A Treasury of Jewels: A Biography of Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe

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There is even a traditional belief that if one of your son becomes a monk, you acquire merit equivalent to constructing a stupa.

The great spiritual master venerable Gen Yeshe Thabkhe studied the five major monastic texts with much determination, day and night, at the behest of his teachers such as Gen Jamyang Nyishar while venerating his spiritual teachers properly at the great monastic university of Drepung, the source of hundreds of millions of scholars. But there is a Tibetan saying, "Devils in the place of Dharma practice," and Gen la encountered two such unavoidable obstacles.

Through this biography we learn of the hardships he faced in Tibet to become one of the foremost scholars of Gelug geshes, a master of logic and debate, while living a life of humility. We present you this book in accordance with a Tibetan saying, "Biographies of past masters are the practice for the disciples who follow."

When the Teacher Buddha Šakyamuni's teachings are classified into the twelve categories, the Introductory,' the Realizational," the Historical,' and the Past Life Stories, are generally discussed as a series of actual events. In particular, these teachings concern the activities and qualities of the Learners and No-more Learners' of the Three Vehicles,"

The twelve great deeds' and so on of the Teacher himself representing the activities of a supreme emanation Buddha as well as most of the common and uncommon aspects of the Teacher's deeds have been taught extensively in the Sutra of Manifest Deeds, in the Array of Dance Sütra," and so on.

Similarly, the manner in which the Buddha himself engaged in the difficult bodhisattva activities, during numerous pure and impure series of lifetimes, are found in the class of Jātaka stories and numerous collections of Sutras and Tantras. As a result, these works are still extant for trainees even after a lapse of more than 2,500 years since his Parinirvana, to be encountered by fortunate disciples as their source of devotion.

I am pleased to give a short account of how this biography, A Treasury of Jewels: A Biography of Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe, came about. Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe, my great teacher, is an embodiment of knowledge and compassion and the pinnacle of teaching of innumerable philosophical texts. It was during the year 2008 when my great teacher came from Varanasi to Ladakh during the summer break. He stayed with my spiritual friend Tsultrim Gyatso. At that time, I expressed my intention to write a short biography of him and accordingly sought his permission, however, Gen Rinpoche told me, "In my life, I haven't made any contributions that are worth mentioning in a biography. So, what would you write?"

However, I insisted and pleaded with him that I may be given permission to write it. I told him, "Although Venerable teacher, you don't see any significant purpose in recording your activities in a biography; for us disciples, if we may record your biography, it would be of great benefit for us. Also, those fortunate ones who will come in the future and read your biography will surely gain tremendous wisdom." There is a Tibetan saying, "Biographies of past masters are the practice for the disciples who follow."

Book's Contents and Sample Pages