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Ole Nydahl

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Ole Nydahl
File:Lama Ole Nydahl LDN05.jpg
Date of birth: 19th March 1941
Place of birth: Copenhagen, Denmark
Birth name: Ole Nydahl
Date of death: N/A
Place of death: N/A
School: Vajrayana
Practice School: Kagyu
Lineage: Karma Kagyu
Order: "Diamond Way"
Titles/Honours: Lama (disputed, see Ole Nydahl#Controversies)

Ole Nydahl (born March 19, 1941 near Copenhagen, Denmark), is the founder and leader of Diamond Way Buddhism, an organisation in the branch of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism under Thaye Dorje.

Since the early 1970s he has toured the world, giving lectures and meditation courses and founding over 600 Diamond Way Buddhism meditation and study centers. He is the author of nine books in English, including The Way Things Are, Entering the Diamond Way, Riding the Tiger, The Great Seal, and Buddha and Love.

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 Vajrayana Buddhism and teachings on the nature of mind (Sanskrit mahamudra). From the 14th Shamarpa they received the Bodhisattva Promise and teachings on Gampopa’s Jewel Ornament of Liberation.

Early life and contact with Buddhism

Ole Nydahl's life before encountering Buddhism is recounted in his book Entering the Diamond Way,[2] which also describes how he met with Buddhism and the 16th Karmapa. In the early 1960s he briefly served in the Danish Army and fought as a professional boxer.

By the late sixties, Ole Nydahl was a short-tempered street-fighter from Copenhagen who had gotten into buying hashish and heroin in Nepal and smuggling it back home in Denmark to sell.[3] Nydahl wrote his doctoral thesis in philosophy at the University of Copenhagen (where he studied Philosophy, English, and German) on Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception, as he and many of his generation at the time believed that mind altering drugs such as LSD had a benefit for people. After their first trip to Kathmandu in 1968 Hannah and Ole were arrested for smuggling hashish back into Copenhagen, for which Ole Nydahl spent several months in prison. In his book, Ole Nydahl describes how all of his friends from the hippie era who continued to take drugs ended up dead and he now warns against the danger of drugs. After he and his wife Hannah met with and took Buddhist refuge with the 16th Karmapa in 1969, their lives took a different course. Such was the effect the Karmapa had on Hannah and Ole, they turned their back on drugs.

"...it is clear that the sixteenth Karmapa placed great trust in the Nydahls and had a special, close relationship with Ole in particular. For his part, Ole Nydahl has credited the Karmapa with reforming him from a boxer and casual marijuana dealer into a devoted, if unconventional, student and teacher of Buddhism." Erik D. Curren[4]

After spending three years at the 16th Karmapa’s side as his closest western students, in 1972 the 16th Karmapa sent them back to Denmark. He gave them a letter to deliver to the Queen of Denmark which stated, among other things, that "we have some very remarkable results with young people who are going through the trials of what might be called a war-torn and drug-deluded generation. We have our own way of showing the way to peace, and a natural healthy life".[5]

Teaching 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", belong to the Karma Kagyu lineage and operate under Ole Nydahl's practical guidance. As of August 2008, there are 585 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 unnecessary cultural baggage. The activity and non-hierarchical structure of the Diamond Way centers is based on volunteer work. "As is amply evident, hierarchical systems will not sell with independent people in the West. Nobody wants a distant teacher on a pedestal or a big organization standing on their shoulders and telling them what to think."[6] 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.

Jørn Borup (Department of Study of Religion at University of Aarhus, Denmark) says that Ole Nydahl is "the most lasting influence on the Buddhist practice scene in Denmark", and says that Ole Nydahl "in many ways been the icon of living Buddhism in Denmark".[[7]

Teaching style

Ole Nydahl is a popular, charismatic and controversial teacher, who regularly attracts hundreds of people to his lectures. His life experience and dry Danish sense of humour comes through in his unconventional teaching style, which has attracted criticism. Nonetheless, his endorsement as a lama who “transmits the blessing and activity of the Karma Kagyu Lineage”[8] by his own teachers such as Shamar Rinpoche is well documented. Of his own approach, Ole Nydahl states "My recipe is simple: tell people the necessity of finding something which can carry them through sickness, aging and death, and don’t be afraid to give them a glimpse of your joy of life. Tell people that the mind is like space: open, clear and limitless, and talk about both way and goal."[9]

Ole Nydahl has attracted criticism because of his approach, such as making sexual jokes or politically incorrect statements in his lectures. He explains that "…one should always insist on a healthy sense of humour and check that one’s helpers and examples on the way are not strange and don’t take themselves too seriously. It is especially important that they have a healthy, not frustrated view of sexuality, and they do not blindly follow politically correct trends but trust themselves."[10]

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,[11] but has since made a full recovery.

