Geshe Rabten (1921–1986) was a Tibetan Geshe born in Tibet in 1921. He was a student at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, and achieved Geshe status before leaving Tibet in 1959. He became known as a debater, scholar, and meditation master. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche were guided by him in their early days outside of Tibet. In the mid 1960s Geshe Rabten was a religious assistant to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama asked him to teach Dharma to Westerners in Dharamshala in 1969. He went to teach in Switzerland in 1974.