About Jewel Heart
Photo by Andrea Egan
Founded in 1988 by the Tibetan Buddhist teacher and incarnate lama, Gelek Rimpoche, Jewel Heart is now an international organization with chapters in Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Chicago, Cleveland, Nebraska, and New York, as well as Malaysia and the Netherlands. Jewel Heart is affiliated with Nyare Khangtsen of Drepung Loseling Monastary in Tibet where its founder received his monastic training. Jewel Heart “carries on the living tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, with a particular emphasis on the lineage of Je Tsong Khapa.”
Ann Arbor was the first of the Jewel Heart centers to be opened by Gelek Rimpoche. Located on the outskirts of Ann Arbor, the center offers a variety of community events, small groups, classes, guest speakers, workshops, and community outreach activities. The calendar of their events, including weekly Sunday morning meditation and conversation meetings is available here.
Jewel Heart- Ann Arbor was inaugurated in 2008 by The 14th Dalai Lama.
Gelek [Gehlek] Rimpoche (1939-2017)
The founder and beloved teacher of Jewel Heart, Kyabje Nawang Gelek Rimpoche, nephew of the 13th Dalai Lama was born in Tibet in 1939. At a young age he was discovered to be an incarnate lama and received his training in Tibet at Deprung Monastery prior to the Chinese takeover of Tibet. At the age of 20 he fled Tibet to India and soon made his way to the United States, where he would eventually become a citizen. Along with founding Jewel Heart in 1988, Gelek Rimpoche was credited with transcribing and translating over 170 volumes of rare Tibetan Buddhist texts, saving them from being lost to history. He was also instrumental in the formation of many organizations crucial for the continuation of the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
His unique approach to the teaching of Tibetan Buddhism in a modern western context allowed for him to reach a large audience. The appeal of his teachings, which incorporated the many facets of modern every-day life with the spiritual teaching of Tibetan Buddhism, appealed to a Western audience and brought praise from Tibetan Buddhist leaders such as the 14th Dalai Lama. He was once even dubbed ‘American Rimpoche’, demonstrating how his adoption of the Western world met with his continuation of Tibetan tradition. Gelek Rimpoche has a vast body of writings, including Good Life, Good Death: One of the last reincarnated lamas to be educated in Tibet shared hard-won wisdom on life, death, and what comes after and The Tara Box: Rituals for protection and healing from the female Buddha. Along with his writings are an equally large number of transcripts and audio/video recordings of teachings given by Rimpoche, many at Jewel Heart.
Teachings of Gelek Rimpoche
“In Tibetan Buddhism there is tremendous philosophy and theological ideas. Also it is very simple and very easy. At the bottom line it will boil down to yourself and your own thoughts. It is simply what you want. We know we don’t want any misery and we know that even the lack of misery becomes misery. So all of those we don’t want. What we do want is really, truly happiness and joy. That is the bottom line. It is from our side. The theory, philosophy, idea and this experience that Buddha gained, what does that offer in that context? Very simple. It boils down to that it depends on ourselves, not on anything else. So the first and foremost is that we want to be happy. We want to be helpful to ourselves, our family and everybody and to anyone who even comes in the slightest contact with you, either through personal dealings or through reading or hearing the message.”
Many of the teachings of Gelek Rimpoche center on compassion and the progression of understanding true nature through the practice of meditation. There is a recommended progression of courses which outline a progression through basic Buddhist teachings (The Four Noble Truths) and guided meditation, to meditation practice focused on compassion and White Tara, to courses on the path to enlightenment and the nature of the mind, and finally to teachings on the perfection of wisdom and writings of Tibetan Buddhist masters. Vajrayana retreats are also offered periodically and include a six session retreat on guru yoga meant to deepen the meditation practice. The variety of traditional Buddhist ritual items available in the Jewel Heart store also demonstrates the importance of Tibetan Buddhist rituals and tradition in the practices of Jewel Heart and its members.
One of Gelek Rimpoche’s most frequent teachings regarded White Tara Meditation. Below are some selections of Rimpoche’s teachings on video.
Gelek Rimpoche- White Tara Guided Meditation
Gelek Rimpoche- Watch Your Thoughts
Gelek Rimpoche- Crazy Wisdom and the Three Higher Trainings
Events and Courses
Jewel Heart provides a wide variety of courses and events at its location in Ann Arbor in addition to audio/visual and written materials available online or in the chapter’s on site store.
Along with a weekly guided concentration meditation on Sunday mornings followed by White Tara guided meditation there are regularly scheduled film nights with discussion, knitting groups, reading clubs, tai chi classes, and many other community events. The Sunday morning teachings, formerly delivered by Gelek Rimpoche, are available as an online webinar for those unable to attend in person. The Sunday sessions have most recently been delivered by the 11th Demo Rimpoche, reincarnation of Gelek Rimpoche’s father.
Special events include courses focused on developing bodhimind, deepening compassion, weekend intensives on the meditation practice The Hundreds of Deities of the Land of Joy, instruction on the two truths and one reality of Tibetan Buddhism, group recitations, and meditation and mantra retreats. Courses are taught by resident teachers at the Ann Arbor center and various guest speakers. Most are available as a webinar in addition to the in person instruction.
The workshops and courses offered by Jewel Heart have varying costs for attendance, but are available to all regardless of ability to pay, with scholarships available upon contacting the center.
Notable guest speakers from 2017 include Robert Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Cloumbia University, Thubten Chodron, founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, professor at Emory Univeristy and founder of Deprung Loseling Monastary, and Dr. Joseph Loizzo, founder of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science. These speakers have extensive training in and knowledge of Tibetan Buddhist practice as well as the practice and application of Buddhist meditation. Dr. Thurman has translated many Tibetan Buddhist texts, including the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Ven. Thubten Chodron founded the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the US. Dr. Lobsang Tenzin Negi created an initiative to implement a comprehensive modern science curriculum for Tibetan monastics at the request of the Dalai Lama. Dr. Loizzo is the author of several books and journal articles on the study of contemplative psychiatry.
Community
The diverse community of Jewel Heart- Ann Arbor comprises several ethnicities in its members and guest speakers. The organization also does outreach work into the greater community through its chaplaincy program and other community service works. The chaplaincy program is a volunteer program which ” addresses needs in four selected areas: dharma counseling; dharma rituals and ceremonies; prison outreach; and life transitions support, including support for individuals and their families facing significant life changes and crises.” These services are available to all regardless of spiritual affiliation and are designed to be respectful to people of all beliefs.
Created by Marissa Kleiman
12/5/2017