A Brief Biography of Geshe Tsering Choephel

Geshe Tsering Chophel was born on 25 September, 1980. He was the child of Tashi Norbu and Dolma. He asked to be allowed to become a monk and entered his local monastery at a young age. There he learned Tibetan reading and writing. He also memorized all of their prayers and learned the rituals. At the monastery, Tsering Chophel also studied some dialectics. After that time, he entered the great monastic institution of Drepung Loseling Monastery in India. At the feet of several dedicated Buddhist masters there, he studied sutra, tantra, and Tibetan grammar. The study program at Drepung Loseling spanned over many years, and despite the hardships, he completed the traditional monastic philosophical curriculum and achieved a Geshe degree.

While studying at Drepung, Geshe Tsering Chophel also taught the beginning subjects of their curriculum to the newly entering monks in one-on-one classes. Besides this, he also worked as a philosophy teacher at the Loseling School during that time. After his years at Drepung, Geshela was invited to teach at Namgyal Monastery of His Holiness Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. He remained there as a teacher for eleven years. At Namgyal Monastery, Geshela taught classes on the many great treatises of sutra and tantra. His students, because of their devotion and dedication, turned out very well. Besides his duties at Namgyal, Geshela also often taught the monks at Kirti Monastery, as well as sometimes teaching at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. He also taught Buddhist philosophy in one-on-one and group classes to many foreign students from both the east and the west who requested classes with him.

Following His Holiness’s wishes, Geshe Tsering Chophel also studied science while at Drepung and later while at Namgyal Monastery. In particular, he studied chemistry, physics, biology, neuroscience, and cosmology. After eleven years of working as a teacher at Namgyal, Geshela decided to resign. He then completed a one-year practice retreat. He would have done a longer retreat, but His Holiness requested that he dedicate himself to teaching the Tibetan community as well as foreigners. Geshela then joined a group of Geshes and Rinpoches who the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent to study English in Bangalore.

Over the course of his studies and teaching career, Geshela has attended several Mind and Life immersion courses regarding the juncture where science and Buddhism meet. Along with the same group of Geshes and Rinpoches mentioned above, with whom he studied English, Geshela later participated in an immersion course in Varanasi arranged by the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on contemporary methods of teaching Dharma to students of Buddhism from differing cultural backgrounds. The lecturers of the course included renowned scholars including Geshe Thubten Jinpa, Geshe Tashi Tsering, etc.

Over the course of his life, Geshela has also had the opportunity to travel abroad for teaching. He has taught in the United States, South Korea, and most recently in Malaysia. At the various Dharma centers he visited in these countries, he taught Introduction to Buddhism courses as well as on various and sundry subjects of sutra and tantra. In December of 2021, Geshela achieved his life-long dream of opening his own Dharma center. His center, which is called Center for Mind Training, is located in McLeod Ganj, India, near the Dalai Lama Temple. Enjoying his open door policy and a beautiful view of the Kangra Valley, students from far and wide come for courses and workshops on various subjects. Geshela also conducts regular drop-in meditation classes both in-person and online. His students come from all over the world, enjoying his magnanimous, wise, brilliant teachings.

In short, Geshe Tsering Chophel is a wise and brilliant teacher. He is a wonderful resource and dedicated teacher who’s life mission is to teach on a wide array of subjects that students are interested in learning. He is always open to course ideas and class requests.