Kelsang Gyatso
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (Tibetan: བཀལ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ།, Wylie: bskal bzang rgya mtsho; 4 June 1931 – 17 September 2022) was a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher, scholar, and author.
At eight years old, he joined Ngamring Jampa Ling Monastery where he was ordained as a novice monk and given the monastic name "Kelsang Gyatso" meaning "Ocean of Good Fortune".
[6][7] At this time, Kelsang Gyatso left the monastery at Buxa for Mussoorie (a hill station in the Indian state of Uttarakhand) where he taught and engaged in intensive meditation retreat for sixteen years.
[8] At that time Kelsang Gyatso was, as David Kay puts it, "by all accounts, a very well respected scholar and meditator" within the Tibetan exile community.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso was given permission to update the presentation of the dharma (teachings of Buddhism) to be clear and accessible to western students.
"[20] Kelsang Gyatso's "conservative and traditional presentation of Buddhism" is appealing to Westerners who "wish for a meaningful alternative to spiritual pluralism.
If we try to create a synthesis of different traditions we shall destroy the special power of each and be left only with a mishmash of our own making that will be a source of confusion and doubt.
[21]Therefore, Kelsang Gyatso taught in Great Treasury of Merit that the most effective way to progress spiritually is by "following one tradition purely — relying upon one Teacher, practicing only his teachings, and following his Dharma Protector.
[30] Kelsang Gyatso engaged in meditation retreat and continued to write Dharma books to preserve and promote the Kadampa Buddhism of Je Tsongkhapa, in accordance with the instructions of Trijang Rinpoche.
"[32] Continuing this task, a new book entitled Modern Buddhism: The Path of Wisdom and Compassion was released in January 2010, and its oral transmission was given by Kelsang Gyatso at the Fall 2010 NKT-IKBU Festival.
[34] On 19 September 2022, the NKT announced the death of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche (which occurred two days before) via their website and social media.
Their statement reads: "On September 17 our most precious Spiritual Guide Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche showed the manner of passing peacefully into the clear light.
A true Kadampa master, Geshe-la dedicated his entire life to upholding the pure traditions of Je Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden, and his contribution to the lineage was unparalleled in recent times.
