He is the founder and former spiritual director of the New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union ( NKT-IKBU ), a Western Buddhist order based primarily on the teachings of the Gelugpa tradition, albeit " not subordinate to Tibetan authorities other than Geshe Gyatso himself.

Although he is in good health, in August 2009 he voluntarily stepped down as General Spiritual Director of the NKT-IKBU, in a democratic system of succession that he established in the NKT-IKBU's Internal Rules.

" Continuing this task, a new book entitled Modern Buddhism: The Path of Wisdom and Compassion is slated for release in 2010, and its oral transmission will be given by Geshe Kelsang at the Fall 2010 NKT-IKBU Festival.

However, as it is an independent Western Buddhist organization, the Dalai Lama has no authority in terms of how the NKT-IKBU is organized and what practices are taught.

Geshe Kelsang said at an NKT-IKBU Festival in 1995 that the Gelug tradition is in a state of " serious degeneration.

The NKT-IKBU is an international organization registered in England as a charitable, or non-profit, company.

The main practice in the NKT-IKBU is Lamrim ( the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment ), Lojong ( Training the Mind ), and Vajrayana Mahamudra ( the practices of Highest Yoga Tantra ).

" It is believed by NKT-IKBU followers that the teachings transmit the pure lineage of Je Tsongkhapa in its entirety.

# The Teacher Training Program ( TTP ) is, according to Cozort, the " NKT's most ambitious undertaking ," intended for people who wish to train as NKT-IKBU Dharma Teachers who, in turn, will teach Buddhism to newcomers as well as serve as tantric gurus.

NKT Day commemorates the founding of the NKT-IKBU, while International Temples Day is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of building Kadampa Buddhist Temples throughout the world.

The ordination tradition of the NKT-IKBU differs from that of other Buddhist groups in that it is based on the Mahayana Perfection of Wisdom Sutras instead of the Hinayana Vinaya Sutras.

" Robert Bluck observed that in the NKT-IKBU a Vinaya Sutras-based " full ordination is not available, and those who do ordain remain as novices, though again this is common in Tibet.

Qualification as an NKT-IKBU Dharma teacher is generally achieved by attending the NKT-IKBU's own Teacher Training Program, which Geshe Kelsang regards as " a western equivalent to the traditional Tibetan Geshe degree.

Regarding the qualifications of NKT-IKBU teachers, Kay observed that " Whilst personal experience of the teachings is considered important, the dominant view within the NKT is that the main qualification of a teacher is their purity of faith and discipleship.

In comparison, Waterhouse says the NKT-IKBU " is very good at marketing its product ", with Centers and branches producing leaflets that advertise local NKT-IKBU groups in their respective towns, a level of publicity that according to Jones is comparatively more " forceful and extroverted " with regard to other Buddhist groups, and has helped the NKT-IKBU to achieve " a phenomenal increase in membership and centres.

Instead of presenting itself as a Tibetan tradition, James Belither has said that the NKT-IKBU is " a Mahayana Buddhist tradition with historical connections with Tibet ", saying it wishes " to present Dharma in a way appropriate to their own culture and society without the need to adopt Tibetan culture and customs.

According to the NKT-IKBU, it " seeks not to offer a westernized form of Buddhism, but rather to make traditional Gelugpa Buddhism accessible to westerners.

" In creating a new synthesis of Buddhist doctrine, ethics and practice, Je Tsongkhapa endeavored " to rid Tibetan of its pre-Buddhist shamanic elements ," and the NKT-IKBU sees itself as continuing to keep Tsongkhapa's unique form of Buddhism free of non-Buddhist teachings and practices.

The NKT-IKBU follows the tradition of Kadampa Buddhism derived from the Buddhist meditators and scholars Atisha ( AD 982 – 1054 ) and Je Tsongkhapa ( 1357 – 1419 AD ), as taught by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Giving an overview of the purpose of the programs, the NKT-IKBU says: " Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has designed three special Study Programs for the systematic study and practice of Kadampa Buddhism that are especially suited to the modern world.

Oxford professor Peter Clarke sees a paradox here, and has characterised the NKT-IKBU as a " controversial Tibetan Buddhist New Religious Movement ," not because of any moral failings but because of the NKT-IKBU's separation from contemporary Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the NKT-IKBU, it is Tibetan in its antecedents and follows the teachings of the historic, " Old " Kadampa and the " New Kadam " Tradition of Je Tsongkhapa, the latter of which became the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

After completing his retreat in the early months of 1991, Geshe Kelsang announced the creation of the NKT-IKBU, an event which was celebrated by his students in the NKT-IKBU magazine Full Moon as " a wonderful development in the history of the Buddhadharma.

