New Kadampa Tradition

The NKT-IKBU teaches a form of Gelug Buddhism which it says is inspired and guided by "the ancient Kadampa Buddhist Masters and their teachings", as presented by its founder, Tibetan-born Kelsang Gyatso. with the objective of making Buddhist meditation and teaching more readily accessible in modern daily life.. Academic studies note that the tradition claims to maintain an unbroken lineage by basing its study programs and practices exclusively on the works of Kelsang Gyatso. Scholars of Buddhism and sociologists of religion generally classify the Tradition as a new religious movement, noting it is independent from established Tibetan institutional hierarchies, although its teachings are generally in line with Gelug Buddhism.

History

The origins of the New Kadampa Tradition can be traced back to the establishment of a network of centres by students under the direction of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. In 1976, students under the direction of Lama Yeshe purchased Consishead Priory in Ulverston, England, legally establishing it as a Charitable Trust called Manjushri Institute. The following year after accepting an invitation form Lama Yeshe to be its resident teacher, Kelsang Gyatso arrived at the institute. In 1978, he also established Mahayamaka Center in York under his own spiritual direction.

Over the next decade administrative and structural disagreements developed between the leadership of the FPMT and the Managers of the Institute as local members grew dissatisfied with the centralised authority of the FPMT. In October 1985 a revised charity constitution was adopted for the Institute after mediation efforts from the office of the Dalai Lama. This resulted in the appointment of new trustees split between both parties

Between 1987–1990, Kelsang Gyatso engaged in a meditation retreat in Scotland, during which time he wrote several books and developed new study programs. After completing his retreat, in April 1991 he announced the formation of the New Kadampa Tradition as an independent organisation, and invited the centers he had established to join. In 1992, Manjushri Mahayana Buddhist Center was legally incorporated as a registered Charityseparate from the FPMT.

4 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

Practices

Scholars of Buddhism such as Robert Bluck, Daniel Cozort, David Kay, and Helen Waterhouse have described the formation of the New Kadampa Tradition as unusual among Tibetan Buddhist groups. Unlike those other organisations, NKT intentionally distinguishes itself from the traditions that preceded it and its contemporaries. It does this while also emphasising the purity of its Tibetan lineage.

Kelsang Gyatso said his aim was to establish an independent movement which directly followed the "pure" teachings of Je Tsongkhapa and which focussed exclusively on the translations and commentaries of Geshe Kelsang himself. Waterhouse has described this view as sectarian. According to Kay, the NKT defines itself in this way to show that it is adapted for the needs of Westerners, but also to emphasise that it alone is guardian of "the pure tradition of Tsongkhapa in the modern world".

Tibetologist Robert Barnett says the NKT is unusual in its criticism and rejection of mainstream Tibetan Buddhism. Kelsang Gyatso himself severed ties with the Gelug teachers in India and Tibet, establishing himself as the organisation's sole religious authority. In 1996, Kelsang Gyatso was formally expelled by the Sera Je Monastery for his worship of Dorje Shugden and criticism of the Dalai Lama, and had his geshe degree revoked.

Bluck sees an "apparent contradiction between claiming a pure Tibetan lineage and complete separation from contemporary Tibetan religion, culture and politics." University of Oxford professor Peter Clarke has characterised the NKT-IKBU as a "controversial Tibetan Buddhist New Religious Movement", not because of any moral failings but because of the NKT-IKBU's separation from contemporary Tibetan Buddhism. The NKT-IKBU disagrees that there is a contradiction, saying: "It is possible to be a follower of Je Tsongkhapa's lineage but not a Tibetan Buddhist, just as a child of Russian immigrants to America may consider themselves American but not Russian."

The NKT's isolation from mainstream Tibetan Buddhism conversely gave a new identity to Kelsang Gyatso's followers, who built many new centres rapidly and were able to distinguish themselves from other traditions, including their more inclusive rivals such as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (now the Triratna Buddhist Community). Despite its separation from contemporary Tibetan Buddhism, the commitments undertaken by NKT members also include maintaining "a deep respect" for all Dharma teachings and other Buddhist traditions. When asked about sectarianism between the Gelugpas and other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Kelsang Gyatso said that "the Kagyupas as well as the Nyingmapas and the Sakyapas" also have "a complete path to enlightenment".

