ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book has been in process so many years, with the help of so many people, that it might be impossible to thank all those who have helped it come into being in one way or another. Initial research for the project was funded by a Fulbright grant, and gratitude goes to Paromita Datta, Neeraj Goswami, and Vinita Tripathi for their support of the Fulbright grantees in India. My translation of Mingyur Peldrön’s gur was supported by a Tsadra Foundation grant to participate in the 2018 Lotsawa Translation Workshop in Boulder, Colorado. Thanks to Marcus Perman and Tracy Joosten for supporting the Tsadra workshop and to Sean Price for his tireless efforts compiling Mingyur Peldrön’s collected works. Later stages of research were conducted with funds from Bates College.

It is hard to convey the impact that great mentors can have on a scholar’s trajectory and process. I am infinitely grateful to three people whose scholarly support has most significantly benefited me in the creation of this book. Thanks to Kurtis Schaeffer, Andy Quintman, and Holly Gayley, whose good humor, profound kindness, brilliant guidance, and unwavering advice have been the fulcrum for this project.

For getting into the linguistic nitty-gritty (and other things) with me, thanks to Ben Nourse, Catherine Hartmann, Christie Kilby, David DiValerio, Dominic Sur, Gareth Sparham, Gedun Rabsel, Jampa Samten, Jann Ronis, Jue Liang, Khenpo Sherab Konchok, Natasha Mikles, Nick Trautz, Pemba Tashi, Tseten Chonjore, Yaron Bahir, and Yeshe Namgyal Choenzom. I appreciate your patience and willingness to talk all things Tibetan.

For helping me navigate the research process, thanks to Alex Gardner, Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Anna Johnson, Betsy Napper, Erica Prochaska, Dan Melnick, Dipitman Roybardhan, Gauri, Kalsang Tshering Thendup, Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia, Kumkum Roybardhan (of blessed memory), Pema Namgyel Ringutsang, Sara Lewis, Shashi Panicker, Sucheta Panicker, Swati Chawla, Viji Melnick, Wangyal Bhutia, and Yap Tshering Bhutia. Much of the initial work for this project was conducted at Songtsen Library, Dehradun, and later at Pemayangtsé Monastery, Pelling, Sikkim—two communities whose warmth and interest in this project helped it fly.

As thought partners along the way, thanks to Amy Paris Langenberg, Ann Gleig, Brenton Sullivan, Chris Bell, Chris Hiebert, Colleen Laird, Dominique Townsend, Elena Pakhutova, Erin Nourse, George Archer, Ipsita Chatterjea, Julie Regan, Karen Lang, Joe Leach, Nicole Willock, Shreena Gandhi, Suzanne Bessenger, Tasha Kimmet, and Ulrike Roesler. Thank you for reading and discussing drafts, offering critique, and suggesting improvements at different points in the development of the book.

Among my wonderful colleagues at Bates College, those who helped with this book in direct and fundamental ways include Anelise Hanson Shrout, Beth Woodward, Bridget Fullerton, Brittany Longsdorf, Christy Adams, Cynthia Baker, Dan Sanford, Darby Ray, Erica Rand, Francisca Lopez, John Strong, Justine Wiesinger, Karen Melvin, Katie Dobkowski, Keiko Konoeda, Lauren Ashwell, Lisa Gilson, Margaret Creighton, Stephanie Kelley Romano, Stephanie Pridgeon, Stephanie Wade, and Tiffany Salter. Thank you for drafts read, writing groups organized, ideas bounced, and everything else.

Editorial support takes many forms. Thanks to Lorri Hagman for her enthusiasm and insight and to the editorial team at the University of Washington Press, including Elizabeth Gratch and Joeth Zucco, for all that they have done to bring the project along. Great thanks to Meredith Carroll for helping me navigate the early stages of the publication process. For her thoughtful comments and suggestions, thanks to Madeline Korbey. Infinite gratitude to the anonymous readers whose critique and feedback were vital to improving this work.

To complete a book in the midst of a pandemic is no easy thing, and in this case it was bolstered by a loving community. Thanks especially to Amy Bunker, Andy Harrington, Andy Hegle, Angelique Pilon, Ciaran Fullerton, Jessica Eschman, John Bowker, Karla Harrington, Khenmo Drolma, Laura Trumbull, Megan Goodwin, Michelle Greene, Rick Fullerton, Sarah Shotwell Wallace, Sita, and my family, who all helped me stay grounded and connected with the living world when it was needed most.

This book would not have come into being without the unwavering love, compassion, and support of Eric Dyer, whose confidence was the bedrock of the project and whose contributions, if fully recounted here, would occupy a whole other volume. Thank you for believing it was possible, for working through ideas together, and for helping make it happen in a million different ways. This book is dedicated to Eric.