Celebrating the Life of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, the Visionary

Venerable Geshe-la came to the West by invitation to teach at Manjushri Institute in Ulverston, England. He arrived in August 1977 and gave his first teaching on the Stages of the Path, Lamrim on September 10th of that year.

Since then, he has worked tirelessly to establish a modern presentation of the Kadampa Buddhist lineage.

Some of his incredible accomplishments include:

Transmitting the essential teachings of Buddha’s Sutras and Tantras in a presentation that retains all the meanings and insights of Buddha’s original instructions, in a format that is accessible and suitable for modern day practitioners.

Establishing more than 1,400 Buddhist centers, and branches throughout the world, enabling people everywhere access to the Buddhist spiritual path.

Developing retreat facilities in many countries including International Retreat Centres in Spain, Germany, Switzerland and the USA.

Training hundreds of modern Kadampa Teachers and developing special programs for their continued training and support.

Founding the International Temples Project with a vision to develop a modern Buddhist Temple in every major city of the world.

Inaugurating an annual program of International and National Festivals and Dharma Celebrations.

Creating three study and meditation programs that are taught at Kadampa centers worldwide – the General Program, Foundation Program and Teacher Training Program.

Composing 23 highly acclaimed books on Buddhism and meditation that are published internationally in many languages.

Designing the Kadampa Art Studio to make qualified statues for modern Kadampa Temples and centers around the world.

Through his great kindness, everyone – regardless of nationality, culture, age or gender – now has the opportunity to practice scientifically proven methods for solving the problems of daily life that ultimately lead to true and lasting happiness.