New Kadampa Tradition

The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) is a registered charitable companywww.kadampa.org ^* and global Buddhist organization founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso 1991 in England. In 2003 the words International Kadampa Buddhist Union (IKBU) were added to the name. Since then it is known as the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU).

History

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a Tibetan Teacher, Monk and Scholar, trained at the Gelugpa Sera Monastery. In 1976 Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche visited Geshe Kelsang in India and invited him over to teach at Lama Yeshe's FPMT-Center Manjushri InstituteThe Manjushri Institute charity registration number: 271873, Trust Deed, July 1976, 1 in Ulverston, England.David N. Kay: Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation, London and New York, page 56. They sought the advice of the Dalai Lama when choosing Geshe Kelsang.. He accepted the invitation and in 1977 he moved into Conishead Priory at Lama Yeshes centre. He was chosen to lead the "General Program" of Buddhist study and taught parallel to the twelve-year Geshe Studies Programme, which was established in 1979 by Lama Yeshe. This Geshe Studies Programme was recognized and validated by the Dalai Lama and was modeled on the traditional geshe degree.Kay, see note on page 232 Lama Yeshe installed another Tibetan Lama, Geshe Jampa Tekchok, to direct it. From 1982 to 1990 this Program was led by Geshe Konchog Tsewang.Kay page 53 and 77

According to the NKT brochure 'Modern Day Kadampas' "Lama Yeshe requested Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche to ask Geshe Kelsang to become Resident Teacher of Manjushri Centre. Geshe Kelsang later recounted that Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche asked him to go to England, teach Shantideva's 'Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life', Chandrakirti's 'Guide to the Middle Way' and Lamrim, and then check whether there was any meaning in his continuing to stay." Modern Day Kadampas - published by the NKT ^*

In the late 1970s a conflict developed between Lama Yeshe and Geshe Kelsang when Geshe Kelsang decided to open up his own Buddhist Centre in York.Kay pages 61,62,63,64 According to Geshe Kelsang "the opening of the Centre in York caused not one moment of confusion or disharmony"."Eradicating wrong views" a letter, dated October 27 1983, written as a response to the FPMT report "A report on recent events at Manjushri Institute (dated October 1 1983) Geshe Kelsang was asked to resign so that another Geshe, more devoted to FPMT objectives, could take over as resident teacher. But many students of Geshe Kelsang petitioned him to stay and teach them. On this basis he decided to stay. Since 1981 the management committee of Manjushri Institute had been made up principally of Geshe Kelsangs' close students. They were known as the "Priory Group". According to Kay's research on NKT "The Priory Group became dissatisfied with the FPMT's increasingly centralized organisation." Lama Yeshe tried at different times to reassert his authority over the Institute, but his attempts were unsuccessful. In 1983 an open conflict of authority developed between the Priory Group and the FPMT administration. In February 1984 the conflict was mediated by the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. According to Kay's research "The dispute between the Institute and the FPMT, however, was never resolved." After the death of Lama Yeshe in March 1984, the FPMT lost interest because they saw it as a fruitless case. Since that time the Manjushri Institute developed mainly under the guidance of Geshe Kelsang without reference to the FPMT anymore. Although the appointed Trustees had many meetings in the following years, they could find no compromise which suited all parties. According to Kay's research "The determination of Geshe Kelsang and the Priory Group to separate from the parent organisation was uncompromising, and this was a position only hardened during the following years."

Geshe Kelsang made a 3-year retreat from 1987-1990 in Dumfries, Scotland and asked Geshe Losang Pende from Ganden Shartse monastery to lead the General Program in his absence, whilst Geshe Konchog Tsewang continued to teach the Geshe Studies Programme at Conishead Priory (Manjushri Institute). Different Lamas, including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, were still invited. Especially the visit of Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1988 "is significant, indicating the ongoing devotion of the students to this lama and their desire to leave the negativity of the schism with the FPMT in the past."Kay page 73 In 1988 and 1990 the uncle of Geshe Kelsang, Ven. Choyang Duldzin Kuten Lama - the oracle of Dorje Shugden - also visited Manjushri Institute. Before that time Song Rinpoche, Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Geshe Rabten, as well as other lamas such as Ajahn Sumedho and Thich Nhat Hanh have taught at Manjushri Institute.

