Over the weekend of the 19th & 20th September 2026, the community in Manchester welcomed Khaywang Lama Jampa Thaye, as he resumed teaching the classical Mahayana text The Supreme Continuity, Tib. Gyud Lama. The Gyud Lama, first transmitted from Maitreya to Asanga, in 4th century India, is one of the most important teachings in the Karma Kagyu tradition. It provides a reasoned basis for the reality of the buddha nature, through which one can gain the confidence needed to relax into authentic mahamudra meditation.
Over three sessions, Lama Jampa continued teaching Vajra Point Four, The Element, elucidating the root text alongside Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s superb commentary The Indomitable Lion’s Roar. The buddha nature teachings describe the true nature of mind as being intrinsically endowed with the qualities of enlightenment, and that which obstructs them, the veil of disturbing emotions and obscuration of knowledge, as totally adventitious, never having been part of the buddha nature. These coverings are totally unreal and hence can be removed through the practice of the path. In this way the qualities of mind become apparent, like clouds clearing to reveal a stainless sky.
‘The basic element is empty of what is adventitious,
Which has the characteristic of being separable.
It is not empty of the unsurpassable attributes,
Which have the characteristic of being inseparable.’
Gyud Lama
With the foundation of a thorough understanding of emptiness, as detailed in the Madhyamaka treatises, to hear the teaching of the buddha nature is a wonderful introduction to the nature of mind. That this teaching represents Shakyamuni Buddha’s highest intention, is the special understanding of the Zhengtong Madhyamaka.
It was such a joy to come together in this way, as longstanding friends and people new to the path, to hear Lama Jampa explore this profound dharma teaching with characteristic clarity and insight. Outside of the teaching time we enjoyed each other’s company in Manchester’s bright and lively Northern Quarter, and spent time in the spiritual oasis that is Kagyu Ling.
To finish the weekend, Lama Jampa bestowed the initiation of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Sixteen Arhats, from the lineage of Atisha. This is a practice performed daily in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and at Dechen centres on the Four Great Buddha Days. The practice exists in sutra form, where it is a powerful ritual for creating merit and auspicious conditions for the continuation of the dharma and long life of the lama, and in tantric form, transmitted through initiation, where, when taken as one’s yidam, one can attain the siddhis of Vajrayana practice.
Lama Jampa will return to Manchester from the 28th to 31st December, to continue teaching ‘The Gateway to Knowledge’, the parallel text we are studying, composed by the Nyingma master Ju Mipham Rinpoche.