Venerable Geshe Lobsang Chonyi
Resident teacher of Gyuto Vajrayana Center, in San Jose, California.
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 a teacher in India and the other 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 were lucky enough to quickly be able to arrange their 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, Monastery and as a result, entered the Monastery. So, in 1971, he was given his novice vows and ordained name by His Holiness’ senior tutor, Trijang Rinpoche. Geshe-la’s teacher was Khensur Rinpoche Tenzin Sherab, an ex-Abbot of the Gyuto Monastery. He taught him to read, write and memorize texts and then continued through the complete educational program including such advanced topics as logic and Buddhist philosophy. Geshe-la emphasizes that his teacher was the most important influence on his monastic life and that, 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 sits three exams: tests of memorization, tests of knowledge through essays and an oral test, that is, a public debate. The whole Monastery gathers for the debate. The senior lamas sit on the stage with a stack of envelopes, each containing a question for the debate. The question in the envelop tends to be very brief so that the person who will ask it must have a very clear understanding of the topic in order to ask it fully and correctly. Similarly, the person answering must have an excellent knowledge of the topic to be able to answer the question fully and clearly. From there they debate the question in front of the whole monastery, in Geshe-la’s case, about 800 monks. In his year Geshe-la placed third and became a Lharampa Geshe, the highest-level possible, receiving his title in three years instead of the customary six. After completing his degree, Geshe-la went to Gyuto Monastery to study the tantras. Although it’s a two-year program, as Khensur Rinpoche was at Gyuto at that time, he stayed for five years before returning to Sera Mey.
As well as his rigorous Dharma study and practice schedule, Geshe-la has also studied Tibetan astrology, particularly the aspect that focuses on calculations and the calendar.
This is Geshe-la’s first visit to America so he is enjoying the new experience and using the additional time he has available to increase his studies. Geshe la is the resident teacher of Gyuto Vajrayana Center in San Jose, California. Geshe-la is looking forward to meet the students and provide whatever teachings will be of benefit to them.