Introduction

In December 1996, I found myself in the poorest part of the province of Bihar in northern India, to visit the place of the Buddha’s Enlightenment, Bodhgaya. This place, which is special for Buddhists, is said to have been almost forgotten for many centuries after the Islamic invasion and destruction in the 12th century. Later it was rediscovered and is now duly honoured by many spiritual traditions. Nearby lies the great historical seat of learning Nalanda, which for long periods was a centre of the Indian wisdom tradition. Its traces are still clearly visible. Not far from Bodhgaya is also the place where the Buddha gave the teaching recorded in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (the Heart Sutra), at Vulture Peak in Rajgir.

Geshe Yeshe Tobden, who despite his advanced age had left his meditation hut at McLeod Ganj and undertaken one of his few journeys in order to teach the monks and nuns who were on retreat here, as well as the rest of us. For me, a Western novice with little experience of spiritual practice, it was a major event to be able to listen to this teaching and to receive the insights that were conveyed.

Historically, it was Je Tsongkhapa who, at the end of the 14th century, composed the praise to Buddha Manjushri for the teaching on “In Praise of Dependent Arising”. The teaching that is praised, about the innermost “empty” nature of things and its relationship to relative, conventional reality, had before his time been regarded as very difficult to express and formulate. In the centuries that followed, the teaching became more accessible, and in the 20th century translations into English that include this text appeared, with the result that even more people were given the opportunity to approach what is unique in Tibetan Buddhism.

The teaching on shunyata, which in English is translated as “emptiness” and which we in this text translate as “tomhet” (emptiness), is the foundation for understanding a reality based on cause and effect. For us to understand ourselves and our world correctly, an understanding of, insight into, and inner experience of shunyata is important.

This teaching is formulated in the Prajnaparamita literature and in condensed form in the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra was traditionally recited before each session and is also included in translation in this book. “In Praise of Dependent Arising”, the homage to the Buddha that the great teacher and reformer Je Tsongkhapa wrote at the end of the 14th century, is a text that explains this non-dual reality. That homage is also the starting point for the teaching that the revered Dharma teacher Geshe Yeshe Tobden gave in Bodhgaya and which is presented in this book.

About Geshe Yeshe Tobden
Geshe Yeshe Tobden was born in 1926 in the village of Ngadra, a few miles outside Lhasa in Tibet, and was given the name Tsewang Rabten at birth. He grew up with his parents and his sister on a small farm that lived in relatively good prosperity.

Already at a young age he attracted the attention of a high lama, who advised him to take monastic vows. At the age of twelve he entered the well‑renowned Sera Monastery, where he began his spiritual studies.

When Geshe Yeshe Tobden was eighteen years old, he received the news of his mother’s passing. Shortly thereafter his father and sister also passed away. He then sold the family farm and donated the entire property to the monastery. In order not to be a burden on anyone, he thereafter lived in solitude outside the monastery, under very simple conditions and with only a few utensils in his possession.

Those who knew him during this time bore witness to his great generosity. Everything he received he quickly passed on to someone in greater need. His life was already then characterised by self‑discipline and selflessness.

Geshe Yeshe Tobden studied diligently and achieved excellent results. He was taught by several great masters, among them Geshe Lodoe Sangpo and his root guru, Chusang Rinpoche, whose reincarnation was recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1965.

After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 he was arrested and imprisoned for several months. On his second attempt to escape he managed to gain his freedom and began a long and difficult journey to India. With only a few chulen pills – made from flower essences, minerals and other natural substances – as food, he travelled alone for over a year and a half.

When he finally reached the Indian border in 1961 he was suspected of being a spy and was imprisoned again. A Tibetan working as a border guard, who had himself previously been a monk, was however able to confirm his identity, which restored his freedom.

In India Geshe‑la resumed his studies. At the age of 37 he was awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa – the highest academic title in the Tibetan monastic tradition, at that time awarded to only one or two monks per year group.

After his graduation he remained at Sera Me as a teacher for a few years, until His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent him to the university in Varanasi to teach philosophy.

