Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Born in Tibet in 1931, the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso was ordained a Buddhist monk at the age of eight and educated in the great monastic universities of the Gelug tradition. In 1959, following widespread conflicts in which thousands of monks were killed and numerous centuries-old monasteries were destroyed, the then 28-year-old Kelsang Gyatso left Tibet with 100,000 others, making the 800-mile trek into exile in northern India. He spent the following eighteen years in the practice of meditative isolation in the Himalayas, under the guidance of his root Guru and Spiritual Guide, His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981), the most highly regarded Gelug Teacher of his generation. Geshe Kelsang did long retreat for many years near a place called Bangthog Damthang, close to the Tibetan border. He also did long retreat in the Dalhousie Mountains near Dharamsala. In Mussoorie, he practiced retreat in the mountains every winter and spent the remaining months performing healing rituals and pujas to help local families.
In 1977, Geshe Kelsang was invited to teach in England by Venerable Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935-1984). Venerable Geshe Kelsang has remained at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre giving extensive teachings, writing twenty profound, book-length commentaries explicating ancient Buddhist texts for contemporary Western practitioners, and providing spiritual guidance to the ever-growing numbers of disciples and meditation centers under his spiritual direction. His profound wish is that anyone, in any culture and in any country, may have access to the Buddha's teachings, helping them to attain true freedom and happiness. Geshe Kelsang has worked tirelessly to open the door of Kadampa Buddhism to Westerners, whose cultural context and imperatives are so profoundly different from those of traditional Asia.
In 1991, he founded the International Kadampa Buddhist Union to facilitate cooperation between the legally and financially independant Dharma centers under his spiritual guidance. There are currently over 1100 NKT groups and centers around the world, and more than 700 ordained monks and nuns.