Dorje Shugden

According to the NKT, Dorje Shugden worship is "the very essence of the New Kadampa Tradition", and the protector is presented as the deity most able to help practitioners. The NTK's The Heart Jewel and Wishfulfilling Jewel sādhanās, as compiled by Kelsang Gyatso, incorporate elements of the Dorje Shugden sādhanā. Dorje Shugden may also have influenced Geshe Kelsang's teaching that practitioners cannot mix with other traditions, a view which has been criticised by other Buddhists and led to Kelsang Gyatso's expulsion from Sera Je Monastery and its revocation of his geshe degree. The Western Shugden Society, which received backing from the Chinese government to criticise the Dalai Lama, describes Kelsang Gyatso was the final teacher in the Dorje Shugden spiritual lineage.

Kadampa Buddhism

According to the NKT-IKBU, it is Tibetan in its antecedents, and follows the teachings of the historic "old" Kadampa school and the "New Kadam" Tradition of Je Tsongkhapa, the latter of which became the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The NKT consider Kelsang Gyatso the one who "is primarily responsible for the worldwide revival of Kadampa Buddhism in our time".

The NKT has been criticised for the lack of clarity regarding its lineage, and especially the use of the name Kadampa. Both Buddhists and non-Buddhists have described the NKT as "a breakaway sect or cult" of the Gelug school, rather than the older Kadampa tradition of Atisha, as the NKT often suggests. Followers of the NKT refer to themselves as Kadampa Buddhists, the temples of the New Kadampa Tradition are referred to as Kadampa Buddhist Temples, and more recently, NKT teachers are named Kadampa teachers. Additionally, the Dharma centres of the New Kadampa Tradition are called Kadampa Buddhist Centres.

Bluck says there remains an apparent contradiction between claiming a pure Tibetan lineage and separating completely from contemporary Tibetan tradition. While the NKT strongly emphasises its unbroken "lineage" to the Kadampa tradition, it has no Tibetan followers and claims to stand outside current Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1998, Kelsang Gyatso stated in an interview:

We are pure Gelugpas. The name Gelugpa doesn't matter, but we believe we are following the pure tradition of Je Tsongkhapa. We are studying and practicing Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings and taking as our example what the ancient Kadampa lamas and geshes did. All the books that I have written are commentaries on Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings. We try our best to follow the example of the ancient Kadampa Tradition and use the name Kadampa to remind people to practice purely.

Teachers

The NKT-IKBU traces its spiritual lineage from Shakyamuni through Tsongkhapa, Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo, Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, and Kelsang Gyatso. The NKT often compares Kelsang Gyatso to Atisa, as a reformer of Buddhism.

As in other Tibetan traditions, the NKT considers Kelsang Gyatso a Buddha or enlightened being. According to Oxford Biographies, Kelsang Gyatso is presented as the third and final Buddha in a sequence beginning with Shakyamuni and Je Tsongkhapa. Dorje Shugden is considered the protector of this lineage. David Kay has criticised the exclusivity of Kelsang Gyato's teachings and his emphasis on the purity of lineage, saying: "The NKT presented his books as the emanations of the mind of a Buddha."

Kelsang Gyatso

After leaving Tibet in 1959, Kelsang Gyatso taught and engaged in retreat in India for 18 years. Trijang Rinpoche, Kelsang Gyatso's root guru, asked him to be the resident teacher at Manjushri Institute (now known as Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre) in England. Kelsang Gyatso taught the General Programme at Manjushri from 1976 to 1987.

Beginning in 1987, Kelsang Gyatso entered a 3-year retreat at Tharpaland in Dumfries, Scotland. During his retreat, he wrote five books and established the foundations of the NKT-IKBU. He officially launched the NKT in 1991.

Kelsang Gyatso died on 17 September 2022. Ten days after his death, he was cremated at Barrow Crematorium, Cumbria.

