Reality

Language: English
Pages: 644

About the Author
Georges B. J. Dreyfus is Assistant Professor of Religion at Williams
College. He studied Buddhist philosophy in Tibetan monasteries in India for
fifteen years where he completed the-degree of Ge-shay, traditionally the
highest degree awarded by Tibetan Buddhist monastic universities.

Preface
This work began more than twenty-five years ago, in 1970, when I first studied
Buddhist philosophy with Tibetan teachers in India. For the next fifteen years, I
followed the traditional Tibetan curriculum for Buddhist monks, learning a great
deal from many Tibetan teachers. I have thus been able to benefit from the unfortunate situation of this exiled community. I became interested in the study of
philosophical topics pertaining to logic, epistemology, and philosophy of language. This interest developed over the years during which I had the privilege to
study these topics with some of the most knowledgeable Tibetan scholars.
Although I cannot mention them all by name, I am deeply grateful to each one. In
particular I would like to mention Ge-shay Rabten, who set me on the path that
includes this present work; Ge-shay Lati Rimbochay, who supported my efforts
consistently; and Gen Lo-sang-gya-tso, Principal of the Tibetan Institute of
Dialectics, where I spent many of my most formative years. I would also like to
express my deep appreciation to his Holiness the Dalai Lama, who helped and
guided me throughout my years spent in the Tibetan community. Finally, in Ge-
shay Nyi-ma-gyel-tsen I encountered an incomparable mind. Through contact
with him I learned a great deal, given my personal limitations.

This work does not, however, just report on the traini