NKT-IKBU in USA
Kadampa Buddhism was first introduced into the West in 1977 by the renowned Buddhist Master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, when he arrived in England.
Based at Manjushri Center in Cumbria, he worked tirelessly, first giving extensive teachings and commentaries, which later formed the basis for the 20 books that have now been published by Tharpa Publications.
The late 1970s saw the first Kadampa Buddhist Centers being established, with qualified teachers being drawn from the students of Geshe Kelsang.
Since that time he has overseen the establishment of more than 900 centers with classes in Buddhist meditation in more than 40 countries around the world, with more than 40 Kadampa Centers in the US alone.
2006 saw the official opening of the US Kadampa Temple for World Peace at the Kadampa Meditation Center in Glen Spey, NY, the second of many to be built and opened around the world. Geshe Kelsang has a vision of there being a Kadampa Temple for World Peace in every major city in the world - providing a focal point for the development of peace within the minds of every living being, the only real basis for world peace.
Vajrayana Buddhist Center, as with every other Kadampa Center in the world, is under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang, and is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union.