Venue
Kadampa Southeast Asian Dharma Celebration 2025 at Eastern & Oriental Hotel Penang, Malaysia
This year, the Kadampa Southeast Asian Dharma Celebration will be held at Eastern & Oriental Hotel Penang, Malaysia. This iconic landmark offers a tranquil setting with breathtaking sea views, perfect for reflection and inner peace. Explore the vibrant streets of George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and discover the beauty of Penang Hill and nearby beaches. Join us for an unforgettable journey of cultural immersion and spiritual growth at the E&O Hotel.
Event Venue
Ballroom: Arshak Suite, located on the Lower Ground Floor, Heritage Wing
An original oasis for early travellers in the East, the E&O remains the ideal place from which to explore George Town, the UNESCO World Heritage Site and Penang’s capital city. Standing at the intersection of Farquhar Street and Penang Road, the hotel is 20 kilometres from the Penang International Airport and within walking distance from the food havens, shopping complexes and entertainment outlets of downtown George Town.
Accommodation
There are several hotels that participants may book for accommodation. These are within walking distance of the Dharma Celebrations venue. Here are some nearby options:
- Eastern & Oriental Hotel
- Bayview Hotel Georgetown Penang
- lyf Georgetown Penang by The Ascott Limited
Please note that the festival fee excludes accommodation.
Registration
IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE
(BOOK BY 1 MARCH FOR 10% EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT)
S$260
FULL EVENT 4-7 APRIL
Per Day Friday S$35 | Saturday S$110 | Sunday S$80 | Mon S$50
ONLINE ATTENDANCE
(BOOK BY 1 MARCH FOR 10% EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT)
S$260
FULL EVENT
Recorded Video-on-Demand available from 12-20 April (Note: this event is not live-streamed)
AUDIO RECORDINGS
S$30
- - -
Recordings in English or Vietnamese. Only for in-person or online participants of SEADC 2025
Terms & Conditions
IN-PERSON
Fees for In-Person Attendance
Full event | 4-7 April
S$260
Per Day
Friday S$35 | Saturday S$110 | Sunday S$80 | Mon S$50
Book by 8 March 2025 for 10% early bird discount.
Children and Young Adults concession: 0 – 7 years Free 8 – 15 years 50% discount 16+ years Full adult price
Terms of Booking
1. You will need to choose either in-person or online at the time of booking. You will not be able to book for both.
2. Pre-registration is necessary. It is necessary to have booked and paid in full prior to arrival.
3. You will receive an email confirming the details of your booking and payment.
4. Booking cannot be transferred to another person.
5. The festival fee(s) does not include accommodation. Accommodation at venue hotel may be separately booked.
6. Amendments: If possible the SEADC 2025 will be held as announced in the publicity; however, the teaching, teaching topic, timetable, dates and location are subject to change.
7. Booking deadline: 4 April 2025
8. For avoidance of doubt, all dates and times on the festival website refer to the year 2025 and SG timezone.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
1. Full payment is required at the time of booking.
2. Cancellations: For whole event booking, S$50 deposit is non-refundable, and for per-day booking, S$10 deposit is non-refundable, in case of cancellations up to 7 days before the start of the festival. After this, the DC fee is fully non-refundable.
3. Any non-refunded fees arising from cancellations are donated to the NKT-IKBU International Temples Project.
4. Exceptions to the refund policy may be made in cases of sickness or bereavement; you should apply by e-mail to KMC Singapore ([email protected]) within 2 weeks of the end of the festival.
Translation
All teachings and meditations are conducted in English. Audio translation will be available in Vietnamese. We will use the LiveVoice app for in-person translation.
Audio Recordings
Audio recordings are of the teaching sessions only, in the language that you booked, and do not include the guided meditations. These may be purchased at the time of booking or later, by 22 April 2025. You must have booked to attend the festival. Audio recordings may be purchased separately at this link. Recordings are for the sole use of the registered recipient and may not be shared.
Photography and Video policy
The event may be photographed and/ or recorded on video. Images or video recording footage that include participants may be captured, and may be used on our website, and/ or for publication, print or social media. Participation in the event is conditioned upon consent to such use. If you would like to request to exclude the usage of photographs or video footages taken of you, please contact festival organizer at [email protected].
ONLINE
Fees for Online Attendance
Full event
S$260
Book by 8 March 2025 for 10% Early Bird Discount
Children and Young Adults concession: 0 – 7 years Free 8 – 15 years 50% discount 16+ years Full adult price
Recorded Video-on-demand only
The SEADC25 will not be live-streamed. Online videos of the Festival will be available as Video-on-demand only after the event has concluded. Video links will be sent out on 10 Apr (Thursday), and the videos will be available to watch from 12 Apr 9:00 AM to 20 Apr 2025 11:30 PM.
