Shortly before the Dalai Lama’s appearance in Albany on May 6, 2009, [see Fact Checking Nxivm Stories: Did the Dalai Lama Endorse Keith Raniere and Nxivm?], Clare and Sara Bronfman funded the publication [Ethical Publishing LLC] of a 352-page hardcover book entitled “The Sphinx and Thelxiepeia” by Keith Raniere and Ivy Nevares.
Prominently noticed on the cover of the book is that there is a foreword by the Dalai Lama.
The book did not enjoy great sales. In fact, I observed hundreds of copies of the book sitting in boxes at Nxivm headquarters at New Karner Road. They were supposed to be sold at Vanguard Week but the response was tepid.
I have a copy of the book, given to me by one of the executive board members of Nxivm. I have not had a chance to read it and do not have it handy, so I cannot tell readers what the book is about.
Online, I could not find any information about the contents of the book.
According to someone who read it several years ago, the book is a collection of essays by Raniere that were previously published in a Mexican magazine, which I believe was Conocimiento Magazine.
An example of one essay, which is not necessarily contained in the book, is an essay published in Conocimiento called Sympathy for the Devil.
As for the two names in the title of the book, the Sphinx is a mythical being with the head of a human, and the body of a lion with the wings of an eagle. In the Greek tradition, the Sphinx has the head of a woman, who will kill and eat those who cannot answer her riddle. She makes an appearance in Oedipus. Thelxiepeia is one of the Sirens, seductresses that seduced men with their voices causing them to crash their ships.
Both of these two female mythological creatures are malevolent to men.
The reason for the title is not clear since the book is apparently not a book about Greek mythology.

The foreword by the Dalai Lama, so prominently mentioned on the cover is some 360 words. Nowhere does it mention Keith Raniere or Nxivm by name.
It is not known if the Dalai Lama actually wrote the foreword or knew about it. It is not uncommon for very popular and busy public figures to have their work ghost-written.
It is possible that the Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the Dalai Lama’s special emissary in the USA, approved and perhaps wrote the foreword and approved the inclusion of the Dalai Lama’s name.
It was supposedly written on April 13, 2009, about three weeks before the Dalai Lama’s public appearance in Albany, which was sponsored by the Bronfman sisters via their newly incorporated World Ethical Foundations Consortium and accompanied by a reported seven figure donation to the Dalai Lama.
It is also possible that the foreword was written by Raniere himself or one of his minions.
Here is the complete foreword from the book “The Sphinx and Thelxiepeia,” under the byline of the Dalai Lama:
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
We human beings are naturally intelligent and we also have some freedom and flexibility of thought and action.
This wonderful intelligence is one of our unique human qualities. However, whether we use it properly or not depends on our motivation, and our motivation should be guided by truth and transparency. Humane values and ethics give our lives meaning. Science and technology expand our ability to understand and change life.
Today, our impact on the natural environment has grown to the point that we are doing damage to the planet as a whole. We can no longer think of economies and societies as separate. In our global community they are increasingly interdependent and our actions affect not just ourselves, but our neighbours throughout the world as well.
Now, more than ever, it is important that we examine the impact of our actions on each other as individuals, peoples, countries and inhabitants of this planet. Exercising our critical faculties in the ethical realm entails taking responsibility for both our acts and their underlying motives. If we do not take responsibility for our motives, whether positive or negative, the potential for harm is much greater.
The moral value of a given act is to be judged in relation both to time, place, and circumstance and to the interest of everyone involved now and in the future. It is conceivable that a given act is ethically sound under one particular set of circumstances, but that at another time and place and under a different set of circumstances it may not be.
The authors of this book present readers with a challenge. In seeking to contribute to building a compassionate, ethical humanity they often discuss recognized problems from unfamiliar angles. In the part of the world from which I come, there is a well known adage that even when offered gold, the wise test it, beating it and burning it to ensure its value before accepting it. This means that rather than take any advice on trust, we should think about it and ask ourselves if it is useful. If we decide it is, then the sensible thing is to put it into practice.
April 13, 2009.
There is some evidence that the hand of Raniere, who called himself an ethicist, is behind this foreword. We read about “Humane values and ethics,” of “Exercising our critical faculties in the ethical realm,” and of “building a compassionate, ethical humanity.”