Controversies

Template:English sources See Also: Diamond Way#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.[12] [13] 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.[14]

Ole Nydahl has been criticised for using the title of Lama, despite having not completed the usual 3-year retreat often required to use such title.[15]

Oliver Freiberger assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, noted in year 2000 that Ole Nydahl “makes statements and takes part in activities that offend a number of Buddhists who claim that his conduct is not appropriate for a Buddhist teacher.”[16] He refers to the German Buddhist Union's periodical Lotusblatter, where Ole Nydahl has been accused for speaking in a conceited and militaristic way, being right wing, racist, sexist, and hostile to foreigners. Activities like bungee jumping, fast motor cycles and parachuting also annoy some Buddhists.[17]

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".[18]

Ole Nydahl has said "the Pope is responsible for a billion children in the world's ghettos" and has made critical comments regarding Islam.[19] In an interview in 2007, when asked "What is your biggest fear today?" Nydahl replied, "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."[20]

The Willamette Week newspaper, winner of the Pulitzer prize for Investigative Reporting [21] descripe him as "a friendly person who does really care for the person he's talking to", and that "it's easy to understand why people flock to the Lama."[22] However "some Buddhists are turned off by his skydiving, openly sexual, rockstar personality, in many ways the opposite of the common image of the Buddhist as a monk who stays above the sins of the world by retreating from them the meditate his life away in a temple. Others can forgive him the sex and motorcycles, but simply find his remarks about Islam to be xenophobic".[23]

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.’"[24]

"... 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."[25] 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"[26]

The 14th Shamarpa, Mipham Chokyi Lodro, refers to Ole Nydahl as a "Buddhist Master" who "transmits the blessing and activity of the Karma Kagyud Lineage" (1983)[27] and stated that it is "absolutely appropriate" for him "to hold the title of Lama" (2006)[28]

A certificate issued in 1995 from the Buddhist Institutes of the Gyalwa Karmapa states “we hereby recognize Ole Nydahl as a qualified Buddhist layman-teacher, as a Lama”. [29]

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, 1983
  2. ^ Nydahl, Ole "Entering The Diamond Way, Tibetan Buddhism Meets the West", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1999). ISBN 978-0-931892-03-5
  3. ^ Curren, Erik D. (2008) Buddha's Not Smiling, Uncovering the Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today Alaya Press ISBN 0-9772253-0-5
  4. ^ Curren, Erik D. (2008) Buddha's Not Smiling, Uncovering the Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today Alaya Press ISBN 0-9772253-0-5
  5. ^ Nydahl, Ole (1992) Riding The Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road - The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Blue Dolphin Publishing. ISBN 978-0-931892-67-7
  6. ^ Article in Buddhism Today, The Diamond Way Magazine (Volume 5 -1998) brought by 'Future of Buddhism'
  7. ^ Journal of Global Buddhism, Article by Jørn Borup, Department of Study of Religion at University of Aarhus, Denmark. 2008, based on research from 2005
  8. ^ According to the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje in his foreword in one of Ole Nydahl's books: Nydahl, Ole (2008)The Way Things are - A living Approach to Buddhism for todays world. O Books. ISBN 978-1-84694-042-2
  9. ^ Nydahl, Ole (1992) Riding The Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road - The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Blue Dolphin Publishing. ISBN 978-0-931892-67-7
  10. ^ Article in Buddhism Today, The Diamond Way Magazine (Volume 5 -1998) brought by 'Future of Buddhism'
  11. ^ Gearing, Julian (December 25 2003), "Tibetan Buddhism the Western way (part 3)", Asia Times {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ Ken Jolmes, Ken (1995) Karmapa. Altea Publishing ISBN 3-89568-027-3
  15. ^ Official letter from Shamarpa, 2006
  16. ^ Oliver Freiberger, Department for the Study of Religion University of Bayreuth, Germany, in Inter-Buddhist and Inter-Religious Relations in the West
  17. ^ Oliver Freiberger, Department for the Study of Religion University of Bayreuth, Germany, in Inter-Buddhist and Inter-Religious Relations in the West
  18. ^ Baumann, Martin 2005: Interview Neue Luzerner Zeitung, 04/11/2005, "Eine Art Buddhismus Light?"
  19. ^ http://www.lama-ole-nydahl.org/olesite/pages/dway/interview.html Interview with Ole Nydahl, 1998
  20. ^ Duhárová, Bibiána. Ace of Diamonds: A conversation with Lama Ole Nydahl in The Prague Post, July 11, 2007.
  21. ^ http://wweek.com/about/ Willamette Week
  22. ^ Interview in Willamette Week with Lama Ole Nydahl by Matt Graham. 2008
  23. ^ Interview in Willamette Week with Lama Ole Nydahl by Matt Graham. 2008
  24. ^ Interview with Nydahl (Dead link? January 18th 2009)
  25. ^ Learning in a Total Way: Teacher - Student Relationship, KIBI 1994
  26. ^ Nydahl, Ole (2008) The Way Things are - A living Approach to Buddhism for todays world. O Books. ISBN 978-1-84694-042-2
  27. ^ Official letter from Shamar Rinpoche, 1983
  28. ^ Official letter from Shamar Rinpoche, 2006
  29. ^ Certificate issued by the Buddhist Institutes of the Gyalwa Karmapa, 1995

External links

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