Our Teachers

Here you can find short bios of our teachers:

Gen Kelsang Sherab | Richard Carr | Kelsang Dorje | Eileen Pennington

Gen Kelsang Sherab

Compassion Centre’s resident teacher is Gen Kelsang Sherab. He is a student of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and has studied and practised Buddhism for many years giving him a wealth of knowledge and teaching experience. He has been an ordained monk for seven years and prior to that was a senior member of the Sangha at Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre in York.

‘All the externals that I was dependent on are not there now and I’m still happy, so I believe that meditation allows me to rely on my own inner resources. It actually gives me a lot of confidence. Sometimes you think about the future – everything can disappear in a second – we cannot take too much for granted. Then the one thing I have to rely upon is the confidence about the inner resources that I have, coming from my inner peace and the confidence that I know how to make my mind stronger.’

Richard Carr

Richard has been practising Dharma for over 11 years and is a senior member of Compassion Centre. He teaches with great clarity and gentleness. His classes reflect his approachable, dependable and compassionate nature. He is an inspiring example of a Buddhist practitioner.

 ’Buddha’s teachings have shown me how to have a happier, more relaxed life simply by changing my mind, and I really enjoy sharing this and helping others do the same.’

Kelsang Dorje

Dorje has been practising Kadampa Buddhism for about eleven years, both at Compassion Centre and at Atisha Kadampa Buddhist Centre. He became ordained as a monk in the summer of 2009. He has a refreshingly down to earth attitude to Dharma and tries very hard to fill his classes with humour.

‘There is a great deal of joy to be found in studying and practising Dharma. I think it is important that people realise this. Demonstrating the benefits and pleasures of this practice is one of the most important aspects of being a teacher. This is something done with actions, not simply with words.’

‘In my life before Dharma, I gave myself every opportunity to find happiness in the everyday world. These so-called pleasures left me sick, miserable and struggling to deal with the vicissitudes of life. It was through meeting the people at Compassion Centre, and in Kadampa Buddhism at large, that I learned to gain control, find more stable peace and happiness, and finally make life more worthwhile.’

Eileen Pennington

Eileen, a Drama teacher and theatre practitioner by profession, has been practicing Buddhism since the mid-1970s. She was instrumental in the founding of Compassion Kadampa Buddhist Centre in 1996. Greatly loved by everyone at Compassion Centre, her interactive style of teaching, laced with humour, is intended to involve people in their own learning, helping them to integrate their spiritual understandings into daily life.