Overview
DATES: Saturday 11th July 2026
TIME: 2 pm to 3:30 pm
LOCATION: In Person and Online
LEVEL: Restricted to Venerable Gendun’s students either from FPMT Basic Programme or In Depth Meditation Training (IDMT)
Venerable Losang Gendun : Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow Ceremonies
These ceremonies are for Venerable Gendun’s students from FPMT Basic Programme and IDMT only.
If you are interested in taking refuge or Bodhisattva Vows and aren’t one of Ven Gendun’s students please contact Chrissie on spc@jamyangleeds.co.uk to find out about other oppoortunities.
Refuge Ceremony:
The Refuge Ceremony is for those who wish to become Buddhist practitioners.
When you take refuge in the three jewels. You are committing to the Buddhist Path by
Trusting the Buddha as a teacher
The Dharma as the true path leading to liberation from Samsara (Suffering)
The Sangha as support
You can take refuge yourself in front of a statue of Buddha, but it is a really beautiful experience to have opportunity to take refuge with a refuge master.
When you take refuge, you aren’t committing to any particular Buddhist tradition or school of Buddhism. Just to the three jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
Lama Yeshe said: ‘When you take refuge in Buddhadharma, the important point is that you have recognized your own profound potential, and from the beginning can see that, “I can do something; I can take responsibility for liberating myself.”’
It is important to be clear before taking refuge, what is involved and what commitments you are going to take. Please read more about refuge in this FPMT Booklet: Refuge in the Three Jewels. Send any questions you have about taking refuge to Chrissie on spc@jamyangleeds.co.uk
Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony:
The Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony is for those who have already have taken refuge, have studied Buddhism in depth, have decided that the Mahayana Path is for them and are committed to achieving enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
There are two aspects to taking the Bodhisattva Vows:
Wishing (Aspiring ) Bodhicitta
Engaging Bodhicitta
When generating Aspiring Bodhicitta by way of ritual, one makes the promise in front of a master or a visualised field of merit, that one will practice actual Bodhicitta and work for the benefit of sentient beings until one has reached enlightenment. It entails keeping to the five precepts.
You develop Engaging Bodhicitta by taking the actual Bodhisattva Vows. When you take the actual Bodhisattva Vows you commit yourself to engaging in the Bodhisattva conduct - the practice of the six perfections - in addition to the previous commitments. This is ensured by keeping the 18 root and 46 secondary Bodhisattva Vows.
Lama Zopa said: ‘When you live in vows, not only are you not harming others but for twenty-fours a day you are constantly creating merit—while you eat, talk, walk and do all your activities, and even while you’re sleeping. This makes life so meaningful, so enjoyable’
It is important to be clear before taking Bodhisattva Vows, what is involved and what vows you are promising to take and what to do if you break a vow. Please read more about the Bodhisattva vows in this FPMT Booklet The Bodhisattva Vows also in this very useful Bodhisattva Vows Overview from Venerable Losang Gendun of The Buddha Project. Send any questions about taking Bodhisattva Vows to Chrissie on spc@jamyangleeds.co.uk
FPMT Booklet: The Bodhisattva Vows
ABOUT YOUR refuge / Bodhisattva Vow master: Venerable Losang Gendun
Venerable Losang Gendun has spent nearly four decades in Buddhist practice and has lived as a fully ordained Bhikshu in the Tibetan tradition for the past twenty years. Before taking robes, he worked across a wide range of fields — palliative care, technology, refugee organizations, and management — a breadth of human experience that continues to inform his teaching.
His formal training spans ten years of study in monasteries across France, India, Nepal, and Myanmar, complemented by more than four years in solitary retreat engaging deeply with Tibetan sutra and tantra, as well as the Burmese Theravāda Forest Tradition.
For the past eighteen years, Ven. Gendun has taught Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation to students around the world. He serves the vision of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a teacher within the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), and is a member of Mind & Life Europe, a multidisciplinary initiative bringing together scientists and contemplative practitioners to investigate the nature of mind and experience.
In 2023, Ven. Gendun founded The Buddha Project — a long-term initiative offering sustained guidance for serious meditators, fostering dialogue between Buddhist traditions, supporting scientific research into contemplative practice, and exploring the intersection of Dharma and the arts.
If you want to hear Ven. Gendun’s story in his own voice, listen to the Wisdom Podcast.
Donations:
Please donate as you feel for these ceremonies.
Donations help us to keep the centre and the Buddha Dharma flourishing. We will also provide a donation to Venerable Gendun on everyones behalf.
Gift Aid: if you are a UK taxpayer we can claim back 25p for every £1 you donate. More information on Gift Aid can be found here.
It’s good to practice generosity within your means when you can. We never turn anyone away from the Dharma for financial reasons.