General Spiritual Director
An Auspicious Beginning for Kadam Dharma in Venezuela
Jul 7, 2026
NKT-IKBU International Spring Festival 2026 diaries
Day 6 ~ Destination Compassion
The Temple is full of practitioners from around the world meditating in two final sessions on deepening our mind of compassion until it transforms into the compassion of a Buddha. In this way we awaken our Buddha nature - wishing to attain enlightenment for all living beings.
We have drawn so close to our Spiritual Guide, spending time with his teachings, placing them in our heart and making transformative inner promises to put them into practice in our daily lives.
Much magic has happened over the space of less than a week. Some people who were new to Kadampa Festivals at the beginning are, by the end, deeply involved in running their volunteer areas. Others talk of how much it has strengthened their faith; how in the midst of daily life it can feel hard to maintain their practice but the Festival has reinvigorated their faith and determination.
There is a feeling of great gratitude - to the Festival Teachers and all those who worked so hard to run the Festival, but most of all for the immense kindness of our Spiritual Guide, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. Through hearing his teachings, through benefitting from the Festival he designed with us in mind, through spending time with other dedicated practitioners he inspired, and most of all through feeling the power of the meditations he has given us at work in our minds, changing us for the better.
At the end of the retreat Gen-la Sangden skillfully reminds us about what Geshe-la called very good advice. Through our view, our friends and family can be like treasure for us, enabling us to develop a wealth of love and compassion.
She also left us with a wisdom contemplation: when the causes and conditions come together a Festival appears like a rainbow. May we create all the causes for it to appear again at Summer and Fall Festivals.
So we say goodbye to everyone who was at the Festival in person, to the thousands that joined online and to everyone following along with the diaries. Hopefully we will meet again soon at an International Kadampa Festival!
Compassion Around The World
