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Ole Nydahl

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File:Lama Ole Nydahl LDN05.jpg
Ole Nydahl, London, 2005

Ole Nydahl (born March 19, 1941) is a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism of the Karma Kagyu lineage and leader of the Diamond Way organisation. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Teachers

The first teacher of Ole Nydahl and his late wife, Hannah Nydahl was the Drukpa Kagyu master Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche. In December 1969[1] Ole and Hannah Nydahl met the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, a renowned yogi and the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage. They were among the first Western students of the 16th Karmapa and also close students of the 14th Shamarpa. From the 16th Karmapa, Hannah and Ole received the teachings of the Vajrayana and teachings on the nature of mind (Skt. Mahamudra). From the 14th Shamarpa they received the Bodhisattva Promise and teachings on Gampopa’s Jewel Ornament of Liberation.

Activity

As a result of their encounter with the 16th Karmapa, and his request for them to help bring Buddhism to the West, Hannah and Ole Nydahl began to teach Buddhism and organize meditation centers, first in their native Denmark and then in Germany and other countries. The centres have the title "Diamond Way Buddhism", they belong to the Karma Kagyu Lineage, and operate under Ole Nydahl's practical guidance. As of January 2008, there are 568 Diamond Way centers throughout the world, mainly in Europe, Russia and the United States. Ole Nydahl travels between them during the year giving lectures and meditation courses. His courses cover topics such as 'Mahamudra' (The Great Seal) and ‘Phowa’ (the ‘Practice of conscious dying’, or ‘Transference of consciousness at the time of death’). He has travelled almost constantly for the last 35 years, teaching in a new city nearly every day. His busy teaching schedule is accessible through the Diamond Way Buddhism website.

Together with his close students, Nydahl has attempted to create an accessible teaching style and centers which function free from hierarchy and unnecessary cultural baggage. The activity of the Diamond Way centers is based on volunteer work.

In the Diamond Way Centers the meditations and names of the various buddha forms have been translated into the different western languages, emulating the work of Marpa in bringing the Buddhist teachings from India to Tibet. Ole Nydahl believes that the fact that people can understand and read the meditations in their own language is essential because only by doing this will Buddhism become truly rooted in the West.

Nydahl is an enthusiastic skydiver and often uses parachuting metaphors in his teaching. In July 2003 on his eighty-eighth jump, he was seriously injured while free-falling in lotus position[2]. He has since made a full recovery. He is the author of nine books in English, including "The Way Things Are", "Entering the Diamond Way" and "The Great Seal".

Controversies

Along with the 14th Shamarpa, who holds the second highest rank within the Karma Kagyu school, Ole Nydahl is one of the supporters of Trinley Thaye Dorje in the controversy over the identity of the 17th Karmapa, who assert the Dalai Lama is not entitled to recognize (and has never before recognized) the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.[3] [4] The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed the recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the Karmapa after he had been requested to by Tai Situ Rimpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche.[5]

Ole Nydahl has been criticised for using the title of Lama, despite having not completed the usual retreats required to take on such a title. Chöje Lama Namsen Rinpoche states that the 16th Karmapa during a meeting in 1977 told Ole Nydahl "You are not a Lama. You have met many Lamas, but you are not one of them. What you can do is tell others about Dharma, but you can't act like a Lama". [6] In a letter on Nydahl's website, Shamar Rinpoche addresses this issue and states that it is appropriate for Nydahl to hold the title of Lama. [7]

According to Oliver Freiberger, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin,[8] there is an "ongoing controversy"[9] about Ole Nydahl. Freiberger reports that the German Buddhist Union's periodical Lotusblatter claims that Nydahl's statements and activities offend a number of German Buddhists who claim that his conduct is not appropriate for a Buddhist teacher.[9] "Nydahl has been accused not only of speaking in a conceited and militaristic way, but also of being right wing, racist, sexist, and hostile to foreigners. His unusual activities (e.g., bungee jumping, fast motor cycles and parachuting) also annoy Buddhists who are not his followers—be they other adherents of the Karma Kagyü school or not."[9][10][11]

Martin Baumann, Professor at the University of Bern (Swiss), remarked in an interview (2005) that critics accuse Ole Nydahl of teaching a kind of "Buddhism light" or "Instant Buddhism" and that he agrees with them when he hears his "alarmingly superficial phrases".[12]

In 2007 he replied in an interview to the question "What is your biggest fear today?":

