Geshe Denma Gyaltsen

Geshe Denma was born in northern Nepal. His father brought him to Menri Monastery, India, regarded as the mother Bon monastery in exile, in 1981 to begin his program of study toward the Geshe degree. He received all the Bon teachings, initiations, and transmissions in sutra, tantra, and dzogchen from His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, and His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche.

When he became a senior student, he was asked to teach philosophy to younger students. He successfully completed this degree program in 1996 and was awarded the Geshe certificate, which is considered equivalent to a Ph.D. in Bön Buddhist philosophy and religion.

Geshe Denma was an accomplished teacher and in 1998 was appointed, with the approval of the Tibetan government in exile, first abbot of Zhu Rishing Yungdrung Kundak-Ling Monastery, a Bon Monastery in Sikkim, India by His Holiness. He served two terms in this capacity until 2003. In addition, from the time he graduated until 2008, Geshe Denma also was active in assisting Geshe Nyima Dakpa with the Bon Children’s Home, which houses many children in Dolanji, India, providing them with food, healthcare and free education.

Geshe Denma has traveled many times to the USA, Austria, Poland, Canada, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Switzerland and Holland to teach and to raise the funds for the Bon Children’s Home. In addition, he assisted in the administrative work of the Bon Children’s Home whenever possible.

During this time, Geshe Denma was the treasurer and co-editor of a well-respected publication, Door to Bon, and for three years from 2002–2005 the elected secretary of the Local Tibetan Assembly in Dolanji. Once Geshe Denma attained his geshe degree, he became a senior teacher at the monastery and taught philosophy when he was in residence at Menri.

From 2009 to 2013, Geshe Denma often traveled to the United States to participate in Bon practices and to learn more about the work his fellow geshes were doing to bring this tradition to the Western world. In 2011, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, asked Geshe Denma to become the resident lama of Ligmincha Texas. Geshe Denma accepted the challenge and began coming to Houston to get to know the Ligmincha Texas sangha, study English and begin work to acquire his religious visa and ultimately become Ligmincha Texas’s first resident lama.
In 2014 with the help and support from Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and members of Ligmincha Texas, the formal application for the visa was made. In late October 2015, the application was approved and on December 20, 2015, Geshe Denma was awarded his R1 Visa. He arrived in Houston on January 3, 2016, welcomed by his grateful sangha and ready to assume his duties as resident lama for Ligmincha Texas.

From 2016 to 2019, Geshe Denma has developed a schedule of office hours at the Ligmincha Texas meditation center in Bellaire, Texas, where he meets the public and schedules appointments to answer Buddhism questions or give other pastoral care. He provides guidance and support to all meditation sessions, in attendance at most of the weekly and monthly practices.

Geshela gives monthly classes on Buddhism, introduction to meditation, or other topics.  In addition, he gives frequent teaching retreats at Ligmincha Texas including a calligraphy workshop at the CG Jung Center in Houston, provides support and practice retreats at large events at Ligmincha International in Virginia, has completed a three year intensive teaching cycle at the Chamma Ling Retreat Center in Crestone Colorado, is giving an online Tibetan language course through Glide Wing, and continues to plan future projects.

Geshela participated in a panel of experts at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He provides an ongoing meditation curriculum at Yoga Haven in Galveston. He assists the center in cultural observances such as Tibetan New Year. He performs specific ritual and prayer supports upon request, such as house blessings, prayers for healing, hospital visits, and other specialized rituals. Geshe Denma has published a series of meditation practice booklets for sale in our center and for use at our practices. He obtains religious and cultural objects to use as support for specific Buddhist teachings.

Most recently, Geshela has been working, on behalf of Ligmincha Texas, with Rice University’s Fondren Library to assist in cataloging a collection of rare looseleaf books (pechas) belonging to the Bön Tradition.  Geshe Denma is translating the texts and providing descriptions of these treasured items.  The collection has been waiting for years for the perfect person to come and reveal its content to the world. That person is Geshe Denma. While Houston currently has individuals who are fluent in certain dialects of Tibet, it did not have one fluent in the Bön Tradition until Geshe Denma’s arrival.  The collection will be searchable as the “Triten Norbutse Bön book collection.”  The processing of the pechas is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019.