Other teachers

Alongside Kelsang Gyatso, who as founder and former spiritual director was the main teacher of the NKT-IKBU and his successors, all teachings (i.e. the three study programs) are held by Western students—lay persons and ordained alike. Qualification as an NKT-IKBU Dharma teacher is generally achieved by attending the NKT-IKBU's own Teacher Training Programme, which Kelsang Gyatso regarded as "a western equivalent to the traditional Tibetan Geshe degree", although much compressed.

Kelsang Gyatso is one of several prominent Tibetan Buddhist gurus to train Westerners in the Dharma. Kelsang Gyatso explained the importance of Western Dharma teachers to the flourishing of Dharma in the world, saying that one fully qualified teacher is worth a thousand enlightened students. The training programme may include a period of correspondence learning, with an intensive in-person programme each summer at Coniston Priory.

Training and leadership roles are offered to lay members as well as ordained members, which Kelsang Gyatso saw as a necessary adaptation from the practices of Tsongkhapa, who restricted tantric teachings to monastics. Kelsang Gyatso said that monks, nuns, and lay people can all become spiritual guides if they have the necessary experience, qualities and training.

In addition to the TTP commitment, all Resident Teachers have to attend International Teacher Training Program each year, taught in repeated rotation according to a sixteen-year study scheme. Ordained and lay Resident Teachers who have taught successfully for four years are given the titles 'Gen' and 'Kadam', respectively.

Activities

Teachings and books

The NKT-IKBU's teachings are written in English and based exclusively on the teachings and published works of Kelsang Gyatso. These are, in turn, translations of and commentaries on Gelug works, especially those of its founder Je Tsongkhapa.

The NKT has a Prasangika Madhyamaka philosophical orientation, and emphasises the teachings on dependent arising and emptiness. The main practice in the NKT-IKBU is Lamrim (the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment), Lojong (Training the Mind), and Vajrayana Mahamudra (the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra). The NKT also includes traditional Mahayana Buddhist teachings, including those on karma, rebirth, going for refuge, the Four Noble Truths, the Threefold Training, the six perfections, and developing bodhicitta, in addition to general teachings on meditation and the importance and value human of life.

According to Helen Waterhouse, Kelsang Gyatso followed the Tibetan Buddhist custom of studying texts through the teacher's commentaries and the contents of NKT teachings are "not different from that of mainline Gelugpa". She says that where the NKT is unusual is in its assertion that Geshe Kelsang's texts contain "the whole of what is necessary" and its emphasis on exclusively following the training and practices set by Geshe Kelsang. This extends to avoiding other traditions, religions, and mind training techniques, and an emphasis on maintaining the "pure lineage" of Geshe Kelsang's practices. The NKT also advises members against reading books by other teachers. Waterhouse says that some practitioners find this advice contentious and not all of them follow it. Unlike most mainstream Gelug practices, the NKT encourages the practice of Dorje Shugden, who is often considered a symbol of sectarianism in Tibetan Buddhism.

Study programs

NKT-IKBU offers three study programs: an introductory General Programme, a more advanced Foundation Programme, and a Teacher Training Programme. It is believed by NKT-IKBU followers that the teachings transmit the pure lineage of Je Tsongkhapa in its entirety.

The General Program (GP) provides an introduction to basic Buddhist ideas and meditation. Cozort explains that GP classes are "simply the ongoing general instructure for all comers at NKT Centers or wherever NKT teachers find a venue for teaching." The Foundation Program (FP) includes the study of six commentaries written by Kelsang Gyatso on several classical texts. The Teacher Training Program (TTP) is intended for people who wish to train as NKT-IKBU Dharma Teachers who, in turn, will teach Buddhism to newcomers as well as serve as tantric gurus. All resident teachers of NKT-IKBU centres follow this program of study and practice. It involves the study of 14 texts by Kelsang Gyatso, including all of those in the Foundation Program. This program also includes commitments concerning one's lifestyle, based on the five lay vows of the Pratimoksha, and the completion of specific meditation retreats. There is also a "teaching skills" class every month.

