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Geshe Damdul Namgyal
Tibetan Buddhist Monk
Drepung Loseling Monastery
Karnataka State, South India
PRIOR TO 1992:
GESHE DAMDUL NAMGYAL was born in 1959, in a Tibetan refugee camp in Uttar Pradesh, India, near the Indo-Tibetan border. His parents were from Ngari, Western Tibet, and a few months before his birth had fled their homeland due to the Communist Chinese invasion, following the Dalai Lama into a self-imposed exile. The family remained in Uttar Pradesh for some years, until they eventually moved to the Kulu-Manali Valley, near the residence of the Dalai Lama in Himachal State.
Between the ages of six and eleven he studied in the Tibetan Refugee Residential School in Kalimpong, West Bengal, and then for the following six years lived in the Central School for Tibetans in Shimla, H.P., where he completed his high school studies in 1976, finishing first in his class.
Later in this same year, he became a monk and joined the School of Buddhist Dialectics, or Tsen-nyi Lab-dra, in Dharamsala, a college of Buddhist philosophical studies founded by the Dalai Lama in 1972. He remained here for nine years, in 1983 achieving the degree of Par-chin Rab-jam-pa (Acharya of Prajnaparamita, or Master of Buddhist Philosophy).
Between 1983 and 1985 he engaged in the trainings of U-ma (Madhyamaka, or Emptiness Philosophy) at the same institute, and then enrolled in Drepung Loseling Monastic University, Karnataka State, South India, where he completed these studies and also the Dul-wa (Vinaya, or Philosophy of Buddhist Ethics) courses. Throughout much of this period (1976-1990) he also studied Tse-ma (Pramana, or Logic and Epistemology) for two months every year, in accordance with the tradition. He also studied Dzod (Abhidharma, or Buddhist Metaphysics and Psychology), the completion of which qualified him for the degree of Geshe (Doctor of Divinity).
While pursuing these classical studies in the Tibetan tradition he also gained both BA and MA degrees in English Literature from the Panjab University, Chandigarh, through correspondence courses. He was awarded the former in 1980, and the latter in 1983.
From 1979 until 1985, while a student at the school of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, he served on the Research and Translation Bureau of this institution. During this same period he also served as assistant editor on the staff of Lhagsam Tsegpa, a journal in the Tibetan language focusing on the analysis of Western philosophical and sociological ideas.
After transferring to Drepung Loseling Monastic University he became editor of Dreloma, a biannual English-language journal published by the monastery. In this capacity, he has written numerous articles on Buddhist philosophy and practice, and has translated many Tibetan treatises from Tibetan into English.
He has published various works in the Tibetan language, including a critical edition of the treatise Lekshe nyingpo, the fourteenth century Lama Tsongkhapa’s masterpiece on Mind Only and Middle View philosophy.
Over the years he has attended and read papers at many seminars and conferences in India on Buddhist, philosophical and religious studies.
In 1991 he was appointed by the abbot of the monastery to serve as lecturer and spokesperson on a tour of ten Drepung Loseling monks who had been invited to travel through 108 North American cities (in Canada, the USA and Mexico) to conduct "Sacred Music, Sacred Dance" ceremonies for world peace and planetary healing. During this tour he lectured in dozens of universities, spoke on numerous radio programs (including National Public Radio), and appeared on many television programs.
He received both his novice and full monastic ordinations from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the former in 1977 and the latter in 1984.
In recent years he has taken a strong interest in modern psychological studies, sensing that this Western discipline is an appropriate complement to his traditional Buddhist studies.
1992 AND LATER:
In 1992 after his first "Sacred Music, Sacred Dance" tour he returned to India to complete his studies by finishing his exams and debates and attaining the degree of Geshe Lharampa. This is similar to a Western Doctor of Divinity with highest honors.
In 1993 Geshe Damdul returned to the U.S. to establish a Dharma center in Knoxville, TN. He also enrolled at the University of Tennessee to study masters-level Psychology and Philosophy classes. Along with conducting teachings at the new center, he proceeded to do numerous new translations of many practices and teachings and make these available to the students of the center, Losel Shedrup Ling.
In 1994 he was drafted by the monastery to lead another world tour of "Sacred Music, Sacred Dance." He left the new center and toured for one year, translating and teaching and informing people of the culture, tradition and political situation of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
At the end of the tour in November 1995, he was called back to India for his biggest challenge yet. He met his sick father in Dharamsala, India, and took him to the monastery in the south to live with him. He said it would be a great teaching on life for him to care for his sick father, and it proved to be just that. He arranged for a new teacher to go to the center in Knoxville, built a house and took up housekeeping.
At the approval of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Damdul translated His Holiness’s book, Joy of Compassion, into Tibetan. He did this to make His Holiness’s simple and direct language available to monks and also Tibetan lay people. He finished the translation in 1998 and had it published by Drepung Loseling Monastery Library. After reading the translation, His Holiness was so pleased that he chose the book to be given to new arrivals escaping Tibet.
In February 1998, Geshe-la became principal of the monastery school at Drepung Loseling Monastery. This is the first Tibetan monastic school to be accredited by the national Indian Government. Geshe Damdul has moved quickly to upgrade the traditional scriptural standards of the school along with updating and improving Western subjects. He has had top teachers from the monastery come into the school to teach scripture. He has instituted periods of English-only communication, and has started a program of bringing in outside speakers including a Theravadan monk from Thailand who taught meditation and held talks. Also, with the aid of a generous donor, he is upgrading the school’s library. The students range from grades 1 through 10 and number 210. He is also teaching Dharma terms in English to senior students and several of the tulkus (recognized reincarnations of previous masters).
Geshe Damdul has also translated for His Holiness the Dalai Lama on several of his teaching trips to the monastery. In addition, he serves the monastery as host and translator for Western guests to the monastery. He also continues his studies with His Eminence the Ganden Ti, along with other teachers.
In 2000, with his father’s health greatly improved, he took his father and nephew on a tour of the holy sites of Buddhism in India and made plans to return to the West. He is currently visiting the U.S. to re-establish his ties with the Dharma center in Knoxville. Along with his teaching and interview schedule, he will be learning computer usage and studying first aide to help his efforts as principal. He will also be finishing a Tibetan-English dictionary for usage by students and staff.
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