Sherab Gyatso 喜饒嘉措

Sherab Gyatso 喜饒嘉措 (1884-1968)

Born 1884 (Guāngxù 光緒 10) in Amdo (present-day Qīnghǎi 青海) Died November 1, 1968 as a result of injuries sustained at the hands of the Red Guards.

Notable Associates:

Article editor: Erik Hammerstrom

Sherab Gyatso 喜饒嘉措 (1884-1968) was a Gelug monk and longtime president of the early Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會.

Biography

Sherab Gyatso trained extensively in the Gelug tradition in Amdo and central Tibet. In 1917, he was ordered by the 13th Dalai Lama to oversee the reprinting of several canons, including the Lhasa edition of the Kanjur. Over the next 20 years he served in various positions, examining candidates for the Geshe (dge bshes) degree.

After 1937, Sherab Gyatso was a lecturer on Tibetan at most of the major universities in China, including Běijīng University 北京大學, Qīnghuá University 清華大學, Zhōngshān University 中山大學, Zhōngyāng University 中央大學. During the Second Sino-Japanese War he served as a representative in the National Assembly and as Vice-Chief Representative of the Mongolian-Tibetan Assembly.

After the establishment of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會 in 1953, Sherab Gyatso served as vice-president, and then president. He was president until the events of the Cultural Revolution forced the Association to suspend its activities in 1966.

In 1968, Sherab Gyatso was attacked and beaten by Red Guards. He died of those injuries on November 1st of that year.

Important Works

• 喜饒大師文集
• 藏族文化概論

Notes

References

• Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. Pp. 2.1122b-1123b.