Navel of the Demoness : Tibetan Buddhism and Civil Religion in ...

Acknowledgments
Since more than two decades have passed since the inception of the
research on which this book is based, it is not surprising that the
list of people who have helped it on its way should be a long one. In
1999, when the work was substantially completed, I asked Michael
Aris if he would give me comments on the draft. The provisional title
at the time (now relegated to the title of chapter 8) was Agedness of
Error. In addition to the suggestions he gave was the unequivocal
recommendation that this be changed to The Navel of the Demoness,
a reference to an etymology for the name Te (the community that
provides the focus for this study) that features in its foundation myth
(see p. 190). As grateful as I am for the title, it is only the most
conspicuous of the many pieces of valuable advice I received from my
late friend and teacher.
Extensive and very helpful suggestions were later made by Pascal
Boyer, David Gellner, Toni Huber, and Geoffrey Samuel. For
comments on a more recent draft, I would like to thank Arezou
Azad, Patrizia Bassini, Hildegard Diemberger, Brandon Dotson, Per
Kvaerne, and Jill Sudbury.
Minor changes are rarely as minor as anticipated, but the modifications
the book has gone through since then do not address the
demographic and socio-political evolution of Te since 1999. A chapter
about the developments of the past decade would not have contributed
greatly to the fabric of this book: updates are themselves soon
outdated, and the main argument, which concerns the nature of