According to Kay

"During the later period of his thought, Geshe Kelsang's perception of himself and his centres vis-á-vis the contemporary Gelug sect changed dramatically, and he came to believe that he could only uphold the tradition of Tsongkhapa purely by separating from the degenerate world of Tibetan, and specifically Gelug, Buddhism."Kay page 59 "This perceived degeneration extended to include its highest-level lamas, and so even veneration of the Dalai Lama was now actively discouraged." "His perspective had yet to harden further, and the decisive shift appears to have taken place shortly after he came out of retreat in 1990, when he began to introduce new and radically exclusive policies within his centres. He had come to believe by this time that he had a central role to play in the preservation of Tsongkhapas tradition in the modern age."Kay page 76

Through this hardened perspective Geshe Kelsang's new centre policies were based upon the exclusively reliance on him as the spiritual guide and sole source of spiritual inspiration. From this point of view it was natural that he became outspoken against the Geshe Studies Programme in 1990Kay page 77 and recommended instead his new study programmes. In 1991 Geshe Konchog Tsewang retired to Gyuto monastery in India.

"In 1991, through a successful exploitation of a legal loophole, the assets of Manjushri Institute finally fell under the sole control of the Priory Group." Within one year the Institute developed a new constitutionThe New Kadampa Tradition, charity registration number: 2758093, October 1992 designed to study and experience Geshe Kelsang's presentation of Buddhism (see page 233 of Kay's research), which constituted the foundation of the NKT. The Manjushri Institute was renamed Manjushri Mahayana Buddhist Centre.

The Manjushri Mahayana Buddhist Centre became the main seat of the New Kadampa Tradition and was later renamed Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre.

With the foundation of the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, he could establish his own school of Buddhism that, according to him, "principally follow the teachings and example of Je Tsongkhapa" and gave a new identity to his followers. The many NKT centres which were built up rapidly by his followers could gather under the umbrella of NKT and their spiritual guide, distinguishing and disassociating them from the Tibetan Buddhist traditions - especially the Gelug school, from which Geshe Kelsang derived. By these changes he provided a basis for NKT becoming a Western Tradition whose "spiritual authority could later be concentrated exclusively on him."Kay page 74 Whereas NKT described themselves as being "an entirely independent Buddhist tradition with no political affiliations", NKT brochures before June 2006 and NKT-internet-sites (see [http://www.meditationinflorida.org/new-kadampa-tradition.php) started to describe the role of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in the west:

"People call Je Tsongkhapa the Second Buddha, not because he replaced Buddha Shakyamuni but because he restored the essential doctrine of the Buddha and showed how it could be practiced in impure times. From this viewpoint, we have to say that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is the Third Buddha, because he has once again restored the essential purity of Buddha's doctrine and shown how to practice it in extremely impure times."NKT magazine Full Moon, Spring 1995, Gen Kelsang Thubten, successor at that time of Geshe Kelsang

Nowadays the New Kadampa Tradition presents itself as:

"a time-honored tradition that for centuries has made Buddha's teachings and meditation practices available to people throughout the world"Official Kadampa Website, at and "a vehicle for promoting Kadampa Buddhism throughout the world."Official Kadampa Website, [http://kadampa.org/english/tradition/new_kadampa_tradition.php

"It is an association of Buddhist Centers and practitioners that derive their inspiration and guidance from the example of the ancient Kadampa Buddhist Masters and their teachings as presented by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) is an international non-profit organization registered in England as a charitable company."

All NKT Centers are members of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU).

Lineage of teachers

The NKT expresses the main figures of its lineage as follows:

Spiritual programs

The New Kadampa Tradition has been developed exclusivelyKay page 86 on the basis of Geshe Kelsang's teachings and published books, which follow a selection of Gelug Teachings of different Buddhist Mahayana and Vajrayana texts. Their main practice is Lamrim (Stages of the Path to Enlightenment), Lojong (Training the Mind), and Vajrayana Mahamudra (The practices of Highest Yoga Tantra).

At the heart of the NKT are three study programs which have been prepared with the objective of creating a systematic study and practice of Buddhism for people in the modern world. To this end the presentation of the Dharma focuses less upon Buddhist philosophy and more upon integrating spiritual practices into daily life. It is believed by NKT followers that they embody the "pure lineage" in its entirety.

Geshe Kelsang's emphasis on only one main teacher and one authorKay pages 92, 94 and his approach on purity and impurityKay page 86 has drawn the criticism that these programs represent a partial and exclusive understanding of what the Buddha taught and that the programs and texts are different from those emphasized and taught by Je Tsongkhapa, which are still followed today in the Gelug Tradition.

The three programs are:

The General Program, which provides a basic introduction to basic Buddhist ideas and meditation.

