New Kadampa TraditionInternational Kadampa Buddhist Union

13 Woodstock Road, London NWll 8ES

16 May 2010

Mr Gary Beesleyclo Mr James FarrellArena Books6 Southgate Green,Bury St. Edmunds,Suffolk, IP33 2BL

Dear Mr Beesley,

I am writing to you on behalf of the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT)concerning your forthcoming book entitled A Cuckoo in the Peacock Palace:The Decline of Tradition and the Rise of the New Kadampa Tradition in 21stCentury Western Buddhism.

In the title and subtitle of this book you are deliberately and directly implyingthat the development of the New Kadampa Tradition has caused the GelugBuddhist Tradition to decline. This is entirely false and misleading, and verynegative and extremely harmful to the Buddhist Faith.

You have publicized this false implication widely through the Internet, and inthis way you are denigrating the reputation of the 1,200Buddhist Centres ofthe New Kadampa Tradition throughout the world. This will of course causegreat damage to the public moral and financial standing of all these Centres,now and far into the future.

Because we are Buddhists it is always important to try to solve our problemsby peaceful means. For this reason, the NKT would like with this letter topropose to you that you completely remove all the negative information aboutthe New Kadampa Tradition, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso ~c! Dorje Shugden fromyour forthcoming book. If you sincerely agree to do this, then the 1,200Buddhist Centres of the New Kadampa Tradition will patiently accept theimmense harm that you have already done to their reputation by spreading

NKT Central Office, Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA 12 9QQ

T: + 44 (0)1229 588 533 F: + 44 (0)1229 580080 E: info@kadampa.org W: www.kadampa.org

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this false information on the Internet. If you accept this proposal, we requestyou to you give us the opportunity to read and consider the book before it ispublished so that any false or defamatory statements or implications can beclarified with you.

If you do not accept this proposal, then the NKT will have no choice but toengage in legal action against you and your publisher to protect all theBuddhist Centres of the New Kadampa Tradition. The NKT would sue forcompensation for the further great damage to its moral and financial standingthat the book would cause.

With this letter we ask you to tell us whether or not you will accept ourproposal that you completely remove all the negative information about theNew Kadampa Tradition, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and Dorje Shugden fromyour forthcoming book.

We need to receive your answer before 1 June 2010. If we do not receive youranswer by then, we will conclude that you have not accepted our proposal.

Yours sincerely,

JNCp~John McBretneyRepresentative of the New Kadampa Tradition