Dedication
This book is dedicated, on the occasion of the 10th
anniversary of the founding of the Dharma Bijaya Buddhist Vihara, to all its founders and
the generous supporters of our efforts to further the work of the propagation Buddhadhamma
in the United States.
Acknowledgment
This book would not have been possible without the assistance of
several people.
First, I wish to thank Stan Levinson for the time-consuming and
detailed tasks of typing, revising, and editing this entire book; and Joseph V. Peries who
created the beautiful artwork on the front cover. I would also like to thank Dr. Rohith
Gunawardena and Dr. Elizabeth Columa Nirenberg for their comments and suggestions on the
final draft from a western perspective.
I must also thank Ven. Dr. Ratanarsara, Ven. Lenagala Sumedhananda and
Ven. Pannila Ananda, whose continued advice and spiritual support enabled me to carry out
this project as well as other Buddhist activities in this country.
Finally, I am grateful to Dr. Gamini and Sandra Jayasinghe, Victor and
Chintana Lingtong, Dr. Victor Coronado, Ronald and Cathy Bogan, Dr. Manbir and Heidi
Singh, and D. Scott and Ana Kadin for supporting the publication of this book.