New Geshe Lharampa laureates             

The 2016 Tibetan Buddhism Geshe Lharampa Exam and Certificate Presentation Ceremony were held on April 10th in front of the main hall of Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa, capital of southeast China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Eleven lamas from various major monasteries in Tibet took the debating exam and were accredited as Geshe Lharampas.

During the ceremony, the candidates debated with the exam board members. The debate was loud and fierce. The 11 laureates come from the Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Gandan Monastery and Ramoche Monastery of Gelukpa school, Tashilunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Jampaling Monastery, Zaya Yingdong Monastery, Qangdoi Monastery and Pashod Monastery in Qamdo, and Rongpo Rabde Monastery and Chokh Monastery in Nagqu.

The summer exam for 2016 Geshe Lharampa, Tibetan Buddhism's highest academic degree, was held in Sera Monastery during Jun. 18-25, 2015. The final debating exam was organized by the Geshe Lharampa Exam Board of Tibet Autonomous Region on the principle of openness, impartiality and fairness. Tenzin Thubtob Tharba, from Sera Monastery in Lhasa, won the first place.

Geshe means “knowledgeable” in Tibetan. It falls into four ranks –Rampa, Lhunsi, Tsoram and  Lharampa. Geshe Lharampa is the highest degree of the Exoteric Buddhism of Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. The laureates were presented with five-colored silks, kasaya and certificates by leaders of Tibet Autonomous Region. Zhukang Tubdain Kaizhub, head of the Tibetan branch of the Buddhist Association of China, said, “The number of monasteries involved in this exam is the biggest, and the competition fairly fierce. The 11 Geshe Lharampa laureates this year are major Dharma masters in their monasteries. They are all very knowledgeable and have a good command of the Five Great Treatises.”