These are Raniere phrases.
Also right out of Raniere’s playbook is the situational ethics argument, which he used, to much effect, in his arguments on the harm of statutory rape sometimes being caused more by society’s condemnation than the adult who has sex with a child :
As the foreword attributed to the Dalai Lama states, “The moral value of a given act is to be judged in relation both to time, place, and circumstance… a given act is ethically sound under one particular set of circumstances, but that at another time and place and under a different set of circumstances it may not be.”
Finally, Raniere was sometimes fond of using the word “adage” [he sometimes pronounced it “ah-daage”] and it seems he may have even possibly invented adages, such as his so-called Christian adage “the greater the light, the more the bugs” which we find him quoting in his “I have had people killed for my beliefs” video.
In the foreword, the Dalai Lama has an adage of his own to offer: “In the part of the world from which I come, there is a well known adage that even when offered gold, the wise test it, beating it and burning it to ensure its value before accepting it.”
This may very well be a Tibetan or Indian adage, though I could not immediately find it online.
Of course, it is not written as an adage, which is a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth.
Is this an adage, “When offered gold, the wise test it, beating it and burning it to ensure its value before accepting it”?
In any event, the world was offered gold in the form of the precious teachings of the Dalai Lama as it appeared in the foreword of Raniere’s 2009 book.
The wise must test it, before accepting that it is the words of the Dalai Lama. And even if the Dalai Lama wrote the foreword, do his words have any intrinsic value? After all, he wrote, “the authors of this book [Raniere/Nevares] … contribute to building a compassionate, ethical humanity.”
There are those who might disagree with the premise that Raniere contributed to building a compassionate humanity. However, if the Dalai Lama actually wrote the foreword, he apparently thought so at that time. Raniere’s present followers would agree.
Ironically, many of Raniere’s followers back in 2009, including his co-author, Ivy Nevares, as well as some of his harshest critics today, such as Mark Vicente, Sarah Edmondson, Camila, Kristin Keeffe, Karen Unterriener, Alejandro Betancourt, and literally hundreds of others, would have heartily agreed.
Today, they no longer think Raniere was trying to build a more compassionate humanity. It is not known what the Dalai Lama presently thinks.

Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
re: “Today, they no longer think Raniere was trying to build a more compassionate humanity. It is not known what the Dalai Lama presently thinks.”
The DL did not assert that the authors were effectively “trying” to build a more compassionate humanity….
He wrote, that “IN TRYING to do so… they raised challenges that ought to be examined VERY judiciously!
So perhaps reading the relevant passage again, we can interpret it as a ‘warning’ and not as a sanctioning of the contents of the book:
“The authors of this book present readers with a challenge. In seeking to contribute to building a compassionate, ethical humanity they often discuss recognized problems from unfamiliar angles. In the part of the world from which I come, there is a well known adage that even when offered gold, the wise test it, beating it and burning it to ensure its value before accepting it.”
How would YOU write a forward for a book that you did not want to endorse but were forced to- against your will? This is exactly how I would have!
Caveat: I am not a fan of the DL, but not for the same reasons most of his critics hold.
I wouldn’t read this booklet for free. I’m not about to go down a random rabbit hole. The fact that I continue to comment is acknowledgement enough that this is a hot topic.
But wondering if Frank had an opinion on the money that was exchanged between his holiness and Raniere.
For the folks that don’t just read but listen to AM radio, there is a podcast listed on Iheart radio that precautions people not to visit India.
Has anyone heard the same commercial?
“Don’t go to India. This is a Venus fly trap for your vulnerability.”
@suneelchakra
1:14 PM · Mar 15, 2021
By 2022, the fake NXIVM narrative will be exposed as a concocted hoax and @megynkelly @billmaher @TheEllenShow and others will have to explain how they were completely duped.
https://twitter.com/suneelchakra/status/1371329022274240513
Suneel is a narcissistic douchebag just like the leader he never interacted with outside of jail.
And anyway, why do we think the Dalai Lama is a trustworthy reliable person?
Is it just because of fame? Or just a politician? Just asking
He’s persecuted people who don’t agree with his views… check @indyhack on Twitter
Good question.
