ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rinjing Dorje is the son of Sherab Dorje, a Tibetan shaman, and Choe Gyalmo, a nomadic lady from the foothills of the Himalayas. Rinjing was born in Shabru, a hamlet in the extreme north of Nepal near the Tibetan border. In keeping with tradition, Rinjing was brought up as the family’s yak herder. While leading and tending the livestock, the village herdsmen would gaily sing songs while some played the flute or lute. Along the verdant slopes of the Himalayan foothills, the herdsmen told legends of lakes, mountains, trees, and rivers. They also told stories of ghosts, witches, warlocks, and man-eating yetis. Rinjing listened intently to the elder herdsmen without missing a beat or word. The stories never failed to fascinate him because each herdsman had a different story to share. Then, in the evenings, the village elders gathered together and told stories to the eager youngsters who joined them around the campfire. Because there was no other entertainment in those days, storytelling was elevated to an art that enthralled and educated the young in the small villages of that time in Tibet and Nepal. Particularly memorable was the old, retired village chief, Genla, who was fond of telling stories of the legendary Tibetan rascal, Agu Tompa. Also, in those days traveling storytellers called Lama Mani, occasionally visited Rinjing’s village. These professional storytellers spent days reciting and singing epics of great heroes, warriors, saints, and deities, including the life of the Buddha. Inspired by all these storytellers when he was growing up, Rinjing joined the tradition and began to travel around America delighting audiences with his native stories. During the last 20 years, he has been entertaining groups with his storytelling at conventions, schools, arts and culture festivals, as well as libraries and private audiences. He has traveled throughout America and Canada spreading the priceless tales of his homeland and other ethnic stories from around the world. The stories grip the mind with their profoundly (rich) wisdoms and morality. Rinjing often injects a lighter note into his storytelling as he humors the audiences with Uncle Tompa stories and other humorous Tales.                                           At the age of eleven, some mysterious illness gripped Rinjing. On the brink of death, a renowned Tibetan astrologer predicted that the only way Rinjing would enjoy his full length of life was to become a monk.             His parents sent him off to a monastery in Tibet. It was there Rinjing became enamored with the ancient books that he read, written by scholars some two or three hundred years before. Captivated by the ancient scholarly work he too dreamed of becoming a writer. After Chinese invasion of Tibet and passing of his father, Rinjing and his mother moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. Keeping his dreams of becoming a writer alive, Rinjing attended western schools in Kathmandu and later abroad. Today, Rinjing is a renowned Tibetan storyteller and has published two books prior to THE RENEGADE MONK OF TIBET. He lives in the suburbs of Seattle to be close to his two adult children