Kadampa Buddhism = Old & New Kadampa Traditions
Kadampa Buddhism – A Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054). See also Kadampa and Kadampa Tradition.
Kadampa Tradition – The pure tradition of Buddhism established by Atisha. Followers of this tradition up to the time of Je Tsongkhapa are known as ‘Old Kadampas’, and those after the time of Je Tsongkhapa are known as ‘New Kadampas’. See also Kadampa and Kadampa Buddhism.
New Kadampa Tradition = Je Tsongkhapa’s Tradition
“I make requests to you, Gurus of the Old Kadam lineage, the second Buddha Atisha, Dromtonpa, Geshe Potowa, and all the other precious Teachers who have revealed the union of vast and profound paths.”
“I make requests to you, Gurus of the New Kadam lineage, Venerable Tsongkhapa, Jampel Gyatso, Khedrubje, and all the other precious Teachers who have revealed the union of Sutra and Tantra.”
(Essence of Good Fortune sadhana, Requests to the Field for Accumulating Merit and the Lamrim lineage Gurus, p. 12)
Je Tsongkhapa’s Tradition = Gelug Tradition (“Virtuous Tradition”)
Gelug – The tradition established by Je Tsongkhapa. The name ‘Gelug’ means ‘Virtuous Tradition’. A Gelugpa is a practitioner who follows this tradition. The Gelugpas are sometimes referred to as the ‘new Kadampas’.
(See also Prayers for the Virtuous Tradition in the closing prayers of every NKT-IKBU sadhana.)
A Gelugpa = A New Kadampa
“We are pure Gelugpas. The name Gelugpa doesn’t matter, but we believe we are following the pure tradition of Je Tsongkhapa. We are studying and practicing Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings and taking as our example what the ancient Kadampa lamas and Geshes did. All the books that I have written are commentaries on Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings. We try our best to follow the example of the ancient Kadampa Tradition, and use the name Kadampa to remind people to practice purely.”
(Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, An Interview With Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Tricycle: the Buddhist Review, No. 27, Spring 1998, p. 74)
NKT-IKBU
The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union is defined as the union of Kadampa Buddhist Centres, the international association of study and meditation centres that follow the pure tradition of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the Buddhist meditators and scholars Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa, introduced into the West by the Buddhist teacher Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the Founder of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union; and that follow the three New Kadampa Tradition Study Programmes; and that are guided by the code of moral discipline called The Internal Rules of the New Kadampa Tradition -
International Kadampa Buddhist Union.
