As soon as this magazine published an article about the 25th anniversary of the Kadampa Meditation Center of Georgia (KMC-GA) last August, its resident teacher, Gen Norden, was recalled to the U.K. The new resident teacher is Kelsang Dechok.

Dechok, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was ordained in 2006 and since then has worked in center management in New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, New York and Chicago. “I’ve also had the opportunity to help with Kadampa temple art projects in England, Arizona, Brazil and Baltimore,” says Dechok, who received six months of intensive teacher training at the tradition’s mother center in England.

Indeed, Atlanta is her first assignment as a resident teacher, and the newly minted instructor gave her first teaching in Atlanta on September 3. “I love Atlanta!” says Dechok. “I’ve never spent time in the South, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the friendly people, green spaces and hub of activity nearby our meditation center in Inman Park.”

KMC-GA is part of the New Kadampa Tradition, a Mahayana Buddhist organization. “I’m looking forward to sharing the methods taught by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, my teacher, which allow us to bring Buddha’s teachings into our daily life, put them into practice and make progress in our spiritual path, not to mention help us solve our daily problems. In particular, I’m looking forward to the Sunday morning class, where we will be exploring various topics such as The Healing Power of Meditation, Beyond Anger and Love and Connection.”