I’ve been practicing Kadampa Buddhist meditation for 30 years and love it. 
Luna Kadampa is my pen name.
You don’t have to be a Buddhist to learn Buddhist meditation and find peace, positivity and joy in your life, whatever circumstances you find yourself in. There is some background to Buddhism, meditation and my teacher below.
In short, meditation means familiarizing ourself with positive and happy ways of thinking and overcoming negative habits of mind that cause unhappiness. Kadampa Life is mainly about applying Buddhist meditation to daily life and using what happens in daily life to improve our meditation.
Comment policy: Please make comments on this blog, I love them. All I suggest is that before hitting “send” you ask yourself “Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?” I try to do that with the articles as well, as I think that it just about covers everything Buddha had to say about the moral discipline of speech. Thank you.
See also What I’m up to with this blog and Where are the Kadampas?
A bit of background
Buddhism
“Buddhism is the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called Dharma, which means ‘protection’.” ~ Modern Buddhism, page 3 (click on the link for a free eBook!!)
Meditation — or familiarizing ourself with positivity — is at the heart of Buddhism. By practicing Buddhist meditation we are protected from the suffering caused by our so-called ‘delusions’ – unpeaceful, uncontrolled states of mind such as anger, attachment and ignorance that give rise to nothing but suffering. We also learn how to develop and maintain our peaceful, positive states of mind such as patience, love and wisdom, and in this way fulfill our innate potential for happiness and freedom, including the ability to help others. Anyone with a mind can do this, regardless of their background, culture or even belief system.
Kadampa Buddhism
“In general, all Buddha’s teachings, the Dharma, are very precious, but Kadam Dharma or Lamrim is a very special Buddhadharma that is suitable for everyone without exception…. This is because Kadam Dharma accords with people’s daily experience; it cannot be separated from daily life.” ~ Modern Buddhism, p. 22-3
Kadampa Buddhism is practical, applied Buddhism. It is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054), practiced fully and passed down the generations through great spiritual masters, including Je Tsongkhapa (AD 1357-1419), to the present day.
In the word ‘Kadampa’, ‘Ka’ refers to Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings, and ‘dam’ to Atisha’s Lamrim (or stages of the path to enlightenment) instructions. So a Kadampa is anyone who regards Buddha’s teachings as personal instructions and puts them into practice by following the instructions of Lamrim. This way we can learn to transform all our daily activities and experiences – relationships, work, good times, bad times etc — into the path to mental freedom and enlightenment.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, circa 1978, just out of 16 year retreat in the Himalayas and newly arrived in England.
You can find out more about this modern-day Buddhist master and founder of the New Kadampa Tradition in any number of places, including in this article I wrote about him on his 80th birthday. I could speak volumes about my teacher, but all I’ll say for now is that I think he is a spiritual genius! I’ve read lots of Buddhist books but, to me, his books still take my breath away. Although I have read each one many times, I honestly still find new clarity and vision each time I pick one up and read even a sentence.
His 22 books — all commentaries one way or another to Je Tsongkhapa’s works — range from detailed, authoritative texts on every aspect of Buddhist meditation and philosophy to newer books like Transform Your Life and Modern Buddhism that manage to make Buddhism simple, practical and do-able, while at the same time blowing my mind! Now, thanks to this, anyone who wants to can practice Kadampa Buddhist meditation and derive real benefit — whomever and wherever they are.
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
Thank you Luna Kadampa for connecting via LinkedIn and my blog. I will subscribe to your blog and hope to read and learn more. Kindest greetings from Paula
i love you lucy
Hello,
This is my first time to visit your website. I have been studying Kadampa Buddhism for almost 2 years thru a KMC. This website seems to be a great way to spread Geshe-la’s teachings. I am interested in subscribing. However, I try to be very careful about who I am getting Dharma from. With complete respect for your efforts, may I ask if this website has been sanctioned by Venerable Geshe-la or one of the Gen-las? Thank you!
Hello, thank you for your interest and your fair concern. This site is not officially sanctioned by anyone because it is a personal site by an individual practitioner. (Nor has it received adverse reaction from the powers that be.)
In any event, as I’ve said elsewhere, Kadampa Life is not intended as teachings, which you can receive perfectly from your teacher, center and study program — that is their function. This website functions just as a sharing of experiences — my own and the people who comment (and experience can never be wrong.)
Hope this helps.
I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award: http://bluegrassnotes.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/versatile-blogger-award-and-sunshine-award-yeah/
Thank you! As soon as I get some time, I’ll follow the procedures you outline helpfully in your post.
I became a Kadampa 10 years ago and the teachings have changed my life in such a profound way. I have been so fortunate to have been to many Festivals and have also gone to Tharpaland. Before this, I was afraid to travel and the last 10 years, I have gone to Festivals all over the world.
It was so interesting that I adopted 2 children in July 2001 and found the teachings 2 weeks later. They have been raised Kadampas since the ages of 1 and 2. They actually met Geshe-la in Toronto in 2003 and received a blessing from him.
My life now has real meaning and I can say I am truly fortunate and hope to never be separated from Geshe-la
Nice
Hi, Luna – just been poking around the website. You’ve asked for article ideas a couple times and I’ve actually been desperately wanting some guidance on a topic as it relates specifically to Kadampa Buddhism; what is the view on pet euthanisa?
Thank you so much for this wonderful website, by the way! It a daily source of support and comfort for me. I am so grateful for YOU!
Oops, sorry, only just caught this comment…. that is a million dollar question. There are no easy answers, of course, and each case is probably going to be a little different. It is one of those things where we have to take the decision on our own, as otherwise we are involving others in some difficult karma.
We can start by checking whether we are wanting to euthanize our pet out of attachment and aversion or not, not able ourselves to bear their suffering because it hurts US — we definitely don’t want a deluded motivation as that won’t help anyone.
I always remember Geshe-la’s advice that, while our pet is still alive, we have the opportunity to be with her and love her and protect her, but when she dies that opportunity has gone, and we don’t even know what more horrible suffering she is experiencing all on her own. Death is not the end of suffering, as we know, so this is a good note of caution for not putting down our pet prematurely.
Having said that, I think that sometimes there can be a case for making their actual deathbed experience less painful and scary, just as we pump humans full of morphine even though it hastens their death. (If our human or furry friends are already in the process of dying, we presumably also don’t incur the karma of killing them?)
Hi Luna – it’s lovely to ‘meet you’ – I saw your connection on Spirit of Less and am following my own path in this direction too….wishing you peace and light, TS x
Hi Tracey, thank you! I like your blog too
http://traceysmith.info/
I would not say you were a “rubbishauthor”, as your email address declares