Kadampa Buddhism
In the word ‘Kadampa’, ‘Ka’ refers to Buddha’s teachings and ‘dam’ refers to Atisha’s instructions on Lamrim (the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, also known as Kadam Lamrim). ‘Kadam’ therefore refers to the union of Buddha’s teachings and Atisha’s instructions. Sincere practitioners of Kadam Lamrim are called ‘Kadampas’.
There are two Kadampa traditions, the ancient and the new. Practitioners of the ancient Kadampa tradition appeared to emphasize the practice of Kadam Lamrim of Sutra more than the practice of Tantra. Later, Je Tsongkhapa and his disciples emphasized the practice of Kadam Lamrim of both Sutra and Tantra equally. This new tradition founded by Je Tsongkhapa is called the new Kadampa tradition.
After Je Tsongkhapa, the New Kadampa lineage flourished for hundreds of years, reaching the present day through immensely pure lineage Gurus such as Je Phabongkhapa and Vajradhara Trijang Rinpoche.
In recent years, this precious lineage has been preserved and promoted throughout the world by the contemporary Buddhist Master,Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, the present day lineage holder.
The dawn of modern Kadampa Buddhism
Since that time Venerable Geshe-la has worked tirelessly to develop and promote the precious gift of Modern Kadampa Buddhism. This new presentation faithfully preserves the original meanings of the lineage of Kadampa Buddhism all the way back to Buddha himself while presenting them in a contemporary and easily accessible way.
Above all it is an international presentation open to everyone, not anchored in any specific country or culture.
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso teaching – NKT-IKBU Summer Festival 2009
Enjoy a simple breathing meditation
Modern Buddhism for everyone
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Je Tsongkhapa
Je Tsongkhapa, whose ordained name was Losang Dragpa, was a great 14th century Tibetan Buddhist Master who promoted and developed the Kadampa Buddhism that Atisha had introduced three centuries earlier.
His appearance in Tibet had been predicted by Buddha himself.
Je Tsongkhapa patiently taught the Tibetans everything they needed for their spiritual development, from the initial step of entering into a spiritual practice through to the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood. This was a golden age in Tibet, and thousands of Tibetans were inspired by Je Tsongkhapa’s immaculate example of pure moral discipline, compassionate way of life, and profound, liberating wisdom. His followers became known as the ‘New Kadampas’, and to this day Kadampa Buddhists worldwide study his teachings and strive to emulate his pure example.
A common prayer among Kadampa Buddhists is:
May I meet the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa,
Who has a pure practice of stainless moral discipline,
The courageous practice of the extensive deeds of a Bodhisattva,
And the yogas of the two stages to supreme bliss and emptiness.
THE SPECIAL QUALITIES OF JE TSONGKHAPA
In Root Tantra of Manjushri Buddha Shakyamuni made a prediction about how Manjushri would later emanate as Je Tsongkhapa:
After I pass away
And my pure doctrine is absent,
You will appear as an ordinary being,
Performing the deeds of a Buddha
And establishing the Joyful Land, the great Protector,
In the Land of the Snows.
This verse reveals the special qualities of Je Tsongkhapa. The third line explains that although he was an enlightened being, a manifestation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, Je Tsongkhapa did not reveal himself to be a special being but always appeared in the aspect of an ordinary practitioner. In particular he never made a public display of his miracle powers or clairvoyance, and he encouraged his disciples to follow his example by not revealing any special powers they might have attained.
Instead of revealing miracle powers, Je Tsongkhapa mainly worked to establish pure Buddhadharma throughout Tibet. By giving teachings and showing a good example, he led many beings to gain pure, authentic realizations of Sutra and Tantra. This is the meaning of the fourth line of the verse.
The phrase ‘Joyful Land’ in the fifth line is the name of Buddha Maitreya’s Pure Land, known as ‘Tushita’ in Sanskrit or ‘Ganden’ in Tibetan, which is where Je Tsongkhapa went after he passed away. During his life Je Tsongkhapa established a great monastery in Tibet called ‘Ganden Monastery’, and he spread throughout Tibet a pure doctrine that became known as the ‘Ganden doctrine’.
This doctrine is a special, pure Buddhadharma that comes from Manjushri’s wisdom. It is called ‘the great Protector’ because it protects all living beings from the ocean of samsaric suffering. All of this indicates that Je Tsongkhapa is a manifestation of Buddha Maitreya, who is the Protector of the hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land. These days, the tradition of Je Tsongkhapa is known as the ‘Gelug’, or ‘Virtuous Tradition’, and his followers are known as ‘Gelugpas’; but the original name of ‘Ganden’ came from Buddha Shakyamuni. This is the meaning of the fifth line.
