The Founder
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, affectionately known as ‘Venerable Geshe-la’, a world-renowned meditation master and Teacher, he is a truly international Teacher who presents Buddha’s teachings in ways that anyone, regardless of nationality, culture or age can easily understand and apply to their modern daily lives. Through helping people to integrate the pure and life-transforming teachings of Buddha in their daily experience, Venerable Geshe-la has enabled them to solve their personal problems and to discover a deep and lasting inner peace and happiness.
Inspired by his extraordinary vision, a global infrastructure of Temples, centres, books, teachings, meditation and teacher training programmes, for this and future generations, has arisen, creating a truly international Buddhist tradition that benefits all living beings equally and without discrimination.
Venerable Geshe-la is the Spiritual Guide of many thousands of people, whose hearts have been touched by his extraordinary wisdom and pure example. The legacy of his life’s work enriches and will continue to enrich the lives of people of all nationalities and cultures throughout the world.
The Teacher
Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab is a retired General Spiritual Director of the NKT-IKBU, he has trained closely with Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for more than forty years. His humility and pure example reflect his many years of reliance on his Spiritual Guide. He is greatly admired as a sincere practitioner and a powerful Teacher. He is also well-known for his wisdom and deep understanding of Buddha's teachings, and for his pure example of compassion and loving-kindness.
Upcoming Lectures
Reincarnation - Where are we from and where are we going?
Friday 8th March 7:30-9:00pm
Many people believe that when the body disintegrates at death, the continuum of the mind ceases and the mind becomes non-existent, like a candle flame going out when all the wax has burned. The truth is much more interesting as we shall find out this evening.
Our body and mind are in fact separate entities, and so even though the body disintegrates at death, the continuum of the mind remains unbroken. Instead of ceasing, the mind simply leaves the present body and goes to the next life.
We can gain an understanding of past and future lives by examining the process of sleeping, dreaming, and waking, because this closely resembles the process of death, intermediate state, and rebirth.
On this Friday Night Lecture, Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab will explain the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth, and the reasons supporting the correct belief in reincarnation. This belief gives our life immeasurable meaning.
Karma - Why do things turn out the way they do?
Friday 12th April 7:30-9:00pm
The law of karma is a special instance of the law of cause and effect. Karma means ‘action’, and refers to the actions of our body, speech, and mind. Every action we perform leaves an imprint, or potentiality, on our very subtle mind, and each imprint eventually gives rise to its own effect.
On this Friday Night Lecture, Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab will explain the law of karma, the law that explains how every physical, verbal or mental action we perform plants a seed, or potential, in our mind that eventually ripens for us as an experience. Negative seeds ripen as an experience of suffering, while positive actions ripen as an experience of happiness.
Through understanding the law of karma we can begin to create for ourselves the kind of life we want by creating the right kind of causes, by learning to think, speak and act in a consistently wise, considerate and positive way. Extremely useful for finding a happy life.
You may also be interested in attending the Purifying Fasting retreat which begins evening of Sat 13th April culminating in Buddha's Enlightenment Day April 15th.
Can Faith be Scientific?
Friday 17 May 7:30 - 9:00pm
Often when we think about faith we think of 'blind faith', which seems to be an unthinking and baseless belief system. Although many people like the idea of faith, others believe that faith implies suspending disbelief or is somehow irrational. Is there a way that faith can be scientific and reliable?
Kadampa Buddhism is an inner science, introduced by Buddha Shakyamuni, and the teachings are explanations we can test and put into practice for ourselves to check they are correct. Faith comes from personal experience through practising Buddha’s teachings which are rooted in logic and reason. By understanding precisely what the mind of faith is and where it leads, our viewpoint can be drastically changed through inner conviction in a beneficial direction.
On this Friday Night Lecture, Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab will explain what actual faith is and how we can live a better life if we have faith in our heart. He will also look at how faith is developed, as well as common misconceptions about it.