To realize nirvana we need to realize emptiness
Nagarjuna's Precious Garland 31
Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe 
Teachings by Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe 
Jun 8, 2026 Part of a series of online teachings on Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland of Advice for a King (Ratnavali), with English interpretation by Katrina Brooks.
- Identifying the mind realizing emptiness
- The mind is not eliminated by eliminating the afflictions
- Realizing subtle emptiness is necessary to attain liberation
- The distinction between the Fundamental and Great Vehicle
- The faults of deriding the Great Vehicle
- The causes that lead to deriding the Great Vehicle
Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe
Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe was born in 1930 in Lhokha, Central Tibet and became a monk at the age of 13. After completing his studies at Drepung Loseling Monastery in 1969, he was awarded Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree in the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. He is an emeritus professor at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and an eminent scholar of both Madhyamaka and Indian Buddhist studies. His works include Hindi translations of The Essence of Good Explanation of Definitive and Interpretable Meanings by Lama Tsongkhapa and Kamalasila's commentary on the Rice Seedling Sutra. His own commentary, The Rice Seedling Sutra: Buddha’s Teachings on Dependent Arising, was translated into English by Joshua and Diana Cutler and published by Wisdom Publications. Geshela has facilitated many research works, such as a complete translation of Tsongkhapa’s The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, a major project undertaken by the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in New Jersey where he teaches regularly.
