Tradition and vision

Kadampa Buddhism

Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054).

In the word, ”Kadampa”, ”Ka” refers to Buddha’s teachings, and ”dam” to Atisha’s special Lamrim instructions. ”Pa” is a practitioner of these special instructions who regards Buddha’s teachings as personal advice and puts them into practice through the instructions of ”Lamrim”. The stages of the path to enlightenment, or Lamrim in Tibetan, are the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism. Lamrim is a special set of instructions that includes all the essential teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni arranged in such a way that all his Hinayana and Mahayana teachings can be practiced in a single meditation session.

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There are over 1, 300 Kadampa centres and branches worldwide. See the Kadampa annual brochure for events happening all around the world.

Our Founder

The Founder of Modern Kadampa Buddhism is Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a world-renowned meditation master who holds the very essence of Buddha’s teachings in his heart.

Venerable Geshe-la transmits this profound wisdom and compassion to the people of the modern world in very practical ways through the extremely accessible methods of modern Kadampa Buddhism, which he introduced.

Since 1977, when he accepted an invitation to become Resident Teacher at Manjushri Centre in the UK, he has given thousands of teachings, composed twenty-three widely acclaimed books on Buddhism and meditation, established over 1,300 meditation centers, trained hundreds of qualified Teachers and developed practical study and meditation programs to suit the needs of the modern world.

In short, he has dedicated his entire life to laying the foundation for modern Kadampa Buddhism to flourish throughout the world in this and future generations.

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Kadampa Meditation Center Montreal

Founded over 25 years ago and located in the heart of the Plateau Mont-Royal, the Kadampa Meditation Center Montreal is the mother center of the New Kadampa Tradition in Quebec.

It offers a wide variety of activities: introductory courses in meditation and Buddhist philosophy, workshops, three study programs and retreats... It is a peaceful and welcoming place to practice meditation and discover how the wisdom of Buddha can help us in our daily lives.

International temples project

When Venerable Geshe-la opened the first Temple for World Peace at Manjushri Centre in 1997, he expressed the wish to develop a modern Buddhist Temple in every major city of the world. To accomplish this and many other purposes, he founded the International Temples Project (ITP).

The scope and activities of the ITP are constantly evolving in response to the needs of the ever-changing demands of busy lives. It presently achieves its aim through developing and building traditional and non-traditional temples, meditation and retreat centres, and through the activities of World Peace Cafés and Tharpa Publications.

All profits generated through the activities of the International Temples Project are dedicated to public benefit through the continual development of this fund.