This excludes the Empowerment session, which will only be available for 24 hours, from 12 Apr 9:00 AM to 13 Apr 9:00 AM.
Terms of Booking
1. Online participation is open to people who are unable to attend in-person for reasons such as long-distance, or limited in-person places.
2. You will need to choose either in-person or online at the time of booking. You will not be able to book for both.
3. Registration is necessary.
4. Video-on-demand links are intended for the registered recipient only and may not be shared.
5. Booking cannot be transferred to another person.
6. Amendments: If possible the SEADC 2025 will be held as announced in the publicity; however, the teaching, teaching topic, timetable, dates and location are subject to change.
7. Booking deadline: 10 Apr 2025
8. For avoidance of doubt, all dates and times on the festival website refer to the year 2025 and SG timezone.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
1. Full payment is required at the time of booking.
2. Cancellations: S$15 admin fee is non-refundable for all cancellations up to 4 April. After this the fee is fully non-refundable.
3. Any non-refunded fees arising from cancellations are donated to the NKT-IKBU International Temples Project.
4. Exceptions to the refund policy may be made in cases of sickness or bereavement; you should apply by e-mail to KMC Singapore ([email protected]) within 2 weeks of the end of the DC.
Translation
All teachings and meditations are conducted in English. Audio translation will be available in Vietnamese. You will receive video-on-demand links only for the language that you booked.
Audio Recordings
Audio recordings are of the teaching sessions only, in the language that you booked, and do not include the guided meditations. These may be purchased at the time of booking or later, by 22 April 2025. You must have booked to attend the festival. Audio recordings may be purchased separately at this link. Recordings are for the sole use of the registered recipient and may not be shared.
Festival
Gen Kelsang Rabten
The Principal Teacher at SEADC 2025 will be Gen Kelsang Rabten.
Gen Rabten is the National Spiritual Director of Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and the Resident Teacher of KMC Australia and KMC Melbourne. Ordained in 1994, he has studied under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for 30 years and has taught in many Centres around the world.
Gen Rabten exemplifies the essence of the modern Kadampa way of life. He brings a warm heart and joyful attitude to sharing Buddha’s teachings and the practice of meditation.
Gen Kelsang Lamchung
Gen Kelsang Lamchung will lead the meditations at SEADC 2025.
Gen Lamchung is the Resident Teacher of Vajrapani Kadampa Buddhist Centre in Penang. She has been a faithful disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for more than 20 years and has extensive experience engaging in solitary and group retreats in Sutra and Tantra. She loves to share the joy of Dharma through showing how the ancient wisdom of Buddha’s teachings offers different solutions to difficulties in our daily life.
The Festival Programme
4 Apr (Fri)
19:30 – 21:00 | Introduction
5 Apr (Sat)
9:00 – 9:45 | Guided Meditation
11:00 – 13:00 | Blessing Empowerment of Buddha Je Tsongkhapa
16:00 – 17:30 | Teaching 1
18:30 – 19:45 | Wishfulfilling Jewel Prayers (Tsog Offering)
6 Apr (Sun)
9:00 – 10:00 | Guided Meditation
11:00 – 12:30 | Teaching 2
16:00 – 17:30 | Teaching 3
18:30 – 19:45 | Wishfulfilling Jewel Prayers (Tsog Offering)
7 Apr (Mon)
9:00 – 10:00 | Guided Meditation
11:00 – 12:30 | Teaching 4
Attending the festival Online
It is recommended to attend the SEADC 2025 in-person, but it will be possible to participate online if you are not able to attend in person.
Recorded Video-on-demand only The SEADC 2025 will not be live-streamed. Online videos of the Festival will be available as Video-on-demand only after the event has concluded. Video links will be sent out on 10 Apr (Thursday), and the videos will be available to watch from 12 Apr 9:00 AM to 20 Apr 2025 11:30 PM.
This excludes the Empowerment session, which will only be available for 24 hours, from 12 Apr 9:00 AM to 13 Apr 9:00 AM.
Our Founder
Our Founder
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche Spiritual Guide & Founder of Modern Kadampa Buddhism
Kadampa Festivals were founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a world-renowned meditation master and Teacher who inspired thousands of people around the world to apply the pure teachings of Buddha to their modern lives to solve their personal problems and discover a deep and lasting inner peace and happiness.
Through finding peace within our own hearts, developing the compassionate good heart of cherishing others, and working together with others, we can quickly find solutions to the world’s problems. In this way, there is great hope for peace in our world.
Kadampa Festivals are an important part of Venerable Geshe-la’s legacy giving people everywhere an opportunity to come together as an international family of spiritual practitioners and thus preserving our International Kadampa Buddhist Union.