TUSHITA KADAMPA BUDDHIST CENTER
Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Center exists to provide everybody in the surrounding areas with the opportunity to learn about and practice Buddha’s teachings. To fulfill this aim we have created a peaceful sanctuary located inside The Oaks Mall. Based on the books of the modern day Buddhist teacher, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, we present Buddha’s teachings in an accessible manner that can easily be integrated into busy modern life.
VENERABLE GESHE
KELSANG GYATSO
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche or Geshe-la, as he is affectionately called by his students, is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism. From the age of eight Geshe-la studied extensively in the great monastic universities of Tibet and earned the title ‘Geshe’, which literally means ‘spiritual friend’. Under the guidance of Trijang Rinpoche, his Spiritual Guide he then spent the next eighteen years in meditation retreats in the Himalayas.
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Geshe-la is the inspiration behind the revival of Kadampa Buddhism in our time. In 1976 he was invited to teach in England. Since arriving in the West, Geshe-la has given immaculate teachings on Kadampa Buddhism in Europe and North America, and published a series of remarkable books on Buddhist thought and meditation.
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He has established three unique study programs and over 1,000 centers around the world, trained qualified western teachers and a flourishing ordained community, and created a project to build Buddhist temples in every major city in the world.
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In his teachings Geshe Kelsang emphasizes the importance of meditation and how to apply it in daily life, the need to be truly happy, and how to cultivate a good heart to help others – and he demonstrates these qualities perfectly in his own life.
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This remarkable teacher inspires so many people from so many different countries because he teaches from example. He is a humble Buddhist monk dedicated to helping people throughout the world find true happiness in their hearts.
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RESIDENT TEACHER,
KADAM REBECCA GAUTHIER
Kadam Rebecca Gauthier, a Western lay practitioner, has been studying and practicing Kadampa Buddhism under Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s guidance for over twenty years. Her heartfelt teachings are presented with clarity and humor that make them accessible to everyone. Through her kindness, humility and deep understanding of Buddha’s teachings, Kadam Rebecca provides an inspiring example of a contemporary Buddhist practitioner we can follow.
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In addition to leading many day courses, special events and retreats at Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Center, Kadam Rebecca teaches Sunday Prayers for World Peace, Monday Evening General Program, and Lunchtime Meditations on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. She also teaches the Foundation Program, a systematic study program for those wishing to deepen their understanding of Buddha’s teachings.
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INTERNATIONAL TEMPLES
& WORLD PEACE PROJECT
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the founder of NKT, has dedicated his life to helping people find true happiness by developing inner peace through meditation and other practices. He has designed an international education program that provides everyone regardless of nationality, age or gender with the opportunity to learn simple techniques for developing the capacity of their mind and eventually attaining the permanent inner peace of enlightenment. To date, this program has been implemented in over forty countries.
Geshe Kelsang’s compassionate intention is embodied in the International Temples Project (ITP), a unique international fund dedicated to public benefit. The ITP fosters the international development of temples and retreat centers. All these institutions provide a public service that exemplifies the Buddhist faith.
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In the fall of 2019, the fifth Kadampa Temple for World Peace, based on the mandala and the heavenly mansion of Buddha Heruka, Buddha of Compassion, was inaugurated in the peaceful surroundings of the IKRC Grand Canyon. Both the special five-tiered architectural design and the sacred art within reveal that the temple is a representation of the Pure Land of Buddha Heruka and Buddha Vajrayogini.
It is a modern Buddhist Temple designed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a world-renowned Buddhist meditation Master who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society.
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International Kadampa Retreat Center, Grand Canyon, United States. Opened in 2019.