Fall Festival 2024 Inspiring Short Films
Nov 6, 2024
Modern Kadampa Buddhism
New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union
Founder:
The Founder of Modern Kadampa Buddhism is Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, affectionately known as Venerable Geshe-la, a world-renowned meditation master and Teacher. He inspired thousands of people around the world to apply the pure teachings of Buddha to their modern lives to solve their personal problems and discover a deep and lasting inner peace and happiness. Today, the legacy of his life's work touches the lives of people of all nationalities and cultures.
"The day will come when you will do my job."
VENERABLE GESHE KELSANG GYATSO RINPOCHE
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche devoted his entire life to making the pure teachings of Buddha available in a modern form to people throughout the world.
Now Venerable Geshe-la's followers holding him at their hearts continue his work with auspicious projects in every region of the world.
Friday is an auspicious day. After a final meditation session practicing The Yoga of Buddha Heruka, there is a huge gathering in the Temple as it is opened to everyone to join in a truly global Prayers for World Peace. Many local people attend in addition to the international Festival participants, and it is simultaneously live-streamed around the world. How wonderful that thousands and thousands of people are praying together for peace in our world.
Today we take some time to appreciate what a rich tradition we have, the incredible lineage we hold, and the unsurpassed presentation we enjoy where all Buddha’s teachings fit with our modern life.
After a wonderful, heartfelt and clear meditation with Gen Sangden we begin two days of teachings to receive the essential commentaries to the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra from Gen-la Dekyong.
Today we meet Vajrayogini, with the final Highest Yoga Tantra empowerment. Three hours pass quickly as we are first introduced to Vajrayogini, taking time to appreciate the unique benefits of relying upon her and then we receive the blessings of the four empowerments in her sindhura mandala.
On Monday we spend the day entering into Heruka’s mandala, physically entering the beautiful temple, itself a representation of Heruka’s palace, for the two sublime sessions of the Heruka empowerment. Then through the concentration of the empowering Spiritual Guide, the blessings of Venerable Geshe-la and our own pure imagination and intentions we are created as a newly arisen Heruka Body Mandala.
In the scriptures, meditation on death is said to be a hammer that shatters our delusions. It is a powerful means of eliminating both our delusions and our negative actions of body, speech, and mind.