From the Heart of Tibet: The Biography of Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang

• by Elmar R. Gruber
• Shambhala Publications, 2010
• 318 pages, 9” X 6”, paperback
• printed on recycled paper

From the Dalai Lama’s foreword to this book: “The story of Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche’s life encompasses a remarkably broad range of Tibetan experience spanning the past fifty years. Born into a prominent aristocratic family and then recognized as an important reincarnate lama, he might have been expected to live a life of privilege and esteem, in addition to the responsibilities he had to bear. However, the changes that overwhelmed Tibet in the middle of the twentieth century affected everyone.”

“Chetsang Rinpoche is one of the highest incarnate lamas, the head of a tradition. But he also experienced the life of an ordinary American. This is unlike any other biography—one sees how a neighborhood boy can become a great spiritual master.”—Gelek Rimpoche, author of Good Life, Good Death

“This is a fascinating, terrifying, moving, and exalting account of a truly great being’s success in rising above adversity and making an outstanding contribution to a part of humanity under extreme pressure. I warmly recommend it to anyone who might like to discover a magnificent chest of treasures.”—Professor Robert Thurman, author, with the Dalai Lama, of Infinite Life