 Geshe
Rabten (* born in early January 1920 in the district of Kham/Tibet - to
the 27th of Febr. 1986) was a highly advanced scholar and tantrician, holder
of the highest ranking Geshe title 'Geshe Larampa' (Doctor of Buddhist
Philosophy) of the Gelugpa lineage and he worked also as a personal adviser
to HH the Dalai Lama on subtle philosophical questions. In 1969 he started
to teach Westerners in Dharmsala/India. A crystal clear thinker, sharp
analysist and philosopher with the talent to put even the most difficult
sutras and tantras in simple words. In 1974 he became abbot of the first
Tibetan monastery in Europe (Switzerland/Rikon) and later founded Tharpa
Choeling (now 'Rabten Choeling'), a monastery in Southern Switzerland,
after his death led by his main student Gonsar Tulku Rinpoche.
- He
was also a teacher of Lama Thubten Yeshe and I was proud that I was accepted
by him as one of his closer students, spending 3 winter seasons in
his monastery in Rikon. I learned a lot from him on Vipassana (attentiveness),
Lam Rim (Mahayana philosophy), how to develope a one-pointed and concentrated
mind (Shine meditation) and the Buddhist
attitudes of simplicity and modesty. He transmitted also several empowerments.
Among them a special Vajrapani meditation which
I still practice today. After watching and analyzing me for nearly 2 years
he decided to give me the Buddhist name 'Champa Legshe' (- an analogy for
'Manjushri', which can be translated into 'Loving Buddha of good thinking
and speaking') and encouraged me (together with Lama
Yeshe) to establish Manjushri-Mandala (Yamyang Khyel Khor), A School
for Modern Western Astrology, and on the basics of Tibetan Buddhism. Later
I gave this centre the name 'IAS & Manjushri Mandala, Friends of New
Age Buddhism'. He also acted as a patron and teacher of this German-based
centre for a couple of years. After the death of Lama Yeshe and Geshe Rabten,
Ven. Tenga Tulku Rinpoche became
patron of IAS & Manjushri Mandala.
- Find
informations on three of his exellent books by clicking
here
and visit the website of. Rabten Choeling
(Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, Mont Pelerin / Switzerland). His
rebirth ('Tenzin Rabgye Rinpoche') was discovered in the late eighties
by his former main student Gonsar Tulku Rinpoche, who is his teacher now
and director of Rabten Choeling. |
