Conversations with Tibetan Buddhist Monastics: Geshe Damchoe

Catching Z's: The Millennials Guide to Mindfulness

Ven. Geshe Tenzin Damchoe was born in Dharamsala India and attended Tibetan Childrens Village (TCV) school until the 10th grade. After that he attended TCV Bylakuppe where he received a Bachelors of Commerce from St. Philomena’s college of Mysore University.

After graduating with his commerce degree, Geshe-la joined the Institute of Buddhist Dialectic school, where he spent over a decade studying Buddhist philosophy and earning the prestigious Geshe degree (which is equivalent to a PhD) from Drepung Loseling Monastery in south India. He later became a professor: teaching Buddhist Philosophy and Practices at Earlham College and then at Oxford University in England as a visiting scholar. Geshe-la now works at Sarah College for higher Tibetan studies as a program coordinator and renowned lecturer for Buddhist Philosophy studies.

Given his expertise, Marshall and I discussed with Ven Geshe-la:

• How he became a monk
• Prevalence of monks in tibet
• What does being a geshe mean
• How to keep your cup of knowledge from getting full
• Respecting others by thinking about their good qualities
• Self centered attitude vs. self-cherising
• Unconditional vs. Conditional love
• Interdependence of everything
• Two different types of meditation: Analytical and one pointed meditation
• Two different types of compassion: Emotional and Wisdom
• Positive influence western traditions have had on him
• How karma and murphy’s law share similarities
• 4 Noble Truths
• Contextualizing the four noble truths and 8-fold path as they pertain to coping and surviving the COVID-19 crisis.
• The utility of the identities we hold
• How Finding nemo shows us a great example of the 4 noble truths