The History of the NKT-IKBU

Kadampa Buddhism was first introduced into the West in 1977 by the renowned Buddhist Master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso when he arrived in England.

Based at Manjushri Centre in Cumbria he worked tirelessly, first giving extensive teachings and commentaries which later formed the basis of the 20 books that have now been published by Tharpa Publications.

The late 1970s saw the first Kadampa Buddhist Centres being established with qualified teachers being drawn from the students of Geshe Kelsang. Since that time he has overseen more than 1,100 centres and classes being established in more than 40 countries around the world, with 49 residential centres in the UK alone.

In the late 1990s there was the opening of the first Kadampa Temple for World Peace at Manjushri Centre, the first of many to be built and opened around the world. Geshe Kelsang has a vision of there being a Kadampa Temple for World Peace in every major city in the world, by setting up the International Temples Project charity. This will provide the focal point for the development of peace within the minds of everyone – the basis for world peace.

Atisha Kadampa Buddhist Centre, as with every other Kadampa Centre in the world, is under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union.

The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU)

Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054). His followers are known as ‘Kadampas’. Ka refers to Buddha’s teachings, and dam to Atisha’s special Lamrim instructions known as ‘the stages of the path to enlightenment’. Kadampas are therefore practitioners who regard Buddha’s teachings as personal instructions and put them into practice by following the instructions of Lamrim.

The Kadampa tradition was later promoted widely in Tibet by Je Tsongkhapa and his followers, who were known as the ‘New Kadampas’.

Lineage

The lineage of these teachings, both their oral transmission and blessings, was then passed from teacher to disciple, spreading throughout much of Asia, and now to many countries throughout the western world.

Buddha’s teachings, which are known as ‘Dharma’, are likened to a wheel that moves from country to country in accordance with changing conditions and people’s karmic inclinations.

The external forms of presenting Buddhism may change as it meets with different cultures and societies, but its essential authenticity is ensured through the continuation of an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners.

Transforming daily activities into the path

By integrating their knowledge of all Buddha’s teachings into their practice of Lamrim, and by integrating this into their everyday lives, Kadampa Buddhists are encouraged to use Buddha’s teachings as practical methods for transforming daily activities into the path to enlightenment.

The great Kadampa Teachers are famous not only for being great scholars but also for being spiritual practitioners of immense purity and sincerity.