Kadampa Buddhism
Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054). ‘Ka’ refers to Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings, and ‘dam’ to Atisha’s special Lamrim instructions known as ‘The stages of the path to enlightenment’. By integrating their knowledge of all Buddha’s teachings into their practice of Lamrim, and by integrating this into their everyday lives, Kadampa Buddhists learn to use Buddha’s teachings as practical methods for transforming their daily activities into the path to enlightenment by improving their love, compassion and wisdom.
The Kadampa tradition was later promoted widely in Tibet by Je Tsongkhapa and his followers, who were known as the ‘New Kadampas’. The New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) is an association of over 1200 Buddhist Centres and groups that derive their inspiration and guidance from the example of the ancient Kadampa Buddhist Masters and their teachings, as presented to the modern world by Ven Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.