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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 demonstrates 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 entering 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 scriptures, 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. 164
