(The Stages of Path to Enlightenment)

Venerable Geshe Lobsang Chonyi, resident teacher of the Gyuto Vajrayana Center, teaches the Lamrim Teaching (The Stages of Path to Enlightenment) every Sunday night, from 7 pm to 9 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend the classes as all Gyuto teachings are free, but we would like to request that all members and friends kindly join our membership program to support the Center and its monastery project. Please check our program calendars before visiting the Center for teachings or pujas.

Lamrim Teaching Introduction 

Geshe Chonyi was born Tenzin Phuntsok in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, in 1965 where his parents, Lobsang and Tsering, ran a successful business as traders between Lhasa and Kalimpong. Geshe-la has two brothers; one is a teacher in India and the other is a businessman in Taiwan. In 1956, his mother’s uncle sponsored his family and their teachers to go on a pilgrimage to Lhasa. In 1959 when His Holiness the Dalai Lama was forced into exile, Geshe-la’s family was lucky enough to quickly return to their home in Sikkim.

When his father died in 1971, his mother decided to move to the Tibetan refugee camp at Hunsur in southern India. At that time, Geshe-la visited a relative who was a monk at Sera Mey, and decided to enter the monastery. So, in 1971, he was given his novice vows and ordained name by His Holiness’ senior tutor, Trijang Rinpoche. As Geshe-la’s teacher, venerable Khensur Rinpoche Tenzin Sherab, an ex-Abbot of the Gyuto Monastery, taught him how to read, write and memorize texts and the complete educational program including advanced topics such as logic and Buddhist philosophy. Geshe-la emphasizes that his teacher was the most important influence on his monastic life and, without his patience and kindness, he would never have been able to study the dharma with such a clear understanding. When Geshe-la entered the monastery, he had no money and therefore no way to support himself. However, Rinpoche had set up a scholarship for gifted students and Geshe-la was awarded one. So again, Rinpoche’s kindness and generosity were a great benefit to him. 

At the end of a monk’s studies, he took three exams: tests of memorization, tests of knowledge through essays and an oral test (a public debate). The whole monastery gathered for the debate. The senior lamas sat on the stage with a stack of envelopes containing a question for the debate. The question is very brief so  the person asking and the person answering must be very knowledgeable to ask and respond fully and correctly. From there, Geshe-la debated the question in front of the whole monastery of about 800 monks.

Geshe Chonyi holds a Geshe Lharampa degree, which is the highest Tibetan Buddhist doctorate awarded to monks. The most outstanding students qualify for the Geshe Lharampa exams. To obtain a Geshe Lharampa degree, it requires a total of at least 23 years of intensive study and debate. The top scholars from the three main Gelug monasteries of Sera, Drepung and Ganden take their final major exams together. 

After completing his degree, Geshe-la went to Gyuto Tantric Monastery to study the tantras. Although it’s a two-year program, as venerable Khensur Rinpoche was at Gyuto at that time, he stayed for five years before returning to Sera Mey Monastery. 

In addition to his rigorous dharma study and practice schedule, Geshe-la studied Tibetan astrology with an emphasis on calculations and the calendar.