Special Commemoration Weekend for Geshe Damcho & Geshe Wangchen, with Khenchen Rinpoche & Geshe Losel – 21st to 22nd August 2026

• Date: Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd, & Sunday 23rd August 2026

• Time: Arrive Friday evening, closing Sunday after lunch

• Format: Residential, Onsite

Overview

We warmly invite you to join us for a special weekend of remembrance, gratitude, and practice honouring the extraordinary lives of Geshe Damcho Yonten and Geshe Wangchen — two eminent masters of the Gelug tradition whose kindness continues to benefit our community.

This gathering takes place around the anniversaries of both of their passing, offering a meaningful opportunity to come together in remembrance and appreciation of their immense contribution to the Dharma in the West.

For the Lam Rim community in particular, we remember with deep gratitude Geshe Damcho Rinpoche, the founding spiritual guide of Lam Rim, whose vision and tireless efforts firmly established the Dharma here in Wales and the UK.

During the weekend we will remember their kindness through:

• Traditional pujas led by Khenchen Rinpoche & Geshe Losel

• Public teachings by the community

• Guided meditation sessions

• Time for shared recollections, film and community connection

This will be a precious opportunity not only to honour our teachers, but also to deepen our own connection to the path they so compassionately transmitted. Commemorating our teachers is essentially Guru Yoga, helping us to:

• Strengthen guru devotion, the root of the path

• Accumulate merit and purify obscurations

• Deepen connection to the lineage

All are warmly welcome, long-time students and newcomers alike.

Geshe Damcho Yonten — Founder of Lam Rim

Geshe Damcho Yonten (1930–2017) was a highly accomplished Gelug scholar and practitioner who trained from childhood at Drepung Loseling Monastic University, one of the great monastic seats of learning within the Tibetan Buddhist world. Having completed the traditional and demanding course of study leading to the Geshe degree, he was later invited to the West, where he became one of the early generation of Tibetan teachers to establish Lam Rim teachings in the United Kingdom.

With immense humility, patience, and quiet determination, Geshe-la became the founding spiritual guide of Lam Rim in Wales, laying the authentic foundations upon which the community continues to grow today. Those who met him remember not only his scholarly depth but his gentleness, consistency, and unwavering dedication to his students. The very existence and continued flourishing of Lam Rim stands as a living testament to his extraordinary kindness and vision.

Geshe Wangchen — Senior Gelug Teacher and Jamyang London Resident Teacher

Geshe Wangchen, a Lharampa Geshe of the Gelug tradition, also trained extensively at Drepung Loseling Monastic University, sharing the same great monastic heritage as Geshe Damcho Rinpoche. After more than two decades of rigorous philosophical study, dialectical debate, and contemplative retreat, he emerged as a highly qualified scholar-practitioner within the classical Gelug system.

Geshe Wangchen went on to serve for many years as a resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre London, where he became widely respected for his clear, methodical presentation of the Lam Rim and Buddhist philosophy. His teaching style is characterised by precision, structure, and deep faithfulness to the classical texts, while remaining accessible and supportive for Western students. Through his sustained teaching activity in the UK and internationally, Geshe-la has played an important role in preserving and transmitting the authentic scholarly and contemplative traditions of Tibetan Buddhism to new generations of practitioners.

Schedule

• Friday 21st August 2026

  • Arrive from 5pm

  • 6:30pm-7:30pm - Supper

  • 7:30pm-9:00pm - Initial Puja, introduction and guided meditation

• Saturday 23rd May 2026

  • 7:00am-8:00am - Puja and morning meditation

  • 8:00am-9:00am - Breakfast

  • 9.15am-11:45am - Meditation, sitting and walking (with mini-break)

  • 11:45am-1:30pm - Lunch and Afternoon break

  • 1:30pm-2:30pm - Karma Yoga

  • 2:30am-5:00pm - Meditation and teaching

  • 5:00pm-7:00pm - Rest & Supper

  • 7:00pm-9:00pm - Puja, meditation, talk and Q&A

• Sunday 24th May 2026

  • 7:00am-8:00am - Puja and morning meditation

  • 8:00am-9:00am - Breakfast

  • 9.15am-11:45am - Meditation, sitting and walking (with mini-break)

  • 11:45am-1:30pm - Lunch and Afternoon break

  • 1:30pm-3:30pm - Teaching and meditation

  • 3:30pm - Course Ends

Lunch & Refreshments

We are pleased to provide complimentary refreshments throughout the day and a two course vegetarian lunch included in your booking. Please advise of any dietary requirements on the booking form.

Tickets & Donation

Everyone is welcome to attend Buddhist teachings freely with no donation. However, the Centre does rely on donations to stay open, which are gratefully received. We offer two main rates to enable as many people as possible to attend our teachings. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able. Your generosity is vital in supporting the Centre.

• Standard Rate - This includes a donation to help sustain Lam Rim Buddhist Centre, and to cover costs and teacher expenses. 

• Basic Rate - This covers the very basic costs of running this course.

• Support Rate - Contact us via lamrimwalesmanagers@gmail.com if the above rates are too high for you where we can discuss further subsidised options.