Summer Festival 2026 ~ Your Perspective
We invited Summer Festival attendees to capture and share their favorite moments — and now, we’re excited to showcase their photos and experiences with you!
Read MoreOn June 4, Buddha’s turning of the Wheel of Dharma day, at Kadampa centres around the world, we offer Venerable Geshe-la our faith with hearts filled with rejoicing and gratitude. We do this by using the special prayer, “Request to the Holy Spiritual Guide Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso from His Faithful Disciples,” and by collecting our Guru’s name mantra in a one-day retreat.
Read about some of the other wonderful activities taking place throughout the world the week before the Spring Festival
KMC SAN DIEGO, KMC SLOVENIA, KMC GLASGOW
June 4 is the Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day on which we celebrate Buddha’s first teaching in this world – the first Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. It is also the birthday of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, the Founder of NKT.
The conclusion of the 2023 Spring Festival gives us a chance to look back over this truly inspiring event. Click on the links to see the full Festival diary for each day.
What a truly wonderful festival it has been. There was something magical and profound about how Gen-la Dekyong’s teachings gradually built refuge in our minds. The refuge vows ceremony marked the pinnacle of the festival, providing an opportunity to express and refine the special dedications and promises arising in our hearts.
Retreat days at the festival are very special. Having received so many teachings, and following the extraordinarily blessed refuge ceremony, it is now time to quiet the mind, delve deep within, and consolidate our experiences through meditation.
Gen-la helped us understand the real meaning of the Refuge Ceremony by giving the transmission of an explanation by Venerable Geshe-la. Just being at festival we are inside refuge. Listening to teachings, meditating and placing ourself inside our Guru’s vision for flourishing Kadam Dharma. It was so inspiring to be part of a worldwide sangha dedicated to ending suffering and bringing about world peace.
Today after an explanation of how our Spiritual Guide is in essence deathless and his mind always with us, we received an unexpected surprise of hearing Venerable Geshe-la’s voice resound in the temple giving us the blessing transmission of Liberating Prayer.
Gen-la’s teachings on Saturday began a sublime commentary to Liberating Prayer, one of our uncommon Kadampa prayers appearing from the heart of our Root Guru. She explained how there are many levels to this prayer.
The temple is full of joyful chatter, then the quiet lull that comes before Gen-la Dekyong enters and the prayers begin, bringing us all together. At the front of the temple is a special shrine with a powerful, meditative Buddha Shakyamuni presiding over the festival.
