Venerable Geshe Tsulga

1939 - 2010

Ven. Geshe Tsulga (Ven. Tsultrim Chophel) was born in Tibet in 1939. A novice monk by the age of seven, he joined the Je college of Lhasa's Sera Monastery to begin his geshe studies at seventeen. In 1959 he fled Tibet after the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. After a decade in the refugee camp of Buxaduar in West Bengal, he went to Bylakuppe in south India to help build Sera monastery in exile. In 1988, he graduated geshe lharampa with highest honors at the top of his class.

He arrived in the United States in December 1992, having been requested to come by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to teach at the FPMT centers on the east coast. Since 1995 he has been resident teacher at Kurukulla Center in Boston. Those who know Geshela will attest to his great kindness, humility, and his being a shining example of one who truly embodies the teachings of the Buddha. He has extensive knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and has authored several books published in Tibetan including an extensive history of Sera Je Monastery, as well as How to Practice the Buddhadharma: A Lamp Illuminating the Path to Liberation, which is published with Tibetan and English and is available now.

After manifesting liver cancer for two years, Geshela passed away in November 2010.