STUDY & MEDITATION

STUDY & MEDITATION

At the very heart of modern Kadampa Buddhism are the three core study programs developed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche:

General Program

Foundation Program

Teacher Training Program

These programs are taught at every Kadampa center.

Latest developments:

Improving concentration and wisdom

Liberating weekend retreats where participants improved their concentration and experience of emptiness, at KMC Madrid La Sierra, Kailash IRC in Switzerland and KMC Cuernavaca in Mexico.

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Inspiring Talks and Visits in Canada, Mexico & Chile

April has seen some wonderful public talks, allowing many people to connect with Dharma teachings. Gen-la Jampa at KMC Vancouver, Gen Sangden in Guadalajara and Gen Chokyong in Concepcion in Chile are featured here.

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Connecting with Dharma and Meditation in Mexico

This April, practitioners in Mexico had a wonderful opportunity to engage in Dharma activities and gain experience of meditation. See below the activities in Cuernavaca, Xalapa and Queretaro.

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KMC Leeds at Sixth Kadampa Temple for World Peace

In a beautiful union of spiritual friendship and international Dharma community, Kadampa Meditation Centre Leeds (UK) held a very special 4-day retreat at KMC Spain located in the peaceful mountains of Malaga.

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Blessing Empowerments in Brazil

Thanks to the great kindness of Venerable Geshe-la, this April both the Third Kadampa Temple for World Peace in Brazil and KMC Rio were blessed with precious empowerments.

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Two White Tara empowerments in the UK

The power and blessings of Buddha White Tara were present at Nagarjuna KMC and Vajrapani KMC in the UK, when people received Tara empowerment from Resident Teachers, Kadam Bridget Heyes and Gen Kelsang Varahi.

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Shining the Sun of Holy Dharma with Blessing Empowerments

Blessing empowerments were given at Madhyamaka KMC with Gen-la Kunsang, KMC Peru with Gen Sangden and KMC Merida in Mexico with Gen Chime. It is only through the blessings of the Buddhas at events such as these that we are able to truly benefit others and help them discover real, lasting happiness.

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Montreal and Quebec: causing pure Dharma to flourish

Here are two blessed events from recent weeks in Eastern Canada. In Montreal, they celebrated the 30th anniversary of their beautiful center with a visit from Gen Samten and KMC Quebec held an away retreat.

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Mexico and France: magical and beautiful empowerments

This month precious blessing empowerments were given at KMC Mexico and KMC Montpellier in France. These events help us to develop compassion and wisdom, to appreciate our great potential, and eventually lead us to permanent peace and liberation from suffering.

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Buddha’s Blessings of Wisdom from Monterrey to London

Due to the great kindness of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, his guidance and his blessings, Kadampa centers in London and Monterrey have had the opportunity to receive the magical blessing empowerment of Buddha Manjushri and commentaries to his practice.

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General Program

The General Program (GP) is taught at every center for Modern Kadampa Buddhism and is an ideal starting point for those interested to find out more about the practical application of Buddhism and meditation to modern life.

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Kadampa-Study-Programmes

Foundation Program

The purpose of the Foundation Program (FP) is to provide a systematic presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism.

Are you ready for Foundation Program?

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Books studied on Foundation Program

Teacher Training Program

The purpose of the Teacher Training Program (TTP) is to provide an extensive presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism, and to train as qualified Teachers of Modern Buddhism.

Books studied on Teacher Training Program

Studying Modern Buddhism

There are three reasons why we need to study and practice the teachings of Buddha - to develop our wisdom, to cultivate a good heart and to maintain a peaceful state of mind:

Develop wisdom
If we do not strive to develop our wisdom we will always remain ignorant of ultimate truth – the true nature of reality. Although we wish for happiness, our ignorance leads us to engage in non-virtuous actions, which are the main cause of all our suffering.

Cultivate a good heart
If we do not cultivate a good heart, our selfish motivation destroys harmony and good relationships with others. We have no peace, and no chance to gain pure happiness. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.

Maintain a peaceful state of mind
If we do not maintain a peaceful state of mind we are not happy even if we have ideal conditions. On the other hand, when our mind is peaceful we are happy even if our external conditions are unpleasant.

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has designed three special Study Programs for the systematic study and practice of Modern Buddhism that are especially suited to the modern world: the General Program, Foundation Program, and Teacher Training Program. See below for details.

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BENEFITS OF THE FOUNDATION & TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS

By Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

The following is a transcript of a talk given by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche on the occasion of the inauguration of the Foundation Program at Tara Centre, England, October 1990.

Beginning the Foundation Program at a center presents us with a great opportunity because this program fulfills both our own and others’ wishes.

How does the Foundation Program fulfill our own wishes? By increasing our wisdom and our experience of Dharma. With wisdom and Dharma experience we can solve all the problems we encounter in daily life and we can protect ourselves from danger in the future. Since beginningless time we have had strong, bad habits that arise from our self-grasping and self-cherishing.

We all want to better ourselves and to be happy and successful in life but our bad habits lead us in the opposite direction. Instead of finding happiness we create the cause of more suffering. None of us wants to suffer and yet, because of our bad habits, we are continually strengthening our deluded minds, which are the cause of all our suffering.

With wisdom and Dharma experience we can bring our deluded minds under control. We can reduce our attachment, anger, jealousy, and so forth, and subdue our self-grasping and self-cherishing. By controlling our deluded minds we will come to experience permanent peace day and night. We will bring about a permanent cessation of human problems in particular and of samsaric problems in general. In this way we will become our own protectors.

With wisdom and Dharma experience we will also become our own doctors. Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, famous or of humble origins, without choice we all have to experience mental pain. Within one day we experience mental pain and discomfort many times, sometimes due to unpleasant circumstances and sometimes due to other people, even our friends. Sometimes for no apparent reason unhappiness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, or pain arise naturally due to the ripening of karmic imprints.

We need a remedy for this pain. No one else can give us medicine that will relieve this type of pain, we have to become our own karma-doctor and cure ourselves through Dharma experience. By increasing our wisdom and Dharma experience we will gradually solve all our problems and eventually we will achieve the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment, the bliss of Buddhahood. This is how the Foundation Program can fulfil our own wishes.