Our Founder - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

The Founder of the New Kadampa Tradition and of Khedrubje Buddhist Centre is Geshe Kelsang Gyatso - a fully qualified meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism. Geshe Kelsang was ordained as a monk at the age of eight in 1940 and studied at one of the great monastic universities in Tibet. After completing his studies he spent over twenty years in meditation retreat in the Himalayas. In 1977 he was invited to the West to teach, and has remained ever since.

He is the author of a best-selling series of practical guides to meditation and Buddhist practice. He is the founder of the New Kadampa Tradition of Buddhism and has established Buddhist meditation centres in over 40 countries worldwide. This includes 47 Kadampa Buddhist Centres in the United Kingdom alone. The New Kadampa Tradition and it’s member centres are registered charities and non-profit organisations.