Gelek Rimpoche (1939–2017) was born in Tibet and studied at Drepung Monastery and later in India, where he gained his lharampa geshe degree. After publishing many important texts and teaching Dharma in India, in the 1980s he came to the USA, where, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he became spiritual head of the Jewel Heart Buddhist centers in America and abroad. Gelek Rimpoche passed away on February 15, 2017.