Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Spiritual Director

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism. Ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of eight, he studied in the great monastic universities of Tibet and earned the title 'Geshe', which literally means 'spiritual friend'. After leaving Tibet he spent 18 years engaged in meditation retreats in the Himalayan areas of northern India and Nepal.

In 1977 he accepted an invitation to teach in England at Manjushri Center, the mother Center of the New Kadampa Tradition, and since then he has worked tirelessly to provide all the conditions Westerners need to enter, make progress on and complete the Buddhist path to peace and happiness.

He has written nineteen books that explain clearly and practically every aspect of Buddha's teachings. He has established three Study Programs for the systematic study and practice of Buddhism, established 800 Kadampa Buddhist centers and groups worldwide, trained qualified Buddhist teachers, and created a project to build Buddhist temples throughout the world dedicated to world peace and happiness.

In his teachings Geshe Kelsang emphasizes the importance of practically applying Buddha's advice in daily life: looking for true happiness within ourselves and not in the external world, and cultivating wisdom and a good heart, so that we may effectively help others - qualities that he perfectly shows in his own life. Because he teaches from example, he inspires many people from around the world.