The Foundation Program, which includes the study of six commentaries written by Geshe Kelsang on the following classical texts:

Joyful Path of Good Fortune - based on Trijang Rinpoche's teachings on Lamrim or The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
Universal Compassion - a commentary on Bodhisattva Chekhawa's Training the Mind in Seven Points
Eight Steps to Happiness - a commentary on Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa's Eight Verses of Training the Mind
Heart of Wisdom - a commentary on the Heart Sutra
Meaningful to Behold - a commentary on Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
Understanding the Mind - a commentary and detailed explanation of the mind based on the works of the Buddhist scholars Dharmakirti and Dignaga.

The Teacher Training Program is intended for people who wish to train as NKT Dharma Teachers. All Resident Teachers of NKT Centers follow this program of study and practice. The program involves the study of 14 texts of Geshe Kelsang, including all of those in the Foundation Program, and the following 8 listed below. In addition this program includes commitments concerning one's lifestyle based on the 5 lay vows of the Pratimoksha and the completion of specific meditational retreats.

The Bodhisattva Vow - A commentary on Mahayana moral discipline and the practice of the six perfections.
Ocean of Nectar - A commentary on Chandrakirti's Guide to the Middle Way
Clear Light of Bliss - A commentary on meditations of Highest Yoga Tantra.
Great Treasury of Merit - A commentary on the traditional Offering to the Spiritual Guide practice of Je Tsongkhapa
Mahamudra Tantra - Meditation on the nature of mind according to Tantra
Guide to Dakini Land - A commentary on the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Vajrayogini
Tantric Grounds and Paths - An explanation of the practice of the lower and upper classes of Tantra
Essence of Vajrayana - A commentary on the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Heruka

In the past, participants of the study programs were advised not to read other books, however nowadays Geshe Kelsang has given his followers permission to read other books. Dorje Shugden is the main protector practice in the NKT. It was taught to Geshe Kelsang by his teacher Trijang Rinpoche and is seen by him as a part of his lineage. Geshe Kelsang has remarked that he regards all his books as coming from Je Tsongkhapa, with himself as being like a cassette recorder into which their Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, has placed the cassette of Je Tsongkhapa's teachings.

Ordination

Geshe Kelsang gives his followers an ordination based on 10 vows.

This ordination is comparable to the Rabjung (tib.) ordination, which is a lifetime commitment and is held for one to two years before taking the next level of ordination. Further levels of vows are novice and full ordination as laid down by the Buddha in the Vinaya and in the Pratimoksha sutras. These levels of vows are not given within NKT, so that the complete Vinaya with its democratic Sangha rituals and rules is not present. The complete Vinaya is described as the "the essence of the doctrine".

Geshe Kelsang himself argues that he designed the ten vows of NKT ordination to be appropriate for living in the modern world and that the skilfull practioner can gradually learn to incorporate the vinaya within these 10 vows. The first five vows of NKT ordination are in accordance with the Rules of novice monks and novice nuns, but the last five additional vows differ from it. In the past Geshe Kelsang has said that Lamrim as taught in his book Joyful Path of Good Fortune can also be considered the Vinaya text for NKT practitioners.

According to NKT within the NKT community there are over 450 monks and nuns.www.kadampa.com ^* The guiding principle of ordination in the NKT is the motivation of renunciation (Tib.: nge-jung).

Religious Activities

Throughout the year and in different places in the world, the NKT run a number of festivals. These feature teachings and empowerments from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso or senior NKT teachers. The longest running are the Spring and Summer Festivals at Manjushri Centre in Ulverston, England. In 2006 about 2,500 people travelled from around the world for the empowerment of Green Tara and commentary to the practice from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for the Spring Festival.

Growth

According to Kay's researchKay page 95 "NKT students in Britain who have encountered Geshe Kelsang's 'doctrine of good fortune' have a responsibility to 'help spread his precious teachings to every corner of the world' NKT magazine Full Moon No. 8 Autumn 1993", and he states that this is done "by establishing and teaching in centres overseas, by sponsoring and translating his books into non-English languages, or just by supporting the growth of new centres financially." Kay explains further that "according to NKT literature, whilst Buddha Sakyamuni, Tsong Khapa and Geshe Kelsang have all 'introduced the same Dharma into the world' , the uncommon contribution of the latter has been 'to lay down the structures to ensure that this precious Dharma will spread throughout the world' NKT magazine Full Moon No. 6 Winter 1992. The publishing activity of the organisation is regarded as another key mechanism of growth. Since one of the most common ways in which people are attracted to the NKT is through reading Geshe Kelsang's books, it is considered imperative to publish them in every language and 'get them into every book shop in the world' NKT magazine Full Moon No. 7 Spring 1993." The books of Geshe Kelsang and NKT's religious texts are published by Tharpa Publications.