After completing his retreat in the spring of 1991, Geshe Kelsang announced the creation of the NKT-IKBU, an event which was celebrated by his students in the NKT-IKBU magazine Full Moon as " a wonderful development in the history of the Buddhadharma.

In 1992, the NKT-IKBU was legally incorporated under English law, which constituted the formal foundation of the NKT-IKBU.

" Another attraction is the high level of activity at an NKT-IKBU Dharma center, where it is often possible to be taking part at the center every day of the week, in contrast to other groups " which meet on a weekly basis but provide little other support or activity.

The NKT-IKBU is one of the largest Buddhist movements in the UK, which describes itself as " a new organization making an ancient tradition accessible to all ", by combining Tibetan tradition with western adaptation.

Acting from of a sense of " spiritual solidarity " for Dorje Shugden practitioners in India, hundreds of members of the NKT-IKBU joined in the Western Shugden Society in publicly demonstrating against the Dalai Lama's " explicit ban " which resulted in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's expulsion from his alma mater, Sera Je monastery.

" The NKT-IKBU has grown to become a global Buddhist organisation that currently lists more than 200 centres and around 900 branch classes / study groups in 40 countries.

" Since that time, the NKT-IKBU has grown to comprise over 1100 Centres and groups throughout 40 countries.

Since that time, the NKT-IKBU has grown to comprise over 1, 100 Centres and groups throughout 40 countries.

The NKT-IKBU has established a Kadampa Buddhist Temple in the United Kingdom, as well as in Canada, the United States, and Spain ; recently opened a Temple in Brazil, with plans to build one in Germany too.

In a teaching called Training as a Qualified Dharma Teacher, Geshe Kelsang explained where the teachers of the NKT-IKBU come from:

James Belither, former secretary of the NKT-IKBU and editor for Tharpa Publications, asks what it means to expel someone from an establishment they graduated from forty years previously, and explained the political circumstances surrounding Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's " expulsion ":

" The study programs of the NKT-IKBU are what distinguishes it from all other Buddhist traditions.

Critics on the other hand characterize the NKT-IKBU as " a breakaway movement and argue that the New Kadampa Tradition, as it is known today, is not part of the ancient Kadampa Tradition but a split from the Gelug school.

" Geshe Kelsang refers to NKT-IKBU practitioners as Gelugpas, defining Gelug as:

When asked about the relationship between the NKT-IKBU and the Gelug tradition, Geshe Kelsang again self-identified as a Gelugpa:

" Cozort confirms that the NKT-IKBU " is not subordinate to Tibetan authorities other than Geshe Gyatso himself.

" The NKT-IKBU disagrees that there is a contradiction, saying " It is possible to be a follower of Je Tsongkhapa's lineage but not a Tibetan Buddhist, just as a child of Russian immigrants to America may consider themselves American but not Russian.

Following a three-year retreat in Tharpaland, Dumfries, he founded the NKT-IKBU in 1991.

He retired as General Spiritual Director of the NKT-IKBU in August 2009 but continues to write books and practice materials.

During his retreat, he wrote five books and established the foundations of the NKT-IKBU.

At the heart of the NKT-IKBU are its three study programs: the General Program, the Foundation Program, and the Teacher Training Program.

In these programs people can study Geshe Kelsang's books with authorized NKT-IKBU Dharma teachers.

Kay says that NKT-IKBU practitioners practice their tradition exclusively, " eschewing eclecticism.

NKT-IKBU Dharma Centres are mixed communities of lay and ordained practitioners who are all on the same teaching programs.

Bluck lists the specific traditional teachings that are seen as important in the NKT-IKBU: " the nature of the mind, karma and reincarnation, the preciousness of human life, the role of meditation, death, and the commitments of going for refuge ", as well as " understanding the Four Noble Truths, developing renunciation, and the training of moral discipline, concentration and wisdom ", followed by " becoming a compassionate bodhisattva ( by developing bodhicitta and the six perfections ), understanding the ultimate truth of emptiness and finally attaining Buddhahood.

NKT-IKBU offers three study programs: " the open and introductory General Programme, the Foundation Programme for more committed practitioners, and the demanding Teacher Training Programme.