Geshe Tashi is a native of far West Tibet and his family comes from the ancient kingdom of Purang and the Purang valley itself. The family name Sutse or 'first greet' comes from the time of Lama Atisha in the 11th century CE when the family was one of the first to greet the famous Indian Bengali Pandita Sri Atisha Dipamkara on his arrival in the Royal Kingdoms of far West Tibet.
Born in 1958 Geshe Tashi fled his homeland with his parents at the onset of the Han Chinese Communist Party's systematic destruction of the ancient Buddhist culture of Tibet. Eventually after much hardship his family were some the first refugee Tibetans settled in the uncultivated lands around Bylakuppe in Karnataka.
When in the 1970s the refugee monks of Sera Mey monastery were finally able to refound their monastery in the South too, Geshe Tashi was the very first young person to enter the monastery since 1959.
Geshe Tashi went through the whole monastic curriculum studying for a geshe, or doctor of divinity, degree which he finally gained with highest honours, gaining a first in the Geshe Lharampa degree. He then went on to the Gyu Toed Tantric monastery where he studied the major Geluk tantras for one year.
After that Geshe Tashi went to teach at the FPMT's Nalanda monastery near Toulouse in France. After a couple of years he kindly agreed to come to London to be the teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre.
In June 2018 Geshe Tashi Tsering made the move from Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, where he was the resident Geshe since 1997, to become Abbot of Sera Mey Monastic University in India.
Geshe Tashi teaches directly in English and well known for the warmth, humour and clarity of his presentations of introductory and Foundation level meditation and philosophy in Buddhism.
He has sought over the years to bring pure Buddhist Tantra initiations and teachings to London through inviting high lamas. This culminated in bringing the Naro Khacho system of Vajrayogini a few years back through the kindness of the Jangtse Choje Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin (the actual Ganden Tripa).
Without doubt Geshe Tashi's greatest inspiration is His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his extraordinary life and work on behalf of the Tibetan people, Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism. When His Holiness is in the UK and sometimes when he is parts of Europe Geshe Tashi has the good fortune to travel with him as part of the entourage.
Source: Jamyang Buddhist Center London