Some religious/spiritual grifters wear suits and use lots of hair spray; others don robes and shave their heads.
They all are happy to take donations.
Speaking of the civil RICO lawsuit, Frank & Claviger, a question… since that can’t proceed until the criminal sentencing of the plaintiffs is complete, any timeline on those? Why the delays? Any reason to think more federal charges are in the pipeline?
It appears that the sentencing delays are COVID-related. As of right now, most federal courts are operating via plans that are causing delays in all judicial proceedings. You can read the EDNY’s plan at https://img.nyed.uscourts.gov/files/pub-news/Plan%20for%20Resumption%20of%20Jury%20Trials.pdf.
As more and more people get vaccinated, the courts will likely adopt new plans for trials, hearings, sentencings, etc. While it’s hard to predict exactly when that will happen, I would expect it to be in place by the end of April.
There is no reason to think that there are going to be any more federal charges brought against the current defendants or any other former members of NXIVM. The EDNY staff did their job – and got five pleas and one conviction with respect to the six people they indicted. And the NDNY did its usual fine job and managed to indict no one – which was especially difficult given that the EDNY had referred three of their original charges to the NDNY based on jurisdictional issues (Those issues had already been investigated and indictments had already been handed down, thereby eliminating much of the “heavy lifting” that the NDNY would normally have to do to initiate charges).
Thanks for the update.
Would love to hear what blackmail materials Keith has on NDNY.
All the DOS8 and assorted dead-ender complaints about corruption in this case are pure projection.
Hey, Nicki
Mexico has lots of seashore resorts.
Cancun, Cozumel, Mazatlan, Cabo among others.
How was it that you, your spouse Allison and your friend Lauren just happened to pick the exact resort city Puerto Vallarta and the exact villa where your Vanguard was staying?
It must be a coincidence.
Dear Shadow
I questioned Nicki about this on Twitter. She blocked me.
https://twitter.com/VNxvim/status/1371687698361065472?s=20
By the way, Keith was not exactly near the landmark where Nicki’s photo was taken. SO OBVIOUSLY NICKI WAS NOT THERE TO SEE THE VANGUARD!!
Please follow me on Twitter. I retweet Frank Report
Yes, Nicki’s thing is to block people who disagree with her, express concern or ask her questions that she knows she cannot answer honestly if she wants to protect her lies. I’ve seen her and her culties harass people on her feed and comment on how few followers they have. They fail to realize that people are hesitant to reveal their identities to someone who was part of a highly litigious, hateful cult that tried to destroy its perceived enemies.
More reasons why it is not worth it to comment on her feed. Not only does it increase her false sense of persecution but she will subject the commenter to harassment as she twists whatever they have said into a pretzel.There is no honest dialog on her feed. She clearly wants it to appear that the world agrees with her and her noble mission to free Raniere.
Keith & Co. are highly adept at faking and manipulating endorsements from way back – it’s part of how Keith charmed his way into and capitalized on that Guinness (New Zealand edition) mention down to most recently claiming Abby Rockefeller’s allegiance – but not so boldly as in times past.
They once had Edgar Bronfman testifying to the power of the ESP curricula as a cure for impotence, for example.
Keith always envied and attempted to co-opt the popularity and image of the DL and Tibetan Buddhism in the 1990’s. He and his early acolytes, including my sister and Kristin Keeffe, recruited other teen girls from local monasteries where Keith himself was banned for scamming. ESPIANS began copying and wearing the Katag’s long before the DL’s 2003 appearance in Albany. Gina (my sister) made some of them herself. The designs were lifted straight from Tibetan culture but Keith twisted this tradition into the Chevron-stripe ranking system NXIVM used.
Keith & co. also had my sister and her friends de facto spying on the monasteries and Ashrams as well as de facto recruiting impressionable teens by the late 80’s. And part of Keith’s motivation to subsume or co-opt Tibetan Buddhist teachings had to with his psychopathy in his personal relationships, particularly with my sister.
I believe, and there is evidence to substantiate, that Keith and Co. used my sister to attempt to make inroads into and “overtake” the power Keith, in his psychopathy, perceived the Tibetan teachings and leaders held over harem candidates such as she.
