Geshe

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Tibetan Buddhist academic degree

title: "Geshe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["geshes", "tibetan-buddhist-spiritual-teachers", "tibetan-buddhist-titles"] description: "Tibetan Buddhist academic degree" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geshe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Tibetan Buddhist academic degree ::

Geshe (, short for dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen, "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt. kalyāņamitra) or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, but is also awarded in the Sakya and Bön traditions.{{cite web | last = Staff | title = The Passing of Ven. Geshe Gyeltsen - 1924 / 2009 | publisher = Urban Dharma: Buddhism in America | url = http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma14/gyeltsen.html | access-date = 2010-02-04}} The equivalent geshema degree is awarded to women.

History

The title Geshe was first applied to esteemed Kadampa masters such as Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1102–1176), who composed an important xct text called Seven Points of Mind Training and Geshe Langri Tangpa (xct, 1054–1123).

The geshe curriculum represents an adaptation of subjects studied at Indian Buddhist monastic universities such as Nālandā. These centers were destroyed by Islamic invaders of India, leaving Tibet to continue the tradition. It first developed within the Sakya monastic lineage, where it was known as ka-shi ("four subjects") or ka-chu ("ten subjects"). The Sakyas also granted degrees at the conclusion of these studies, on the basis of proficiency in dialectical ritualized debate. In Tsongkhapa's time the Sakya degree was awarded at Sangphu, Kyormolung and Dewachen (later Ratö) monasteries.

The geshe degree flowered under the Gelug monastic lineage. Under Gelug domination, monks from various monastic lineages would receive training as geshes through the great Gelug monasteries. Gelugpa geshes often went on to study at one of Lhasa's tantric colleges, Gyütö or Gyüme. (The tantric colleges also grant a "geshe" title for scholarship in the tantras.)

Under Sakya and Gelug influence, the Kagyu and Nyingma monastic lineages developed their own systems of scholarly education. Their schools grant the degree of ka-rabjampa ("one with unobstructed knowledge of scriptures") as well as the title Khenpo, which the Gelug tradition reserves for Abbot (Buddhism). The course of study which prevails in Kagyu and Nyingma circles emphasizes commentary over debate, and focuses on a somewhat wider selection of classics (with accordingly less detail). It ideally lasts for nine years, concluding with a three-year, three-month meditation retreat.

In April 2011, the Institute for Buddhist Dialectical Studies (IBD) in Dharamsala, India, conferred the degree of geshe on Venerable Kelsang Wangmo, a German nun, thus making her the world's first female geshe.

In 2013, Tibetan women were able to take the geshe exams for the first time.

In 2016, twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns became the first Tibetan women to earn geshema degrees. The geshema degree is the same as a geshe degree, but is called a geshema degree because it is awarded to women.

Curriculum

The Geshe curriculum consists of the "Collected Topics" () which were preliminary to the syllabus proper, as well as the five major topics, which form the syllabus proper.

The exoteric study of Buddhism is generally organized into "five topics", listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for each:

  1. Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge, Wylie Tib.: mdzod)
  1. Prajñā Pāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom, Wylie Tib.: phar-phyin)
  1. Madhyamaka (Middle Way, Wylie Tib.: dbu-ma)
  1. Pramāṇa (Logic, Wylie Tib.: tshad-ma)
  • Treatise on Valid Cognition (Pramāṇavarttika) by Dharmakīrti
  • Compendium on Valid Cognition (Pramāṇasamuccaya) by Dignāga
  1. Vinaya (Vowed Morality, Wylie Tib.: 'dul-ba)
  • The Root of the Vinaya (Vinaya-mūla-sūtra, Dülwa Do Tsawa, Wylie Tib.: 'dul-ba mdo rtsa-ba) by the Pandita Gunaprabha

Conferral of the Degree

In the Gelug school, the degree may not be earned by laypeople (though some recipients later give up their robes), or until recently by women (including nuns). The first geshema degree was conferred to a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, in 2011.{{cite web | last = Rinpoche II | first = Tsenzhab Serkong |others=Berzin, Alexander (trans.) | title = Overview of the Gelug Monastic Education System | publisher = Study Buddhism | url = http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-tibet/the-gelug-monastic-education-system | access-date = 2016-06-06}} Translated and compiled by Alexander Berzin, September 2003. The Gelug curriculum, which lasts between 12 and 40 years, centers around textual memorization and ritualized debate, and is invariably taught through the medium of the Tibetan language.

Each year an examination is held for those who have completed their studies. In it their performance is evaluated by the abbot of the particular college. The topics for their dialectical examination are drawn from the whole course of study and the topic to be debated is selected by the abbot on the spot, so that students have no chance to do specific preparation. Thus, it is a real test of a student's abilities and the depth of their study. At the conclusion the abbot assigns each candidate to a category of geshe according to their ability. There are four such categories, Dorampa, Lingtse, Tsorampa and Lharampa, Lharampa being the highest. After this, in order to qualify, the candidates are not allowed to miss even one of the three daily debate sessions during the subsequent eight months.

Sources

  • The Government of Tibet in Exile

References

References

  1. Quotation: The ''geshe'' degree in the Gelug school is comparable to a western doctorate in Buddhist philosophy. The difference is that it usually takes more than twenty years to complete.
  2. Haas, Michaela. (18 May 2011). "2,500 Years After The Buddha, Tibetan Buddhists Acknowledge Women". Huffington Post.
  3. "The Joy of Study: An Interview with Geshe Kelsang Wangmo".
  4. Haas, Michaela. (2013-07-07). "Buddhist nun professors or none?". The Washington Post.
  5. (2016-07-15). "Twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns are first ever to earn Geshema degrees - Lion's Roar". Lionsroar.com.
  6. . (2016-07-14). ["Tibetan Buddhist Nuns Make History: Congratulations Geshema Nuns! - The Tibetan Nuns Project"](https://tnp.org/geshema/).
  7. Meade Sperry, Rod. (2016-07-15). "Twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns are first ever to earn Geshema degrees". Lion's Roar.
  8. Quotation: The monastic education system in the Gelug monasteries covers five major topics, based on five great Indian scriptural texts studied through the medium of logic and debate – "tsennyi" (''mtshan-nyid'', definitions) in Tibetan.
  9. link. (2012-10-04)

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