Sanskrit University is located in the Utter Pradesh region of India, which is a one and a half day journey from Dharamsala by bus and train. The hostels for the University were located in Sarnath, about seven miles from the train station. Sarnath is also the site of the famed first turning of the Wheel of Dharma by the Buddha Shakyamuni, and I loved seeing the holy sites as well as circumambulating and doing prostrations at the great stupa.

This stupa was built by the great Dharma king known as Ashoka. It was barely after dawn when I arrived there, and the usual bustling crowds had yet to fill the area with their noise and activity. I was alone in a very special place, and became overwhelmed with a deep tranquility. In that moment, in the solitude of that holy and auspicious place, I knew in my heart of hearts that I would find success in my years at the University.

When the sun began to rise and I made my way to Kagyu hostel where a few dozen young students were staying, including the Kagyu abbot. They were having some breakfast and tea. Without hesitation, I walked respectfully but directly to the abbot and handed him the letter from Ven. Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. The abbot, whose name was Ven. Khenpo Yeshe Chodar, calmly took a moment to read the letter over. When he finished, he said, “according to this letter, you’re pretty special. But we’ll see about that.”

Immediately he ordered one of the students to bring in some chalk and a chalkboard. They put the chalk in my hand and right there on the spot asked me to write some Buddhist verses. The abbot recited the verses, and I must have done well, because the students in the room began to clap. “We’ll see,” was all he said. But the important thing was that I was accepted as a Kagyu student under Khenpo’s charge. I immediately began to study Sanskrit, Hindi, and Buddhist philosophy. These were challenging subjects that required serious focus, and I quickly adjusted to a life of minimal comforts and distractions in which the greatest excitements were the fruits of knowledge and wisdom that came from diligence. We woke at 4 a. m., with only the white stars of dawn to greet us as we walked out to catch the bus that would transport us from the hostel where we slept to the University itself. If we happened to miss the bus it was a long hike and even with great effort you weren’t likely to make it to class that day. If we tried to catch the next University student bus, we would have to pay, and in my case I had absolutely no money to spend on a bus ride.

I lived on 50 rupees a month, which I received through a scholarship offered by the Indian government. In order to continually qualify for this scholarship, I had to pass all exams twice a year. At that time, 50 rupees was equivalent to about three or four U.S. dollars. I had no choice but to create a life of few unnecessary expenses, and I did manage to live 9 years on that modest stipend, up until my graduation from Acharya.

In my years at Sanskrit University I studied with many learned abbots from the Sakya, Nyingma, Gelug, and, of course, Kagyu lineages who blessed me with their patience, compassion, and wisdom. But it was Geshe Yeshe Thubten particularly who inspired me with his remarkable embodiment of wisdom. A small group of us took a private class with him on Abhidharma, or Buddhist metaphysics. His ability to read a text and immediately identify its “root,” or origin, as well as its essence, astounded me. It was as though his mind were a great temple where Dharma texts were neatly arranged on shelves. At will, he could describe the location and relationship of any one of these texts to another. To me, it was clear that he was motivated by bodhicitta for all sentient beings. He was from the Gelug sect, but he practiced non-sectarianism.