Due to this "missionary drive" and other causes, the New Kadampa Tradition has expanded rapidly. As of 2006 they claim to have established over 900 centres and groups worldwide, including Europe, Asia, East Asia, North, Central and South America, and South Africa. Some of these centres are residential communities, but most are branch groups that meet weekly in Quaker meeting houses and community centres. To finance new centres, NKT has built up a New Centres Development Fund. The residential centres (about 200) offer introductionary Buddhist meditation classes, day courses, empowerments and retreats, and the branch centres (about 700) offer introductionary meditation classes in public buildings such as a library or community centre.

The NKT has established a NKT Temple in the United Kingdom, as well as in Canada, the United States, and Spain, and is currently developing Temples in Brazil, Australia, and Italy, and plans to built one in Germany.

There are also World Peace Cafes at some residential centre, and in 2005 the NKT opened their first World Peace Hotel, a no-smoking, alcohol-free hotel in Southern Spain with swimming pool, sauna, and meditation classes. It is planned to combine NKT temples with hotel business.

Controversies

Among Buddhists, the New Kadampa Tradition is considered to be controversial.

Criticism of NKT as a group

Some Buddhists who are critical of NKT and some non-Buddhists see NKT as a cultKay pages 38,83; Sera Expulsion Letter; The Guardian, July 6, 1996 Newsweek, April 28, 1997 [http://www.cesnur.org/press/Newsweek.htm.

On the cult claim of the medias, the publishing and reception of the Dorje Shugden Controversy and the demonstrations of NKT (1996-1998) against the Dalai Lama Donald S. Lopez, Jr., remarked critically in an interview in 1998"Two Sides of the Same God", by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Tricycle Magazine, Spring 1998

"In the summer of 1996, the disciples of Kelsang Gyatso denounced the Dalai Lama for impinging on their religious freedom, and picketed against him during his visit to Britain, accusing him of intolerance. The demonstrations made front-page news in the British press, which collectively rose to the Dalai Lama’s defense and in various reports depicted the New Kadampa Tradition as a fanatic, empire-building, demon-worshipping cult. The demonstrations were a public relations disaster for the NKT, not only because of its treatment by the press, but also because the media provided no historical context for the controversy and portrayed Shugden as a remnant of Tibet’s primitive pre-Buddhist past. The NKT’s allegiance to Shugden appeared to Westerners to be an aberration on the landscape of the Tibetan diaspora rather than an issue at the center of Tibetan national identity. Yet while many Tibetans would never publicly challenge the Dalai Lama, the worship of Dorje Shugden remains widespread, and there is nothing to suggest that the controversy will quickly subside."

The German Buddhist Union (DBU) has refused membership for the NKT main center in Germany and its 15 branch centersBuddhist Magazine "Ursache und Wirkung" No. 56, 2006, Austria. The Austria Buddhist Religious Association (ÖBR) gave a signal to NKT that NKT will have no chance to become a member of it. On the other hand, in some other countries the NKT is a member of Buddhist associations. In the Swiss Buddhist Union (SBU) NKT became a member but it is not allowed to send members to the executive committee. In 1998 NKT became a member of the British Network of Buddhist Organizations (NBO). Waterhouse notesWaterhouse 2000, Oliver Freiberger, Department for the Study of Religion University of Bayreuth, Germany ^*, Kay page 213 when the NKT joined the British Network of Buddhist Organizations, about thirty percent of the other Buddhist groups identifying themselves with the Tibetan Buddhist tradition left the NBO.

Some critics have argued that the use of the name New Kadampa Tradition is misleading because "New Kadampa" is also used to refer to the early Geluk sect of the 14th century which NKT does not follow. They argue also that the use of the name Kadampa Buddhism and advertising as being the same with the ancient Kadampa Tradition is misleading because nowadays there is no separate Kadampa lineage.

