Medicine Buddha Puja in honor of Geshela
Sunday, January 21 at 10 am Pacific Time
In-person or on YouTube Live
See the event listing for more information and in-person registration.
January 4th
While walking around the pond on Abbey property yesterday, two monastics noticed that maroon-colored clothing was floating on the surface of the water. We contacted the Sheriff’s Department immediately. They came out, called for a boat, and retrieved a body which they think matches the description of Geshe Chodrak (Dadul Namgyal). The next step is the police will do an autopsy to allow for correct identification and more research on the time and cause of death. We will keep you posted as we learn more.
Please join us in continuing to make prayers and dedications for Geshe la, so he will be born in a pure land or take a precious human rebirth. Please also make prayers for his family and for his many students around the world, so that they will see Geshela’s death with Dharma eyes and engage in the bodhisattva practices just as Geshela did. By reciting and contemplating the “King of Prayers” and dedicating the merit for Geshela, we will send Geshela off with our respect and love.
More information
- Ven. Thubten Chonyi spoke on how Geshe la taught humility on January 9.
- KREM 2 (Spokane CBS) published this video about Geshe la on January 8.
- Venerable Thubten Chodron discussed how “Geshela is Still Teaching Us” on January 6.
- Drepung Loseling Atlanta hosted a prayer service for Geshela on Sunday, January 7. The chanting is in Tibetan.
- Drepung Loseling Institute of Texas held prayers for Geshela on Friday, January 5th. Gala Rinpoche spoke a bit about Geshela at the end.
- Read a tribute to Geshela from Geshe Dorji Damdul.
- AtlantaBuddhism.org shared photos of Geshela’s time at Emory University.
- Our friend Ajahn Nisabho recently shared this poem about Geshela with us.
- Read Geshela’s bio
- November announcement and updates can be found in the post here.
Resources for your practice
- Ven. Sangye Khadro recently led a retreat on grief.
- In April 2023, Venerable Chodron gave this talk about the passing of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and how to work with the loss of our teachers.
- There is a playlist of talks related to Grief and Loss on the Sravasti Abbey YouTube channel
- Read “How Does a Buddhist Monk Face Death?” an interview with Geshela for the New York Times in February of 2020.
- Geshela gave a talk on Grief and Grieving Practices in Tibetan Buddhism when he was a resident teacher at Drepung Loseling Atlanta, in 2022.