As Buddha had predicted, Je Tsongkhapa appeared in Tibet, the Land of the Snows, where he lived from 1357 to 1419. When he was born, a drop of his mother’s blood fell to the ground, and later a white sandal tree with a hundred thousand leaves grew at that spot. On each of the leaves, there appeared an image of Buddha Sengei Ngaro, who is the same mental continuum as Buddha Manjushri. This indicates that the child was a manifestation of Manjushri.
Later, the third Dalai Lama, Sönam Gyatso, said that this precious tree was an object of offerings and respect, and he moved it to a nearby monastery where he placed it inside a silver stupa with many precious jewels and made extensive offerings to it. This monastery became known as ‘Kumbum Monastery’, or ‘The Monastery of a Hundred Thousand Images’. Eventually other similar trees grew around the stupa and their leaves also bore special images. On some there appeared the letters of Manjushri’s mantra, AH RA PA TSA NA DHI, and on others the seed-letter of Manjushri, the letter DHI. These leaves were regarded as very precious, and when they fell in the autumn people would gather them and grind them into powder. Through tasting this powder many people have been able to cure diseases and increase their wisdom.
Je Tsongkhapa showed a perfect example of how to build the foundation for the spiritual path, how to progress on that path, and how to complete it. First he studied the entire Dharma of Sutra and Tantra by relying sincerely upon his Spiritual Guides, and then he put all this knowledge into practice and demonstrated the attainment of all the realizations from relying upon the Spiritual Guide up to the Union of No More Learning, or Buddhahood.
Since then, thousands of practitioners have attained the ultimate happiness of Buddhahood within one life by following Je Tsongkhapa’s example and sincerely practicing his teachings. Even today, faithful practitioners who follow Je Tsongkhapa’s pure Dharma can accomplish these results.
If, instead of giving teachings and setting a pure example, Je Tsongkhapa had mainly demonstrated his own good qualities by displaying miracle powers and other forms of clairvoyance, we would have received no benefit from his actions. What we need is not displays of miracle powers but a clear example of how to enter an unmistaken spiritual path, how to practice that path comfortably and smoothly, and how to complete it successfully. This is the actual method for solving our daily problems.
Since Je Tsongkhapa provided us with just such an example, we should recognize his immense kindness and develop unchanging faith and respect for him.
Je Gendundrub, the first Dalai Lama, wrote a special praise to Je Tsongkhapa called Song of the Eastern Snow Mountain, or Shargangrima in Tibetan. In this song, he says to Je Tsongkhapa:
For the fortunate people of Tibet, the Land of the Snows, your kindness, O Protector, is inconceivable.
Especially for myself, Gendundrub, an indolent one,
The fact that my mind is directed towards Dharma
Is due solely to your kindness, O Venerable Father and Sons.
From now until I attain enlightenment
I shall seek no refuge other than you.O Venerable Father and Sons
Please care for me with your compassion.
Although I cannot repay your kindness, O Protector,
I pray that, with my mind free from the influence of attachment and hatred,
I may strive to maintain your doctrine and cause it to flourish
Without ever giving up this endeavor.
Buddha Shakyamuni
Buddha Shakyamuni
In Introduction to Buddhism, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso explains:
In general, ‘Buddha’ means ‘Awakened One’, someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future.
There is nothing that Buddha does not know. Because he has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and has removed all obstructions from his mind, he knows everything of the past, present, and future, directly and simultaneously.
Moreover, Buddha has great compassion which is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination. He benefits all living beings without exception by emanating various forms throughout the universe, and by bestowing his blessings on their minds. Through receiving Buddha’s blessings, all being, even the lowliest animals, sometimes develop peaceful and virtuous states of mind.
Eventually, through meeting an emanation of Buddha in the form of a Spiritual Guide, everyone will have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment. As the great Indian Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna said, there is no one who has not received help from Buddha.
It is impossible to describe all the good qualities of a Buddha. A Buddha’s compassion, wisdom, and power are completely beyond conception. With nothing left to obscure his mind, he sees all phenomena throughout the universe as clearly as he sees a jewel held in the palm of his hand.
Through the force of his or her compassion, a Buddha spontaneously does whatever is appropriate to benefit others. He has no need to think about what is the best way to help living beings – he naturally and effortlessly acts in the most beneficial way. Just as the sun does not need to motivate itself to radiate light and heat but does so simply because light and heat are its very nature, so a Buddha does not need to motivate himself to benefit others but does so simply because being beneficial is his very nature.
Like the reflections of the moon that effortlessly appear in any body of still water, a Buddha’s emanations spontaneously appear wherever living beings’ minds are capable of perceiving them. Buddhas can emanate in any form whatsoever to help living beings.
