Career
His personal name is Gelek. Kyabje and rimpoche are titles meaning "teacher" (lit, "lord of refuge") and "precious," respectively. He is a tulku, an incarnate lama, of Drepung Monastic University, where he received the scholastic degree of Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree given, at an exceptionally young age.
He was tutored by many of the same masters who tutored the current (14th) Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
In 1959, Gelek fled to India from Tibet and gave up monastic life. He was one of the first students of the Young Lamas Home School.
Beat-poet Allen Ginsberg was among the more prominent of Jewel Heart"s members. Ginsberg met with Gelek Rinpoche through the modern composer Philip Glass in 1989.
Allen and Philip jointly staged benefits for the Jewel Heart organization.
