About Us

Who we are

KMC Southampton is a Kadampa Buddhist Meditation Centre that offers a special presentation of Buddha’s teachings for the modern world. Regardless of age, race, gender or faith, anyone can benefit from Buddha’s advice on wisdom and compassion.

Kadampa Buddhism was introduced to modern society by the contemporary meditation master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. Due to his pioneering work, there are now around 1,200 similar Kadampa Meditation Centres worldwide.

Our meditation centre in Southampton is a special welcoming place of tranquillity, relaxation, reflection and friendship. It's home to an international Kadampa Buddhist community who share a similar wish to make their lives meaningful by finding lasting peace and happiness from within and helping others to do the same.

What we offer

We offer a variety of meditation classes for beginners to more experienced meditators. If you're interested in learning and improving your meditation skills, then we have a class for you, including:

Drop-in daytime and evening classes
Day and half day meditation workshops
Meditation retreats
Modern Buddhism study programmes
Weekly meditation classes in Southampton
Classes in many other locations, including Winchester, Bournemouth, Chichester, New Forest, Petersfield and Wickham
Meditation at work for companies and groups

Our Resident Teacher

Gen Kelsang Lekma

Gen Kelsang Lekma, a close disciple of the founder of our tradition, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, is our Resident Teacher. She's a senior Buddhist nun with nearly 30 years of teaching and meditation experience who has taught in the UK and the US for much of this time.

Gen Lekma is a very popular teacher and her clear, lighthearted and often entertaining talks express the path of wisdom and meditation in a way that most people of the modern world can relate to. She's greatly cherished by her students for her warm, light and wise example.

Gen Lekma teaches weekly classes, workshops and the study programmes, and guides meditation retreats in Southampton and the surrounding area. She also occasionally guides retreats at other meditation centres in the UK and abroad.

General Spiritual Director

Gen-la Dekyong

Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong is the General Spiritual Director of NKT-IKBU and resident teacher at Manjushri KMC. Born in the UK, she has been studying under Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for over 30 years.

Ordained as a Buddhist nun, Gen-la Dekyong has devoted her life to helping others by promoting modern Buddhism. She teaches at major events throughout the world and is well loved by thousands of students for her ability to touch their hearts, by showing how Buddha's teachings are directly relevant to their lives today.

UK NKT Spiritual Director

Kadam Bridget Heyes

Kadam Bridget Heyes is the NKT-IKBU National Spiritual Director for the UK. She is known for her powerful teachings, compassionate heart and deep understanding of Buddha’s wisdom advice. Her teachings are exceptionally clear and she presents profound ideas in a way that are easy to practise and integrate into daily life.

As a mother of two, she has a special insight into how to bring Buddhism alive to meet the demands of a busy modern life. Kadam Bridget shows an inspiring example for everyone on the spiritual path. She is Resident Teacher at Nagarjuna Kadampa Meditation Centre.

Our branch teachers

We have a wonderful experienced team who teach our branch classes, workshops and meditation classes at the city centre and other locations. All are qualified Kadampa meditation teachers and study on the Kadampa Teacher Training Programme.