Religious practices

NKT-IKBU meditation practices include traditional Lamrim subjects such as the preciousness of human life, death, rebirth, samsara, kindness, compassion, equanimity, and the role of the guru in Buddhism. Chanted prayers follow a traditional Tibetan format, including going for refuge, generating bodhicitta and the four immeasurables, imagining the Buddhas and bodhisattvas as physically present, asking for and receiving blessings, the transfer of merit, and so on.

Je Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden practices are also recited daily, alongside a number of other ritual practices, including prayers to Avalokiteshvara, Heruka, Vajrayogini, Tara, Manjushri, Amitayus and the Medicine Buddha. Keslang Gyatso compiles or approves all the sādhanās used by the NKT.

Religious observances

From its inception, NKT-IKBU Dharma centres followed a common calendar for religious observances, including some of the traditional Buddhist religious days. In 2004, the dates of lunar month observances were changed to the respective days in the common calendar.

Common Buddhist celebrations observed by the NKT include monthly celebrations for the Buddha Tara, Je Tsongkhapa, and Eight Mahayana Precepts:

Tara Day (8th of each month)
Tsog Day (10th and 25th of each month)
Precepts Day (15th of each month)

The NKT also observes Dorje Shugden practices, used by some forms of Tibetan Buddhism:

Protector Day (29th of each month)

Annual holidays common to other Buddhist traditions include:

Buddha's Enlightenment Day (15 April)
Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day (4 June [49 days after Buddha's Enlightenment Day, and also Kelsang Gyatso's birthday])
Buddha's Return from Heaven Day (22 September)
Je Tsongkhapa Day (25 October)

Annual holidays unique to the NKT-IKBU include:

NKT Day (the first Saturday in April) which commemorates the founding of the NKT-IKBU
International Temples Day (the first Saturday in November) celebrates the building of Kadampa Buddhist Temples around the world

International Buddhist festivals

Three annual Buddhist NKT Festivals are held each year: (1) The Spring Festival – held at Manjushri KMC in UK; (2) The Summer Festival – held at Manjushri KMC in UK; (3) The Fall Festival – held at various locations outside the UK. These are taught by the General Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition, currently Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong.

Ordination

The NKT-IKBU reports that it has over 700 monks and nuns. Ordination ceremonies are usually held twice a year in the main NKT Temple at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Center in Cumbria (UK), Ulverston. To ordain, one must ask Kelsang Gyatso's permission, and also the permission of his or her parents.

Buddha established both lay and ordained Pratimoksha vows, and established several levels of ordination vows. However, in the NKT-IKBU, Kelsang Gyatso established a simplified alternative tradition of ordination with ten vows that summarise the Vinaya, and a single ordination ceremony.

The NKT is unusual in having only 10 ordination vows, which are identical for both nuns and monks:

abandon killing
abandon stealing
abandon sexual activity
abandon lying and cheating
abandon taking intoxicants
practice contentment
reduce one's desire for worldly pleasures
abandon engaging in meaningless activities
maintain the commitments of refuge
practise the three trainings of pure moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom

In The Ordination Handbook, Kelsang Gyatso described these vows as being easier to integrate into today's society, saying:

The verbal explanation of the Kadampa ordination is brief – there are just ten commitments – but their practice is very extensive. These ten commitments that you promise to keep are the condensation of the entire lamrim teachings. Although we can finish a verbal explanation of these vows in a few hours, their practice is all-embracing. You should do like this – saying few words but always practising extensively.

He also says:

Western people are well educated; they do not have blind faith but immediately question and try to understand the truth. I cannot pretend with you. We cannot be like a fully ordained monk who has taken 253 vows, but who is not even keeping one. We should never do like this; we need to do everything correctly and purely. The Kadampa ordination solves all these problems. Practically speaking, all the 253 vows explained in the Vinaya Sutra are included within the ten commitments.

The ordination tradition of the NKT-IKBU is based on the Mahayana Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. Kelsang Gyatso says that when a person is first ordained they receive a Rabjung (preliminary) ordination; when their renunciation improves and deepens, their ordination naturally transforms into a Getsul (sramanera) ordination; and when their renunciation becomes "a spontaneous wish to attain nirvana", their ordination naturally transforms into a Gelong (bhikkhu) ordination. For this reason, Kelsang Gyatso did not require a separate ritual ordination ceremony.