"I have two fears for the world: overpopulation and Islam. Those two things could destroy the world, which could otherwise be a beautiful place. Overpopulation means that a lot of people are born under conditions that are not human. We should pay the poor countries, the poor people, to have less children. If we give them a couple dollars a day, they can have one or two children and educate them instead of having 10 that sit around begging and cannot do anything."[13]

Responses to the controversies

When asked if it is the task of a Buddhist teacher to address social and political issues Ole Nydahl responded:

"... If the people who can see further don't speak, they are shirking their responsibility. I always say, ‘I don't have to be popular, but I must be right.’" [14]
"... The teacher must act as he speaks. He should also not simply avoid confrontational subjects but point out the causes of future trouble like overpopulation in ghettos and poor countries, and the growth of Islam. If a teacher always tells sweet nothings he is not protecting his students. He must be willing to offend some. This is his responsibility." [15]

Trinley Thaye Dorje, one of the two 17th Karmapa candidates and head of one of the branches of Karma Kagyu, states "Lama Ole Nydahl is one of the closest disciples of my predecessor (the 16th Karmapa) and qualified teacher who transmits the flawless teachings of the Karma Kagyu lineage. Through his activity over the last three decades, he has benefited many by presenting the profound methods of the Buddhas and the Diamond Way is one of the many methods relevant to the people in the West"[16]

The 14th Shamarpa, Mipham Chokyi Lodro, the second highest lama within the same branch of Karma Kagyu, refers to Ole Nydahl as a "Buddhist Master" who "transmits the blessing and activity of the Karma Kagyud Lineage" (1983)[17] and stated that it is "absolutely appropriate" for him "to hold the title of Lama" (2006)[18]

Bibliography

Ole Nydahl has written several books in either English or German which have been translated into several European languages.

Most popular English titles:

  • Ngondro: The Four Foundational Practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Blue Dolphin Publishing (1990). ISBN 978-0931892233
  • Riding the Tiger: Twenty Years on the Road - Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Blue Dolphin Publishing (1992). ISBN 978-0-931892-67-7
  • Entering the Diamond Way: Tibetan Buddhism meets the West. Blue Dolphin Publishing (1999). ISBN 978-0-931892-03-5
  • The Great Seal: Limitless Space and Joy - The Mahamudra View of Diamond Way Buddhism. Fire Wheel Publishing (2004). ISBN 0975295403

"The Way Things Are: A living Approach to Buddhism for todays world". O Books (2008). ISBN 978-1-84694-042-2

References

  1. ^ Letter from Shamar Rinpoche
  2. ^ Gearing, Julian (December 25), "Tibetan Buddhism the Western way part 3", Asia Times {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  3. ^ Affidavit of Professor Geoffrey Brian Samuel, Lama vs. Hope and Ors, CIV-2004-404-001363, High Court of New Zealand Auckland Registry, November 11, 2004, submitted as part of a court case concerning a contest for a property run as a Karma Kagyu Buddhist center (negating the claim that there is a historical precedent for the Dalai Lama to recognise the Karmapa)
  4. ^ Court decision, Lama vs. Hope and Ors, CIV-2004-404-001363, High Court of New Zealand Auckland Registry, March 10, 2005. The case was judged in favour of the Plaintiff, Beru Khyentse Rinpoche, on the basis of Geoffrey Samuel’s affidavit
  5. ^ Ken Jolmes, "Karmapa", page 56, ISBN 3-89568-027-3
  6. ^ [1] Danish Karma Kagyu site
  7. ^ document 3
  8. ^ EUREKA | Faculty | Oliver Freiberger
  9. ^ a b c Oliver Freiberger, Department for the Study of Religion University of Bayreuth, Germany, in Inter-Buddhist and Inter-Religious Relations in the West
  10. ^ German Buddhist Union (DBU) Magazine Lotusblätter 13, no. 4, [1999], 64f.
  11. ^ Lotusblätter 14, no. 1, [2000], 56-61
  12. ^ Baumann, Martin 2005: Interview Neue Luzerner Zeitung, 04/11/2005, "Eine Art Buddhismus Light?"
  13. ^ Duhárová, Bibiána. Ace of Diamonds: A conversation with Lama Ole Nydahl in The Prague Post, July 11, 2007.
  14. ^ Interview with Nydahl
  15. ^ Learning in a Total Way: Teacher - Student Relationship
  16. ^ "The Way Things Are"; 2008 edition; O Books, www.o-books.net
  17. ^ see document 2 on Ole Nydahl's website
  18. ^ see document 3 on Ole Nydahl's website
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