The new Kadampa tradition and the continuity of Tibetan Buddhism in transition

Abstract

The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) recently attracted a lot of media attention by participating in a high‐profile campaign against the Dalai Lama during his visit to England in the summer of 1996. The issue at stake was the protector‐deity practice of rDo rje shugs ldan which the Dalai Lama has rejected on theological and political grounds, but which the NKT defines as its ‘essential’ practice. The significance of this dispute has been analysed in terms of its implications for the Tibetan political situation and the image of Buddhism in the West, but this article focuses on the implications for observers seeking to understand contemporary forms of Tibetan Buddhism in Western contexts. In particular, it is argued that an appreciation of Tibetan Buddhism in Britain requires the adoption of a cross‐cultural approach, and so the historical divisions within the dGe lugs tradition and the development of the rDo rje shugs ldan controversy are examined as the appropriate contexts for understanding the emergence of the NKT. In the light of these considerations the NKT's historical and ideological development is traced and, finally, the significance of the NKT's participation in the recent dispute—in terms of its stability and self‐identity—is discussed.