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Geshe (Tibetan:དགེ་བཤེས་,Wylie:dge-bshes, short fordge-ba'i bshes-gnyen, "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt.kalyāņamitra) orgeshema is aTibetan Buddhistacademic degree formonks andnuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by theGelug lineage, but is also awarded in theSakya andBön traditions.[1][2] The equivalentgeshema degree is awarded to women.[3]
The titleGeshe was first applied to esteemedKadampa masters such as GesheChekawa Yeshe Dorje (1102–1176), who composed an importantlojong text calledSeven Points of Mind Training and GesheLangri Tangpa (dGe-bshes gLang-ri Thang-pa, 1054–1123).
Thegeshe curriculum represents an adaptation of subjects studied at Indian Buddhist monastic universities such asNālandā. These centers were destroyed by Islamic invaders of India, leaving Tibet to continue the tradition. It first developed within theSakya monastic lineage, where it was known aska-shi ("four subjects") orka-chu ("ten subjects"). The Sakyas also granted degrees at the conclusion of these studies, on the basis of proficiency indialecticalritualizeddebate. InTsongkhapa's time the Sakya degree was awarded at Sangphu, Kyormolung and Dewachen (later Ratö) monasteries.
Thegeshe degree flowered under theGelug monastic lineage. Under Gelug domination, monks from various monastic lineages would receive training asgeshes through the great Gelug monasteries. Gelugpageshes often went on to study at one of Lhasa's tantric colleges,Gyütö orGyüme. (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 ofka-rabjampa ("one with unobstructed knowledge of scriptures") as well as the titleKhenpo, which the Gelug tradition reserves forAbbot (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, theInstitute for Buddhist Dialectical Studies (IBD) in Dharamsala, India, conferred the degree ofgeshe onVenerable Kelsang Wangmo, a German nun, thus making her the world's first female geshe.[4][5]
In 2013, Tibetan women were able to take thegeshe exams for the first time.[6]
In 2016, twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns became the first Tibetan women to earngeshema degrees.[3][7][8] Thegeshema degree is the same as ageshe degree, but is called ageshema degree because it is awarded to women.[3]
The Geshe curriculum consists of the "Collected Topics" (Tibetan:བསྡུས་གྲྭ་,Wylie:bsdus-grwa) which were preliminary to the syllabus proper, as well as thefive 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:
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 (includingnuns). The first geshema degree was conferred to a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, in 2011.[9][10][11] The Gelug curriculum, which lasts between 12 and 40 years, centers around textual memorization and ritualizeddebate, and is invariably taught through the medium of theTibetan language.[citation needed]
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 ofgeshe according to their ability. There are four such categories,Dorampa,Lingtse,Tsorampa andLharampa,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.[citation needed]
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