European Institute of Tibetan Buddhism
founded by Venerable Gueshe Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa
Venerable Gueshe Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa
Venerable Geshe Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa Rinpoche was born in 1931 in the town of Sakya in Tibet into a family with a tradition
of strong religious practice. He entered the Sakya Monastery at the age of seven. At his ordination he received the name by which he is
now known: Sherab Gyaltsen (Banner of Wisdom). Soon he began to read and write, and to memorize the liturgical texts used in the monastery;
during the first three years, his principal teacher was Venerable Khenpo Sangye Rinchen. Gradually he came to lead morning prayers and several
long religious songs.His studies began with pramana, which we might translate as the epistemological foundations of religious knowledge,
going at the age of thirteen to the study of the Paramitas (virtues). During his period of retreat he performed the preliminary practices
(Ngöndro) and was introduced to silent meditation (sanskrit: samadhi, tibetan: shiné) and insight meditation (sanskit: vipassana, tibetan: lhaktong).
Later he received Lam Dre instructions and initiations from his Holiness the 40th Sakya Trizin Ngawang Thutob Wangchug.
At the age of eighteen Venerable Lama Sherab passed the Kachu examination which opens the way to further study to reach the level of Geshe.
These studies include Abidharma, Madhyamika philosophy, the Vinaya (religious discipline) and the three types of vow. Venerable Lama Sherab
received full ordination as a monk at the age of twenty and after obtaining the Gueshe degree, he in turn began to teach, mainly in the principal
monastery in Sakya. He was given many tantric initiations (Manjushri and Mahakala, Green Tara and White Tara, Hevajra, Vajrayogini, Vajrakilaya
and others) by his root guru, the 40th Sakya Trizin Ngawang Thutob Wangchug. Later he received from his holiness, the 41st and present Sakya Trizin,
the complete Lam Dre, Hevajra, Vajrayogini and the special Sakya teachings of the Thirteen Golden Dharmas.
In 1960 he left Tibet for exile in India and was sent as a representative of the Sakya tradition to study various languages and western subjects
in Dhalousie. With the agreement of His Holiness the Dalaï Lama, the Tibetan Government in exile asked Venerable Lama Sherab in 1967 to go to
the newly founded Tibetan Institute in Rikon near Zurich in Switzerland. His Holiness Sakya Trizin also approved. Slowly his influence spread
and groups of people formed to follow his teachings and practise the Dharma under his guidance all over Europe. In 1977, a centre, Sakya Tsechen Ling
was created in Strasbourg, moving in 1978 to the village of Kuttolsheim not far away. This new house was inaugurated by his Holiness Sakya Trizin
in September 1978 and has now become the European Institute of Tibetan Buddhism, with a resident tibetan Lama (Venerable Lama Dagpa Woeser)
and monthly weekend sessions of teachings and initiations given by Venerable Lama Sherab.
Venerable Geshe Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa Rinpoche, in addition to his regular teachings and administration of centres stretching from the
North to the South of Europe, has written several books on buddhist practices, on Sakya history and on Mahamudra, as well as a Tibetan/English
language textbook, variously translated into Dutch, English, French, German, Italian and even Czech.
May his shining example long continue to enlighten us !
