New Kadampa Tradition

The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT—IKBU) is a global Buddhist new religious movement founded by Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991. The NKT-IKBU is an international organisation registered in England as a charitable, or non-profit, company. The NKT-IKBU has expanded more rapidly than other Buddhist traditions in Great Britain, and has spread across the globe. It currently lists more than 1,300 affiliated centres in over 25 countries.

The NKT-IKBU teaches a form of Gelug Tibetan Buddhism which it says is inspired and guided by "the ancient Kadampa Buddhist Masters and their teachings", as presented by its founder, Tibetan-born Kelsang Gyatso. Kelsang Gyatso sought to make Buddhist meditation and teaching more readily accessible to Westerners living in the 21st century. Scholars of Buddhism generally consider the New Kadampa Tradition as outside mainstream Tibetan Buddhism, but its teachings are generally in line with Gelug Buddhism.

The New Kadampa Trust has been criticised for its rejection of other Buddhist groups, the exclusivity of its teachings, its worship of Dorje Shugden, and its association with an anti-Dalai Lama protest movement, the International Shugden Community, which is supported by China. Former members and their families have also raised concerns about the group and its practices.