Keith was always driven by envy and ownership, threw a fit once over Gina’s lotus tatoo. I believe that Keith & Co. propagated and used Gina’s ‘delusions’ – such as being a consort/Goddess reincarnate first recognized by Keith, etc. – to accomplish their goals…including getting her out of the way when necessary.
Crafting delusions among their destabilized followers is NXIVM’s most successful mind-conditioning modus operendi, IMO.
There is also evidence that Kristin Snyder was mind-conditioned by NX leaders using their twisted take of Buddhist teachings, etc. Gina collected for them, and that worked to suicide her not 4 mos. prior to Kristin Snyder’s disappearance.
Btw. I understand the FBI found dozens of copies of “Siddhartha” in Keith’s lair. It was one of his early textbooks from his mentoring days. (Right up there with the Kama Sutra.)
I was among those who attempted to dissuade the Tibetan Govt. in Exile from accepting the Bronfman’s invite.
Following Gina and Kristin’s deaths, especially, and the circumstances thereto, this stint ranks among the most cynically despicable in NXIVM criminal history.
Nicki Clyne’s current pinned tweet reads
-I would rather have the government as my enemy than fear the truth. https://twitter.com/nickiclyne/status/1368997871001931776
If she’s so afraid of the US government, why doesn’t she move back to Canada?
“It’s not a defence to consent to modern slavery or human trafficking. You can’t agree to be a slave. You can’t agree to be trafficked.”
Here’s a disturbing case in Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-15/four-corners-felicity-bourke-speaks-out-about-cult-master/13230546
Frank, I agree that KR’s greasy fingerprints are all over the forward to this book.
Also, who can forget that beautiful Christian “ah-daaage”, found in all four gospels, that states, “the brighter the light, the more the bugs”? Huh? When I heard him say this in the NXIVM 9 video, it immediately struck me as bizarre.
Nicki Clyne is now claiming she is going to sue whoever said she quit Battlestar Galactica so she could focus on NXIVM.
The Bronfman’s are willing to fund this?
https://twitter.com/ManiacPersian/status/1371126934965477384
She wrote these tweets today on 15 Mar 2021:
“I’m glad you asked! The photo you are referring to was actually taken on a family vacation in Puerto Vallarta, nowhere near Keith or anyone in NXIVM. In the photo below you can see my mom taking the photo of me on the Mexican landmark, and a photo of me with my mom that day.” https://twitter.com/nickiclyne/status/1371444401604595717
“This is just one example of many where people have told a lie, no one fact checks the lie, the lie gets propagated, and then the lie becomes part of the accepted narrative.” https://twitter.com/nickiclyne/status/1371446928437882883
Except she leaves out the FACT that Raniere was indeed taken into custody (or “kidnapped” if you ask NXIVM deadenders) in Puerto Vallarta. Does that just happen to be a coincidence?
NXIVM acolytes are known to lie, misrepresent or not tell the whole truth, in order to support the “mission”. Why should anyone believe anything Nicki says? Because she was a D-list celebrity on a small-time show that was on television for a few seasons? Actors practically lie for a living and she’s not even that good at the skill.
Purely a coincidence that Nicki’s “wife” Allison was videotaped at the scene of Keith’s arrest!
Nicki wasn’t anywhere near that! Why would she be with her “wife” on her “vacation”?! Keith had nothing to do with her being in Mexico!
So many haters! So much media bias!
Nicole Clyne was most certainly there at the moment of Raniere’s arrest.
https://frankreport.com/2018/03/26/exclusive-video-of-keiths-arrest-and-the-women-who-chased-him-in-mexico/
Nicki does not seem to understand that lying by omission, word games, or any other form of dishonesty – is still lying.
People may be fooled in the moment but they will come to find out they were deceived.
No one likes being tricked.
Most humans know that if you’re on the hot seat and lie about the little things, you cannot be trusted in your position overall.
Especially in a case where Nicki is painting herself as one of the only honest participants.
Nicki lies about things that do not even matter. Often these lies can be effortlessly disassembled. With empirical evidence.
Nicki refuses to address the legitimacy of her marriage. Nicki has written the judge that Keith was her ” partner of 10 years”. Yet, she married Allison after she made a lifetime vow of sexual monogamy to Keith.
