Kyabje Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist lama born in Lhasa, Tibet on October 26, 1939. His personal name was Gelek; kyabje and rimpoche, are titles meaning "teacher" and "precious," respectively. He was a tulku, an incarnate lama of Drepung Monastic University, where he received the scholastic degree of Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree given, at the exceptionally young age of 20. The 14th Dalai Lama said "he completed his traditional Buddhist training as a monk in Tibet prior to the Chinese Takeover."
