New Kadampa Tradition - Separation From Contemporary Tibetan Buddhism - New Kadampa Tradition and Gelugpa Tradition

New Kadampa Tradition and Gelugpa Tradition

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.

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."

The founder of the Gelug school, Je Tsongkhapa, and his disciples were popularly known as the "new school of Kadam." Je Tsongkhapa himself referred to his monastic order as "the New Kadam" (Tib. Kadam Sarpa). The term Gelug came into use only after his death. Je Tsongkhapa's apparent eclecticism was actually "an attempt to determine which teachings and practices should be considered normative." 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. In this regard, Kelsang Gyatso explains:

It is the tradition of both Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa to base all their teachings on the word of Buddha and never to teach anything that contradicts Buddha's teachings. According to these two great Teachers, unless an instruction is referred to in either the Sutras or the Tantras it cannot be regarded as an authentic Buddhist teaching, even if it is a so-called 'terma', or 'hidden treasure text'. Whenever they gave teachings or composed texts, both Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa quoted liberally from both the Sutras and the Tantras. In this way they showed their great respect for Buddha's original teachings and emphasized the importance of being able to trace instructions back to them.

In short, Waterhouse says that "the early Gelugpa legacy is one which the NKT wishes to emulate" and that the name of the organization itself makes a statement about its "perceived roots within the 'pure' transmission of Indian Buddhism into Tibet." According to Lopez, "For Kelsang Gyatso to call his group the New Kadampa Tradition, therefore, is ideologically charged, implying as it does that he and his followers represent the tradition of the founder, Tsong kha pa, more authentically than the Geluk establishment and the Dalai Lama himself." Kay comments:

In defining the movement in this way, the organisation is not simply maintaining that it represents Buddhism adapted for westerners; it is also striving to underline its separation from the Tibetan Gelug sect and emphasise the point that the West – via the NKT – is now the guardian and custodian of the pure tradition of Tsongkhapa in the modern world. From an NKT viewpoint, Geshe Kelsang has played a unique role in the transmission of Tsongkhapa's pure teachings, and the organisation and study structures he has created in the West are now believed to protect and preserve a tradition that is all but lost in its indigenous Eastern context.

Kelsang Gyatso uses the terms New Kadampa and Gelugpa synonymously, in accordance with his lineage gurus as well as the current Dalai Lama, who explained: "So we call the teachings of both Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa the Kadampa tradition, and then slowly this becomes the New Kadampa and then finally it is known as the Gelugpa." Kelsang Gyatso refers to NKT-IKBU practitioners as Gelugpas, defining Gelug as:

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'.

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

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.

The closing prayers of all NKT-IKBU spiritual practices include two dedication prayers for the flourishing of the 'Virtuous Tradition' (i.e., the Gelugpas), these being "recited every day after teachings and pujas at all Gelugpa monasteries and Dharma Centres."

Of the words, "New Kadampa Tradition", James Belither (NKT Secretary for 20 years) states that the "word 'New' is used not to imply that it is newly created, but that it is a fresh presentation of Buddhadharma in a form and manner that is appropriate to the needs and conditions of the modern world."