Lobsang P. Lhalungpa was born in Lhasa, Tibet. From 1940 until 1952, he was a monk-official in the service of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and of the Tibetan government. He established the first Tibetan-language program of All India Radio and dedicated his life to the promotion and preservation of Tibet's rich spiritual and cultural tradition. Lhalungpa translated The Life of Milarepa, and was chosen by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa to translate Mahamudra: The Moonlight. He authored Tibet: The Sacred Realm. He lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for many years before his death in 2008.