Congratulations to Wendell “Hotfoot” Garnett ’05, who recently completed the first portion of the 17-year Geshe degree program of Tibetan Buddhist studies at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India!  This program offers an intensive grounding in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy through the traditional method of debating key Buddhist texts.  On hand to help mark this achievement by Wendell and others was His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who has resided in Dharmashala since fleeing Tibet in 1959.  Having completed this initial 8-year portion of his studies, Wendell will continue to study for another 9 years in order to complete the program.  Once he has finished his studies, he will receive the title Geshe (Tibetan, “one who knows virtue”), the equivalent of a doctoral degree in Tibetan Buddhist academic traditions.

Wendell describes the occasion as an “incredible and sublimely beautiful opportunity… [and] an unparalleled experience that left me speechless.”  Learn more about Wendell’s astonishing journey from Berea to the heart of Tibetan culture here.