In Reply to: What a shame! I'm so upset! posted by Cynthia Newman (reposted) on November 18, 2002 at 22:13:45:
People believe what they want to believe; still, it is necessary to draw some distinctions even within the realm of spiritual affairs. First, it is not a *speculation* that Lama Rampa was the Englishman Cyril Hoskin (not Hoskins). This is a *fact*, well acknowledged already in reviews of his first book, "The Third Eye", back in the late 50s. Second, "The Third Eye" does therefore *not* give an authentic (in the sense of first-hand) Tibetan youth's story of growing up in Tibet, even though, given that Hoskin was apparently well-read in Tibetological literature of his times, of course not all the information he gives is wrong. Some of it is, though. So (a) don't read this as a true first-hand narrative of a Tibetan (and don't quote it as that!), and (b) don't read it as a reliable source on Tibetan history and culture. Third, if you find any of the spiritual teachings in Hoskin's books useful, and if you knew Hoskin to be a good person, so be it. Just because someone pretended to be someone else, or sincerely believed to be someone else, doesn't mean that he doesn't have anything true to say.