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ALEXA PETER
The first Tibetan month, the Great Prayer Festival (Tib. sMon lam chen mo) was
a holy season for all the monastic congregations of Drepung, Sera and Ganden. They
assembled together in Lhasa and the hlarampas of these monasteries held their geshe
disputations every day in turn. Depending upon the quality of the examination was
assigned by the Tibetan government.”
Although the Gelugpa tradition recognized some people as tulku*® (Tib. sprul sku)
the various levels of scholarly achievement were open to any male who was able to
complete the program successfully. Monks may came from any level of society and
from any geographical region.
After completing the geshe degree, there are a number of further advancements
that one can make in the monastic hierarchy. One of these is the office of assistant
tutor (Tib. mtshan zhabs) to the Dalai Lama, which was given to a geshe who de¬
monstrates exceptional abilities. Above that is the office of junior tutor (Tib. yongs
‘dzin sku gzhon), which was given to a geshe hlarampa who is widely recognized
for scholarship and debating skills. Among the tutors, the highest office is that of
senior tutor (Tib. yongs ‘dzin bgres pa) which passed to the junior tutor when the
senior tutor dies or retires. A new junior tutor was then appointed by a committee
composed of eminent lamas and two oracles.*”
Those who successfully attained the level of geshe commonly follow this by en¬
tering a long retreat, often lasting for three years. The logic behind this system was
based on the idea that one should first gain a thorough grounding in Buddhist scrip¬
tures, philosophy, doctrines, and practice before engaging in full-time meditation.
Following the retreat, many geshes chose to pursue tantric training at one of the
Gelugpa tantric monasteries, generally the Upper Tantric College (Tib. rGyud stod
grwa tshang) or the Lower Tantric College (Tib. rGyud smad grwa tshang), which are
named for their positions in the city of Lhasa.** In the three monastic centers there
are tantra sessions for studiyng and practicing the tantra systems.*°
The Mongolian monk-students normally spent 5—10 years in the monastic schools
in Lhasa and then, upon receiving a scholarly degree, returned home brought or
ordered the handbooks they had studied before and founded a philosophical school
in their home monasteries.“°
During and after the World Wars the flow of Mongolian monks to Tibet slowed
and eventually stopped. The number of Mongolian monks became fewer and fewer
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup: Lectures on Tibetan Religious Culture, p. 43.
Beings who were reincarnations of great lamas.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup: Lectures on Tibetan Religious Culture, p. 66.
38 The Lower Tantric College was founded by Sherab Senge (Shes rab seng ge, 1383-1445), a student
of Tsongkhapa, in 1440, the Upper Tantric College was founded by Kunga Dhondrup (Kun dga’ don
grub, 1419-1486), a student of Tsongkhapa, in 1474.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup: Lectures on Tibetan Religious Culture, pp. 65-66.
Not all of Mongolian monks strove for the highest hlarampa degree. In 1906 there were only three
Buryats who held the degree of hlarampa; namely, Dorzhiev, Sanzhiev and Zoltuev. Of these three,
only Dorzhiev and Sanzhiev received it as a result of many years of intensive studies in Lhasa; Zoltuev
was known to have simply bought his degree for money, as monk-students often did in those days.
Andreyev, A.: Russian Buddhists ..., p. 351.
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