Monks and nuns in the NKT-IKBU abandon the physical signs of a lay person by shaving their head and wearing the maroon and yellow robes of an ordained person. They are given a new name which starts with "Kelsang", since it is traditional for ordinees to receive part of the ordaining master's name (up until his death, this was Kelsang Gyatso). They also engage in a Sojong ceremony twice a month to purify and restore their vows.

Monastics who break their ordination vows must leave their Centre for a year, with the exception of attending various bigger courses, Celebrations and Festivals. After that year, "with some conditions" they can return but cannot teach or participate in the Teacher Training Program.

Practitioners who wish to ordain approach their Buddhist teacher when they feel ready, and request formal permission once they have their teacher's consent. They may decide to live in one of the NKT-IKBU's many Buddhist centres, but this is not a requirement. They are, in general, not financially provided for by the NKT-IKBU, and many are encouraged to seek unemployment benefits. If they live in an NKT-IKBU Dharma centre, they still have to pay rent for their accommodation and pay for meals and the spiritual programs. To finance this, some have part-time or full-time work. According to Belither, "a few people are sponsored because of their NKT work but others are on 'extended working visits' or work locally, and some are legitimately on employment benefit." When working, they may wear ordinary clothes if more convenient, and typically change out of robes to attend benefits appointments.

Organisation

Leadership

The New Kadampa Tradition was founded in 1991, when it separated from the Manjushri Institute, and became a distinct legal entity the following year. Each of the individual centres remained legally and financially independent from the organisation as a whole, but Kelsang Gyatso set the teachings and practices across the organisation as General Spiritual Director.

From 1991 to 1995 Gelong Thubten Gyatso was designated as Kelsang Gyatso's future successor. He disrobed in 1995, and Kelsang Gyatso provisionally appointed four "Gen-las": Losang Kelsang, Kelsang Jangsem, Kelsang Dekyong and Samden Gyatso.

In August 2001, Kelsang Gyato established a system of democratic succession for the General Spiritual Director of the NKT- IKBU, with each term of office limited to four years. In February 2007, Samden Gyatso resigned as Deputy Spiritual Director. In 2008, Gen-la Khyenrab became Acting General Spiritual Director, under Kelsang Gyatso's supervision and, when Kelsang Gyatso retired, assumed the post of General Spiritual Director in August 2009 for a four-year term. Gen-la Dekyong, the National Spiritual Director of the United States of America, additionally assumed the post of Deputy Spiritual Director.

The Internal Rules

The governing document for the NKT is called A Moral Discipline Guide—The Internal Rules of the New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union. Section 1 of The Internal Rules is a legally binding document, approved by the UK Charity Commission in 2020. The Internal Rules define the NKT-IKBU as the coalition of international study and meditation centres that follow Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's "pure tradition", his three study programmes, and The Internal Rules themselves.

Dharma centres

The NKT-IKBU currently lists more than 200 centres and around 900 branch classes/study groups in 40 countries, and reports having an estimated 8,000 members. Each centre is an independent charitable corporation; smaller groups branch off the centres and meet weekly in places such as churches and community centres. New Dharma centres are expected to be self-supporting, as neither Kelsang Gyatso nor the NKT-IKBU owns the centres.

A Kadampa Meditation Centre (KMC) serves the local, national, and international communities, and is generally more centrally organised than regular Kadampa Buddhist centres. Besides having a program of courses for the local community, KMCs host major gatherings such as dharma celebrations, national festivals, and international festivals. They are also home to the International Kadampa Temples. KMCs are non-profit organisations and all their annual profits are donated to the International Temples Project. There are currently 18 KMCs around the world, with several in the US.

The NKT-IKBU has also established a Kadampa Buddhist Temple in the United Kingdom, as well as in New York, Arizona, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain.

