The spiritual director of Jewel Heart is Gelek Rimpoche.
Born into the family of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Rimpoche was recognized at the age of four as incarnation of Khenpo Tashi Namgyal, the abbot of Gyuto Monastery. From the age of four, Rimpoche studied in the Drepung Lo- seling Monastery with Tibet's greatest living masters, and later earned the Geshe Lharampa degree. This distinction, the equivalent of a Doctorate of Divinity, typically requires twenty-five years of study. Rimpoche completed it in half the time due to his outstanding insight and excellent memory.
In 1959, Rimpoche fled Tibet, seeking refuge in India, where he continued to work diligently to maintain and pre- serve the Tibetan tradition. He assisted the United States Library of Congres by cataloging Tibetan publications, and began editing and printing rare Tibetan manuscripts and oral teachings. There are now over 175 volumes in this se- ries. Many would certainly have been lost to humanity had they not been published.
In the late 1970s, Rimpoche was requested by the Senior and Junior tutors of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to become more active as a teacher. Since that time, Rimpoche has traveled extensively and is known to his students for his practical application of Buddhist teachings, his vast knowledge and experience, and his warmth and humor.
Since 1986, Rimpoche has lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, though he travels frequently to teach at Jewel Heart centers throughout the world.
In 2001 Gehlek Rimpoche’s book Good Life, Good Death; Tibetan Wisdom on reincarnation was published by Riverhead Books, New York. It has been translated into German and Dutch.