About Kadampa Buddhism

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Registered Charity No 1076430 www.tsepagmecentre.org

Tsepagme Kadampa Buddhist Centre

6 Court Street, Uppermill, Saddleworth, Oldham OL3 6HD

Tel: +44 (0)1457 877406 Email: meditate@tsepagmecentre.org

Tsepagme Buddhist Centre is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union

"In itself, the fourishing of Buddhadharma is not important unless it benefits others. This is the main purpose of Buddhism."

- Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Meditation

Buddhism

Tsepagme Kadampa Buddhist Centre ~ Oldham UK

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Oldham, Saddleworth, Tameside, Rochdale, Bury, Greater Manchester UK

KADAMPA BUDDHISM

What is Buddhism?

The Kadampa Lineage

Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD982-1054).

'Ka refers to Buddha's teachings. 'Dam' refers to Atisha's special presentation of these teachings called 'Lamrim' instructions. Kadampa practitioners would regard Buddha's teachings as personal advice and put them into practice by following the Lamrim instructions.

After Atisha, the Kadampa lineage passed through a succession of great Kadampa Teachers such as Dromtonpa, Geshe Potawa, Geshe Sharawa and Geshe Chekhawa, who were very pure and sincere spiritual practitioners.

When the Kadampa lineage passed through the fourteenth century it reached the great Buddhist Master Je Tsongkhapa, who clarified all the teachings of Kadam Dharma and made them very accessible to the people of that time. He showed how to combine Lamrim, Lojong (training the mind) with Mahamudra Tantra into daily practice. The union of Sutra and Tantra became clear once again. From this point in time Kadampa practitioners became known as New Kadampa practitioners.

Modern Kadampa Buddhism is now flourishing widely throughout the world by the contemporary Buddhist Master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Geshe Kelsang founded the NEW KADAMPA TRADITION, THE INTERNATIONAL KADAMPA BUDDHIST UNION and created a framework for preserving and practising Kadampa Buddhism for many generations to come.

The General Spiritual Director of NKT-IKBU is Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, a British Buddhist Nun. Gen-la resides at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre in the English Lake District and travels internationally to flourish the pure lineage of Kadam Dharma in many countries throughout the world.

Generation to generation Buddha's teachings have been preserved in a pure form and passed from Teacher to disciple in an unbroken lineage that is still alive today. Thanks to the kindness of these previous Teachers, we are now able to listen to, contemplate and practice exactly the same Dharma that Buddha taught over two and a half thousand years ago.

Buddhism is Buddha's teachings and the inner experience or realizations of these teachings. These have a timeless and universal relevance and can be practiced by anyone in any culture, regardless of race, gender or age.

By practising Buddha's teachings you become skilled in protecting yourself and others from suffering and problems. All the problems experienced during daily life originate in ignorance, and the method for eliminating ignorance is to practice Dharma. This is the supreme way of improving the quality of life, because the quality of life does not depend upon external development, but upon the inner development of peace and happiness.