6th UK KAGYU MONLAM
20 May 2026 - 26 May 2026
Cost: £0.00
Venue: Samye Ling
Registration and Accommodation Bookings for the 6th UK Kagyu Monlam will open on 15th March 2026 when you can book by sending an email with your details to bookings@samyeling.org.
The 6th UK Kagyu Monlam will take place during Saga Dawa, the most auspicious month in the Tibetan calendar, where the anniversary of Lord Buddha’s Birth, His Enlightenment and Parinirvana all occur. The Monlam begins on the morning on the 4th day of Saga Dawa and finishes in the evening of the 10th day, Guru Rinpoche day.
As in previous years, both Drupon Khen Rinpoche and our Abbot, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will preside over the daily practice sessions. Drupon Rinpoche will also give two teaching sessions daily.
A few days after the Monlam, on the auspicious 15th day of Saga Dawa (31st May 2026), the anniversary of Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment and Parinirvana, our Abbot, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will give Refuge to anyone wishing to enter the Buddhist Path. Please send an email to reception@samyeling.org if you would like to take refuge on this day.
About Drupon Khen Rinpoche's teaching:
Drupon Rinpoche's teachings are for those looking to challenge their limitations and cosy corners of ignorance—particularly those with the courage to reassess their current perspectives and extend the scope of their concern to encompass as many others as possible. In Rinpoche's approach, nothing is deemed too sacred to escape analysis: one's practice, knowledge, personal hang-ups, the Buddha, Buddhist institutions and traditions, and Rinpoche himself are all open to scrutiny. If you are open-minded, wish to make progress in your practice, care about the authentic teachings of the Buddha and how they might be integrated into the West, you may find these teachings insightful and are most welcome to attend.
The Kagyu Monlam is a major international prayer festival held annually in Bodhgaya, India, where people gather to listen to Buddhist teachings and to pray for peace and harmony and the well-being and happiness of the world. It is now also held annually in other countries all over the world on a smaller scale and this will be the sixth time it is being held in the UK.
There is no charge for the Kagyu Monlam. If you wish to contribute please ask at our Reception Office.
History: Though the Kagyu Monlam belongs fully to the contemporary world, its roots lie in 15th-century Tibet, where the 7th Karmapa, Chödrak Gyatso, established the tradition of great prayer gatherings. People from all over Tibet assembled annually to pray for the benefit of all sentient beings. In India, the Monlam tradition began in 1983, when two great lamas in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Kalu Rinpoche and Bokar Rinpoche, began holding annual prayer gatherings at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya.
After the 17th Karmapa assumed responsibility for the festival in 2004, he brought in many innovations, creating the international festival that exists today.