Keep talking Nicki. Keep posting. Do interviews. Write essays. It only helps the plaintiffs in the civil case. And anyone who does the slightest investigation will see all the inconsistencies. The outright lies. The failure of logic.
Not a well-reasoned, long-term plan.
Nicki:
Tell the truth
Are you being sued in a civil RICO suit by Philadelphia lawyer Neil Glazer?
CIVIL ACTION :
: NO. 20-CV-485
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
SARAH EDMONDSON; TONI NATALIE; :
JANE DOES 1-13, JANE DOES 15-39, :
JANE DOES 41-60; MARK VICENTE; :
JOHN DOES 1-17, and JOHN DOES 19-20, :
: CIVIL ACTION
Plaintiffs
KEITH RANIERE; NANCY SALZMAN; :
CLARE BRONFMAN; SARA BRONFMAN; :
LAUREN SALZMAN; ALLISON MACK; :
KATHY RUSSELL; KAREN UNTERREINER; :
DR. BRANDON PORTER; :
DR. DANIELLE ROBERTS; :
DANIELLA PADILLA BERGERON; :
ROSA LAURA JUNCO; LORETA J. GARZA :
DAVILA; MONICA DURAN; NICKI CLYNE; :
NXIVM CORPORATION; :
EXECUTIVE SUCCESS PROGRAMS, INC.; :
ETHICAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION; and :
FIRST PRINCIPLES,
Defendants
Very nice, Nicki Clyne. Demonstrating again the dizzying heights of her intellectual prowess! We’d better shut up, people! Nicki will come after each and every one of us, suing and spitting! Wonder who’s trained her in all this suing?
Just when we thought Nicki’s I.Q. couldn’t be any lower…
Does Nicki think she can conceal all of the stories about her dancing in front of the MDC to honor her Vanguard?
Nicki should consider herself lucky that she does not have a criminal record like her “spouse” Allison Mack.
Persian maniac is SoulTan. That’s why he is encouraging Nicki Clyne to sue. He wants her to sue guess who.
Who the hell is Persian Maniac or SoulTan?
Who is he?
https://twitter.com/sultanofsix/status/1372538945888731143?s=21
He’s actually a nice guy, whom people like harass. He’s a smart guy.
The “Sympathy for the Devil” essay you link to is a chilling confession by Raniere.
Damning data.
He’s an amazingly self-aware sadist.
Thank you for continuing to present this information, Frank.
Patanjali, who is viewed as the originator of the ancient Yoga Sutras, wrote about the subtleties involved in both the giving and the receiving of gifts.
Nobody wants a trojan horse unloading its cold slaps in the face while one is simply trying to eat a bit of lunch or even supper. Gracefulness is an actual necessity. Hard to come by.
One does notice that the introduction being ascribed to the Dalai Lama (Hello, Dolly) uses “neighbours” rather than “neighbors.”
So maybe this introduction was written by a skinny-assed ex-equestrian on xanax? You know, one woman, searching for orgasms, unawares and in all of the very worst spots.
We’ll fiji it all out sooner or later, ah figgers. Fingers? Figures?
How is YOUR figure, Frank? It ‘s too long since I’ve asked you! Forgive the lapse, please. This is December, whispering to April, not just Avon calling.
Did Keith Raniere write the book?
No!
Did Ivy Nevares write the book?
Yes!
Does Keith Raniere have the discipline needed to write a book?
It’s debatable.
How did the world’s third smartest man get an IQ of 240?
By having three of his female followers take the IQ test home and do it for him.
Wasn’t that an episode of Seinfeld?
Yes.
Keith Raniere is so stupid and crazy, he should have been a character on Seinfeld.
Seinfeld Clip – George And The IQ Test
George’s girlfriend has him take an IQ test for an assignment, but George schemes to have Elaine take it for him.
“Maybe the test was gender-biased,” said Jerry, back in 1991.
Ahead of his time, then Seinfeld finished it off with “you know, with lots of questions about hunting and testicles.”
Thanks, Shadow.
Lucky I’m not texting you, out in Chicago, to help me to stop cracking up here on the floor in paradise out on the patio.
I love Seinfeld!