Sometimes they manifest as Buddhists and sometimes as non-Buddhists. They can manifest as women or men, monarchs or tramps, law-abiding citizens or criminals. They can even manifest as animals, as wind or rain, or as mountains or islands. Unless we are a Buddha ourself we cannot possibly say who or what is an emanation of a Buddha.
Of all the ways in which a Buddha helps living beings, the supreme way is by emanation as a Spiritual Guide. Through his or her teachings and immaculate example, an authentic Spiritual Guide leads his or her disciples along the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment.
If we meet a qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide and put into practice everything he or she teaches, we shall definitely attain full enlightenment and become a Conqueror Buddha. We shall then be in a position to repay the kindness of all living beings by liberating them from the sufferings of samsara and leading them to the supreme bliss of Buddhahood.
Atisha
Venerable Atisha (982-1054 AC)
The great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha was responsible for reintroducing pure Buddhism into Tibet.
Although Buddhism had been introduced into Tibet some two hundred years earlier by Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita, Buddhist practice in the country had largely been destroyed during the anti-Buddhist purges of the Tibetan king, Lang Darma (circa 836 AC), a follower of Bön, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet.
Invited by Jangchub Ö, a ruler of Ngari in western Tibet, Atisha was asked to present a Dharma that everybody could follow and that would show how all the paths of Sutra and Tantra could be practiced together.
Read Advice from Atisha’s Heart
In response, Atisha wrote Lamp for the Path, the original Lamrim text that served as the basis for all subsequent Lamrim instructions. The revival of pure Buddhist practice in Tibet at this time was largely due to Atisha.
To learn more about Atisha, see Joyful Path of Good Fortune by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
Je Phabongkhapa Rinpoche
Je Phabongkhapa Rinpoche (1878-1941)
The lineage holder of the Ganden Oral Lineage instructions and one of the greatest Buddhist masters of his generation.
Trijang Rinpoche
Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche (1901 – 1981)
The most highly regarded Teacher and lineage holder of Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition in the latter part of the twentieth century.
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche (1931 – )
World-renowned meditation master
The Founder of Modern Kadampa Buddhism is Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a world-renowned meditation master who holds the very essence of Buddha’s teachings in his heart.
Venerable Geshe-la transmits this profound wisdom and compassion to the people of the modern world in very practical ways through the extremely accessible methods of modern Kadampa Buddhism, which he introduced.
A life of dedication
Since 1977, when he accepted an invitation to become Resident Teacher at Manjushri Centre in the UK, he has given thousands of teachings, composed twenty-three widely acclaimed books on Buddhism and meditation, established over 1,300 meditation centers, trained hundreds of qualified Teachers and developed practical study and meditation programs to suit the needs of the modern world.
In short, he has dedicated his entire life to laying the foundation for modern Kadampa Buddhism to flourish throughout the world in this and future generations.
All the auspicious developments illustrated on this website have arisen from the compassionate intention and extraordinary vision of this remarkable being.
International Teacher
Venerable Geshe-la is a truly international Teacher who presents Buddha’s teachings in ways that anyone, regardless of nationality, culture, gender or age can easily understand their meaning and apply them to their modern daily life.
Today, many thousands of people around the world are experiencing the immense, practical benefits of applying his life-transforming teachings.
Scientific methods to accomplish inner peace
Venerable Geshe-la’s message is as simple as it is profound – all the problems in this world originate in the mind, and the solutions to these problems and the causes of lasting peace and happiness are also to be found in the mind.
Only by developing inner peace in our minds through meditation can we solve our own problems and help others to do the same, and in this way create world peace.
Thanks to the extraordinary kindness of Venerable Geshe-la, the internal scientific methods to accomplish this inner peace are now available to everyone in the modern world.
This humble monk has touched the hearts of countless people around the world and inspired them to set out on a blissful journey to lasting happiness and inner peace.
A Special Breathing Meditation
Find a quiet place and comfortable posture
We choose a quiet place to meditate and sit in a comfortable position. We can sit in the traditional cross-legged posture or in any other position that is comfortable. If we wish, we can sit on a chair. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.
Turn attention to the breath
We sit with our eyes partially closed and turn our attention to our breathing. We breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils, without attempting to control our breath, and we try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. This sensation is our object of meditation. We should try to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else.
Our mind may seem busier
At first, our mind will be very busy, and we might even feel that the meditation is making our mind busier; but in reality we are just becoming more aware of how busy our mind actually is. There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they arise, but we should resist this and remain focused single-pointedly on the sensation of the breath.
Gently improve our concentration
If we discover that our mind has wandered and is following our thoughts, we should immediately return it to the breath. We should repeat this as many times as necessary until the mind settles on the breath.
Experience inner peace and relaxation
If we practise patiently in this way, gradually our distracting thoughts will subside and we shall experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation. Our mind will feel lucid and spacious and we shall feel refreshed.