Criticism of Kelsang Gyatso

Geshe Kelsang was expelled from his monastery Sera, India. Expulsion from the Buddhist monastic order (Sangha) is a penalty laid down by the Buddha and in the scriptures of the vinaya, or monastic code. Expulsion is the highest penalty for a monk. The ritual and precise reasons of an expulsion are normally not revealed to non-members of the Buddhist monastic order. As of 2006, the exact reasons under the vinaya for Geshe Kelsang's expulsion are not publicy known. It could also be the case that the expulsion is based on Sera Je's internal rules. However, such expulsions are very rare within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Shugden issue

Another source of criticism of NKT is their emphasis on the Shugden practise. Although it was established by two of the NKT lineage teachers, it was and is the subject of warnings by buddhist teachers such as the 5th, 13th and current Dalai Lamas, the 5th and 8th Panchen Lamas, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche among others. It is also said that the 14th and 16th Karmapas have spoken against that practise. For more see the Shugden article.

Additionally, many people, especially Tibetans, were upset believing that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and his followers personally insulted the 14th Dalai Lama —a high and widely respected teacher — when dealing with the Shugden issue. The following excerpt is taken from a public statement posted at Google Groups in December 1997, on the height of the dispute;

"The Dalai Lama has been very successful in destroying this ancient religious tradition. He is very clever at destroying the spiritual practice taught by his root Guru Trijang Rinpoche, but he is very ignorant and foolish at achieving Tibetan independence. This should be his main job because he is the Tibetan political leader, but in this he is paralyzed, without any direction. Everyone can see this situation now... In reality he is misleading people in order to fulfil his wishes. His main wish is to destroy the practice of Dorje Shugden and then to change the entire Gelug tradition. He wants to integrate all the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism into one so that the leaders of the other traditions will no longer have a role and he will become the only leader of´Tibetan Buddhism. In this way he can easily control the spiritual life of all practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. I know this is his wish; he has been working towards this for many years."Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, public post at Google Groups, Dec 1 1997, ^*

However, since 1998 Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and the NKT have disassociated themselves from their dispute with the Dalai Lama.Open letter from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso to Wesley Pruden, Editor in Chief, The Washington Times Geshe Kelsang still continues to grant the empowerments of Dorje Shugden. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Summer Festival 2006 [http://www.kadampa.org/english/events/festivals/uk2006/index.php

Response made by NKT practitioners

In reply to the reproach for deceiving people by using the name of the medieval Kadampa Tradition, NKT sources have replied:

"Geshe Kelsang first introduced the title 'New Kadampa Tradition' to give the centres under his spiritual direction a distinct identity within the wider Buddhist world. Although the Gelugpas were sometimes referred to as new Kadampas, the name New Kadampa Tradition had never been used previously in a formal sense. Nevertheless, by using this title Geshe Kelsang is making it clear that practitioners of this tradition are principally following the teachings and example of Je Tsongkhapa. The word 'New' is used not to imply that it is newly created, but is a fresh presentation of Buddhadharma in a form and manner that is appropriate to the needs and conditions of the modern world. Furthermore, by using the title 'Kadampa', Geshe Kelsang encourages his disciples to follow the perfect example of simplicity and purity of practice shown by the Kadampa Geshes."

In a general response to criticism of the New Kadampa Tradition, Kelsang Gyatso has said:

"We should concentrate on our own tradition and maintain the good qualities of our tradition, but we should always keep good relations with each other and never argue or criticize each other. What I would like to request is that we should improve our traditions while maintaining good relations with each other."Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in Tricycle Magazine, 1998

The late Trijang Rinpoche propagated Shugden to almost all of his disciples, as taught to him by his root guru Pabongka Rinpoche. Other respected Tibetan lamas who have also taught the Dorje Shugden practice include Lama Yeshe, Song Rinpoche, Gonsar RinpocheDagom Gaden Tensung Ling - Our Purpose (Dorje Shugden statement)and Kyabje Dagom RinpocheBiography of Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche by Geshe Jangsem^*

Footnotes

External links

About the New Kadampa Tradition

Reviews of NKT Courses

Critical of NKT

The Independent, London: Battle of the Buddhists by Andrew Brown
The Guardian - London: Special Report - Shadow boxing on the path to Nirvana
Internal conflicts in Tibetan Buddhist sect, by Mike Wilson
Cult Information Centre (CIC) London - some articles
Spiritual Split by Colman Jones
Movements In British Buddhism by Ken Jones - a founder and the present secretary of the UK Network of Engaged Buddhists
A letter from the Tibetan monastaries and government, written to members of the NKT

Pro-Shugden

Scientific Studies on NKT

Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation - The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT), and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC), by David N. Kay, London and New York, ISBN 0-415-29765-6
Book Review on "Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain..." by Inken Prohl, Free University of Berlin

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