The Story of Geshe Pema Tsering

Kindly transcribed by Chrys Dombroyannis

Part 1 - Tibet

Geshe Pema Tsering was born in 1939 in a small village in Dhargye in eastern Tibet.  For Tibetans it is customary for parents to decide if a son or daughter is to become a monk or a nun.  Geshe-la’s family had already put his name down as a monk at Dhargye monastery before he was born.  Soon after his birth his family performed the ceremony of ordination.

Geshe-la led an idyllic and happy life as a young child in his village.  There was no school so he spent his time eating, sleeping and playing with the children and animals in and around his village. When he was 7 he moved to Dhargye monastery where his uncle was a Geshe.  It was there that he took the vows of Rabjung, the vows of renunciation.

This was the beginning of his formal schooling and a difficult transition.  His carefree days were over; he was unable to see his parents even though he could see his home in the distance.  He would watch the animals on the hillsides that he used to be able to play with, but couldn’t any more, and he would weep.

The Dhargye monastery was very large with approximately 300 to 400 children living there.  Geshe-la did not attend classes with the other children, as his uncle supervised his education. He was very unhappy and instead of playing he had to learn the alphabet and to read and write.  Then there was the difficult task of memorizing the texts of all the rituals and ceremonies of the monastery.  Every day there was a new passage to memorise.  Geshe Pema Tsering recalls that he didn’t like his uncle very much at all because he set many tasks and made him study.  He is now very grateful for what his uncle taught him and recognizes the kindness of his uncle.

Geshe-la does not remember his father because he died when he was very young.  When he was 9 his mother passed away followed closely by an uncle.  By the time he was eleven years old his only close relatives still alive were an Aunt and her daughter.  As he was the only one left in the family, he had to go and work and help them as well as continue with his studies.

This became the pattern of his life, living with his family for part of the year working in the fields, planting and harvesting, and studying in the monastery for the rest.  Geshe-la recalls that this respite from studying was a welcome one and he was happy.  Everyone treated him well and with respect because he was to become a monk and he lived in the monastery.  When he was 17 his Aunt told him it was time to go back to the monastery, commit to his studies to become a Geshe otherwise he would become a lay person or a monk without much knowledge.  

When Geshe Pema Tsering was 8, the first Chinese had already begun their invasion of Tibet, and by the time he was 17 there were even more Chinese bringing with them traders and cars.  It was in one of these cars that Geshe Pema Tsering went to Lhasa, to the great Sera monastery, with a letter from his uncle, Geshe Konchug, addressed to his new teachers.   

Geshe-la’s main teacher, the teacher who taught him scriptures, was Khensur Rinpoche, who was also a junior tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  The teacher who looked after his needs and meals was Geshe Kunsul.

Between the ages of 17 to 20, Geshe-la continued to study under the guidance of Khensur Rinpoche and Geshe Kunsul at Sera Jey. He recalls that he found it difficult to understand the concepts he was studying.  However through the process of daily debates that took place after classes gradually everything started to become clearer.

Geshe-la was 20 in 1959, the year the Chinese started the war and the bombing of Lhasa.  Geshe Pema Tsering recalls that in the beginning the Chinese were very nice to the Tibetans, they called them friends, they gave treats and cigarettes to those who smoked, and they worked and helped them in the fields.  In the beginning the Tibetans were fond of them.

However, slowly and progressively the Chinese became less and less pleasant to the point when they said the monks must stop studying the Dharma and wasting their time. They said religion caused damage and stopped the creation of material wealth. Eventually the Chinese said the Tibetans weren’t listening to them.  They claimed that it was not right to have rich and poor, that wealth should be distributed evenly. Slowly much dissent was created within the Tibetan community. Tibetans began to turn on each other; there were many who sympathized with the Chinese. During this time of conflict within the Tibetan community the Chinese invaded.  There was little resistance and the only choice was escape.

Next newsletter:  Part 2 of a series of articles about Geshela's life tells of his escape from Tibet and life in the refugee camps in India