Geshe (, short for ''dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen'', "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt. ''kalyāņamitra'') or geshema is a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

for

monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...

. The degree is emphasized primarily by the

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

lineage, but is also awarded in the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...

and

Bön Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

traditions.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. The equivalent ''geshema'' degree is awarded to women.

History

The title ''Geshe'' was first applied to esteemed

Kadampa file:Portrait of the Indian Monk Atisha.jpg, 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism, or Kadampa was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengalis, Bengali master Atiśa (982–1054) and his ...

masters such as Geshe

Chekawa Yeshe Dorje Geshe Chekhawa (or Chekawa Yeshe Dorje) (1102–1176) was a prolific Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text ''Training the Mind in Seven Points'', which is an explanation of Buddha's instructions on trai ...

(1102–1176), who composed an important text called ''Seven Points of Mind Training'' and Geshe

Langri Tangpa Geshe Langri Thangpa (གླང་རི་ཐང་པ། ; wylie: glang ri thang pa) (1054–1123) is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Phenpo, as Dorje Senge (རྡོ་ར ...

(, 1054–1123). The ''geshe'' curriculum represents an adaptation of subjects studied at Indian Buddhist monastic universities such as

Nālandā Nalanda (IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be among the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as ...

. These centers were destroyed by Islamic invaders of India, leaving Tibet to continue the tradition. It first developed within the

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 Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the c ...

ritualized

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

. In

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ( Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, '','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the format ...

's time the Sakya degree was awarded at Sangphu, Kyormolung and Dewachen (later Ratö) monasteries. The ''geshe'' degree flowered under the

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 The term khenpo (Tib. མཁན་པོ། mkhen po), or khenmo (in the feminine) is a degree for higher Buddhist studies given in Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya traditions, the title is awarded usually after a period of 13 ...

'', which the Gelug tradition reserves for

Abbot (Buddhism) In Buddhism, the abbot () is the head of a Buddhist Monastery#Buddhism, monastery or large Temple#Buddhist temples, Buddhist temple. In Buddhist nunneries, the nun who holds the equivalent position is known as the abbess (). In English-speaking ...

. 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 Geshe Kelsang Wangmo is a German-born Buddhist nun, scholar, and teacher. She is the first woman to be awarded a Geshe title, considered equivalent to a Ph.D. in Buddhist philosophy. Early life She was raised in a Roman Catholic family in Lohmar, ...

, 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: #

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...

(Higher Knowledge, Wylie Tib.: ''mdzod'') #* Compendium of Higher Knowledge (''Abhidharma Samuccaya'') by

Asanga Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, , ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school.Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva P ...

#* Treasury of Higher Knowledge (''Abhidharma Kośa'') by

Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...

# Prajñā Pāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom, Wylie Tib.: ''phar-phyin'') #* Ornament of Clear Realization (''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'') by

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

as related to Asaṅga #* The Way of the Bodhisattva (''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'', Wylie Tib.: ''sPyod-‘jug'') by

Śāntideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; ; ) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also lists S ...

Madhyamaka Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...

(Middle Way, Wylie Tib.: ''dbu-ma'') #* Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā,'' Wylie Tib.: ''rTsa dbu-ma'') by

Nāgārjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosoph ...

#* Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas (''Catuḥśataka'') by

Āryadeva Āryadeva (fl. 3rd century CE) (; , Chinese: 提婆菩薩 ''Tipo pusa'' meaning Deva Bodhisattva), was a Mahayana Buddhist monk, a disciple of Nagarjuna and a Madhyamaka philosopher.Silk, Jonathan A. (ed.) (2019). ''Brill’s Encyclopedia of ...

#* Introduction to the Middle Way (''Madhyamakāvatāra'', Wylie Tib.: ''dBu-ma-la ‘Jug-pa)'' by Candrakīrti #* Ornament of the Middle Way (''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'') by

Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential In ...

#* The Way of the Bodhisattva (''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'', Wylie Tib.: ''sPyod-‘jug'') by

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

(''pramāṇa'' Wylie Tib.: ''tshad-ma'') #* Treatise on Valid Cognition (''Pramāṇavarttika'') by

Dharmakīrti Dharmakīrti (fl. ;), was an influential Indian Buddhist philosopher who worked at Nālandā.Tom Tillemans (2011)Dharmakirti Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy He was one of the key scholars of epistemology (pramāṇa) in Buddhist philos ...

#* Compendium on Valid Cognition (''Pramāṇasamuccaya'') by

Dignāga Dignāga (also known as ''Diṅnāga'', ) was an Indian Buddhist philosopher and logician. He is credited as one of the Buddhism, Buddhist founders of Indian logic (''hetu vidyā'') and Buddhist atomism, atomism. Dignāga's work laid the grou ...

# Vowed Morality (''vinaya'', 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

). The first geshema degree was conferred to a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, in 2011. Translated and compiled by Alexander Berzin, September 2003.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.In December 2005 Dalai Lama said that talks was going on with the Department of religion to start honoring Buddhist nuns with the title Geshema �
Buddhism is All We Have - Dalai Lama
/ref> The Gelug curriculum, which lasts between 12 and 40 years, centers around textual memorization and ritualized

, and is invariably taught through the medium of the

Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to: * Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect * Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard * Any of the other Tibetic languages See also * Ol ...

. 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

{{Buddhism topics Tibetan Buddhist titles