Despite his academic success, Geshe‑la’s innermost wish was to live in seclusion and devote himself to meditation. When his close friend Geshe Rabten communicated this wish to the Dalai Lama, he was released from his teaching duties. At the age of 44 he withdrew to a simple stone hermitage above McLeod Ganj, where he began a longer retreat period.

Already during his time in Tibet he was widely renowned for his discipline and his rigorous spiritual practice. He was often compared to Saint Francis and lived a life marked by poverty, humility and chastity.

Thousands of monks regarded him as a saint, and even the Chinese authorities showed him respect. He was a close disciple of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from whom he received the Kalachakra initiation. The Dalai Lama personally cared for him during his later years, and several of his teachers – among them Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche – regarded him as one of their most eminent students.

In 1976 Geshe‑la fell seriously ill but voluntarily refrained from hospital care. Lama Thubten Yeshe offered his help and contributed to his recovery. Through some Italian disciples he soon came into contact with European Buddhist centres, and in 1979–1980 he became the first resident lama of the Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Pomaia, Italy.

After returning to India in 1981 he made regular visits to Europe every other year until 1997. On the recommendation of the Dalai Lama he accepted invitations to teach in Switzerland, France, the USA, Canada and India during the 1980s and 1990s.

Geshe Yeshe Tobden spent his final years mainly in India and Italy, where he continued to teach and guide his students. Despite his advanced age he lived simply, wholly dedicated to meditation and service. His calm, humility and compassion made a deep impression on all who met him.

Geshe‑la passed away in 1999, deeply revered by both his students and the Tibetan community. His life and teaching continue to inspire through his many disciples, his writings and the teaching centres that carry on his spiritual legacy.

BuddhaDharma today
Thirty years have passed since this teaching was given. The Dharma is now also spread via social media. Texts that previously existed only in Tibetan can now be read in English by visiting 84000.co, a translation project that aims to translate the entire Buddhist textual tradition, the Tengyur and Kangyur.

During the global lockdowns in thec covid years, Buddhist teachers could no longer travel freely, which led to the use of the internet for teaching. Every branch of Buddhism now has an online presence and broadcasts live so that followers can participate.

The way of teaching has also changed. The strict style that Geshe‑la uses in this text follows the traditional way of teaching. The wisdom and experience of a life in practice that come with his words are unique and accompany the text. For an unaccustomed listener, the content may need to be repeated many times before understanding is achieved. In Western culture, C. G. Jung was inspired by eastern philosophy and he found explanations to his own experiences in dreams, which he writes about in “The Red Book”. He was also inspired by “The Tibetan Book of the Dead”, for which he wrote a foreword to the first edition.

From a younger generation of lamas, who know the West and adapt language and topics to today’s world, the messages are formulated differently. Dharma is beginning to leave monasteries and enter the world. Even formerly secret subjects that are only touched on in this text, such as Tantra or Vajrayana, are now not uncommon to find even on the internet.

But the main subject of this text, shunyata, emptiness, is universal and is placed in Geshe‑la’s teaching within an overall context that is necessary and runs through all branches of Buddhism.

About the publication
Since I had the great good fortune to be present on the occasion when the teaching was given and received permission to record the entire seminar, it has become possible to publish this teaching in Swedish. It is available at BoD.se (search for BuddhaDharma – Siddharta’s Intention) as a book and as an e‑book.

Many people have been involved in, and have made it possible now to publish this text in printed form in Swedish. First and foremost Geshe‑la, who shared his wisdom and his experiences from a life dedicated to the Dharma. Gareth Sparham brought Geshe‑la’s teaching to life in the translation from Tibetan into English on the spot, and Tony Simmons at Root Institute, a retreat centre outside Bodhgaya, edited the English text.

Thanks are also due to Tara Olavisdotter and Susanne Stellborn, who took part in the Swedish translation.

That it can be published is also thanks to Soenam Jamyangling at The House of Tibet in Stockholm, who initiated the translation work. As founder of the Swedish‑Tibetan School and Culture Association, he is the driving force behind, among other things, the completion of 108 schools and libraries in Tibet, where tens of thousands of Tibetan children receive basic schooling. By his example he has shown the power of compassion to bring about change, and has patiently and wisely inspired us all.