Reception

New Kadampa Survivors

A group of former members have criticised the New Kadampa Tradition for its exclusivism, alleged incidents of abuse and exploitation, and demonstrations against the Dalai Lama's ban on Dorje Shugden practice. Buddhists, family members and charities have also raised concerns about the New Kadampa Tradition's practices and community centres. Suzanne Newcombe, honorary director of the charity Inform, says NKT is one of the "most inquired-about groups" which has "raised a lot of concerns in Britain and gained international attention". She said that when she had asked to discuss former members' concerns with the NKT, it was not "really interested in constructively engaging in a dialogue". In response, the NKT told the BBC that its centres "offer everyone within their communities full support with their problems, within the scope of the charity's objectives".

Dorje Shugden activism

The New Kadampa Tradition has been criticised for its involvement with the International Shugden Community and, as a consequence, what David Kay calls its "leading role in a Western-based campaign mounted against the Dalai Lama" during his visit to the United Kingdom in 1996. Geshe Kelsang—who is often credited with popularising Dorje Shugden worship to the West—and the NKT objected to the Dalai Lama's advice that Buddhists should not worship Dorje Shugden, a Gelug Dharmapala (protector deity) dating to the 17th century, whose worship became more prominent in the 1930s under the repressive regime of Pabongkhapa Déchen Nyingpo.

Dorje Shugden is often worshipped as a violent protector, particularly against other traditions, and it was a key tool in Pabongkhapa Rinpoche's persecution of the flourishing Rimé movement, his attempt to forcibly convert Nyingma Buddhists, and his destruction of artefacts associated with Padmasambhava. It is therefore associated with repressive Gelug rule among many Tibetans.

Dorje Shugden worship was especially popular under the Third Trijang Rinpoche, Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, an ardent advocate for Dorje Shugden for the protector. Both the Dalai Lama and Kelsang Gyatso studied under Trijang Rinpoche, and the Dalai Lama practised Dorje Shugden worship before he fled Tibet in 1959. In the 1970s, after learning about the history of repression and sectarianism attached to Dorje Shugden, the Dalai Lama rejected these practices, and advised other Tibetan Buddhists to do the same, but Kelsang Gyatso objected to this stance. At odds with most scholars, Kelsang Gyatso also considers Dorje Shugden an enlightened being. Dreyfus says the view that Shugden is enlightened exists only amongst the "most extreme followers of Shukden", and Kay suggests this viewpoint is unique to the New Kadampa Tradition.

In response to the Dalai Lama's pronouncements, the NKT protested alongside the Shugden Supporters Community (which later became the International Shugden Community), who coordinated protests across Europe that accused the Dalai Lama of religious repression. The NKT was often portrayed by the media as a front for the SSC/ISC, which the NKT strongly denied, although most Western SSC/ISC members were also members of the NKT. In 1996, Kelsang Gyatso was formally expelled from the Sera Je Monastery and his geshe degree voided as a result of his support for Dorje Shugden and criticism of the Dalai Lama.

At the height of the protests, on 4 February 1997, Lobsang Gyatso, the principal of the Buddhist School of Dialectics and a critic of Dorje Shugden worship, and two of his students were murdered in Dharmasala; Interpol said the murderers were former monastics and members of the SSC. In response, Kelsang Gyatso denied the involvement of any NKT members. He formally withdrew the NKT from the protests in 1998, although NKT members continued to be involved in the ISC.

In 2015, before the ISC disbanded, Reuters reported that most of its Western members were NKT members who said they were not acting on behalf of the NKT. The Reuters investigation also found members of the ISC had received support and encouragement from the Chinese government, including several monks from the Tibetan diaspora who were associated with Shugden worship. Later, Professor Robert Barnett told The Observer that no such evidence existed to implicate protestors in the UK, although he criticised the UK protestors for using practices and methods that paralleled those used by the Chinese authorities.

Recruitment

Scholars have said that the NKT's use of publicity is unusual among Buddhist groups. Ken Jones says the NKT is comparatively more "forceful and extroverted" than other Buddhist groups, and this has helped it recruit new members. One factor in recruitment, according to Helen Waterhouse, is that an NKT-IKBU centre often hosts activities every day, in contrast to other groups "which meet on a weekly basis but provide little other support or activity".

David Kay says that the NKT-IKBU is sensitive to criticism on the subject of expansion. Robert Bluck attributes NKT-IKBU's rapid growth to "a wish to share the Dharma rather than 'conversion and empire-building'".