Ole Nydahl

Ole Nydahl
Date of birth:	(1941-03-19) March 19, 1941
Place of birth:	Copenhagen, Denmark
Birth name:	Ole Nydahl
School:	Vajrayana
Lineage:	Karma Kagyu
Organization:	Diamond Way Buddhism
Title:	Lama

Ole Nydahl (born March 19, 1941) is a lama in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism under guidance of Trinley Thaye Dorje. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With his wife, Hannah Nydahl, he founded Diamond Way Buddhism, a worldwide lay organization of Karma Kagyu Buddhism. He is often referred to as Lama Ole Nydahl or Lama Ole.

Nydahl is the author of nine books in English, including The Way Things Are, Entering the Diamond Way, and Riding the Tiger.

Early life and education

Ole Nydahl was born in Copenhagen and grew up in Denmark. In the early 1960s, he served briefly in the Danish Army, then studied philosophy, English, and German at the University of Copenhagen, where he completed the examen philosophicum with the best possible grade. He began but did not finish a doctoral thesis on Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception.

In the late 1960s, Nydahl bought hashish in Nepal and smuggled it back home to sell it. After their first trip to Kathmandu in 1968, Ole and Hannah Nydahl were arrested for smuggling hashish; Ole spent several months in prison. Today, Ole Nydahl warns against the danger of drugs.

Buddhist education

Ole and Hannah Nydahl's first Buddhist teacher was the Drukpa Kagyu master Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche. In December 1969, the Nydahls met Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa. They were among the first Western students of the Karmapa and grew close to him. The Nydahls also became students of Mipham Chokyi Lodro, the fourteenth Shamarpa. From the Karmapa, the Nydahls learned about Vajrayana Buddhism and mahamudra. From the Shamarpa, they took the Bodhisattva vows and learned about Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation. They have received teachings and empowerments from various Tibetan lamas, including the Dalai Lama.

In 1972, Ole Nydahl was appointed a Buddhist teacher by the Karmapa and was sent back to Europe in order to promote Buddhism in the West. In 1983, the Shamarpa named Nydahl a Buddhist master. In 1995, Khenpo Chödrak Thenpel Rinpoche named Nydahl a lama on behalf of the Buddhist Institutes of the Gyalwa Karmapa.

Teaching

Ole Nydahl, London, August 2007.

Upon returning to Europe, Hannah and Ole Nydahl began to teach Buddhism and organize meditation centers, first in their native Denmark, then in Germany and other countries. The centers belong to the Karma Kagyu lineage and operate under Ole Nydahl's practical guidance. In the early 90s, Diamond Way Buddhism was founded as a way to protect established centers during the Karmapa controversy.

As of August 2008, there were 585 Diamond Way centers throughout the world. Most are in Europe, Russia, or the United States. Ole Nydahl regularly travels between them during the year giving lectures and meditation courses. His courses cover topics such as mahamudra and phowa. He has traveled almost constantly for the last 35 years, teaching in a new city nearly every day.

Together with his close students, Nydahl has created Buddhist centers that are accessible and free from unnecessary cultural baggage. The activity and non-hierarchical structure of the Diamond Way centers is based on volunteer work; according to the official Diamond Way magazine, "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." In the Diamond Way centers, the meditations and names of the various Buddha forms are translated into Western languages. Ole Nydahl believes it essential for people to understand and read the meditations in their own language in order for Buddhism to become truly rooted in the West.

Jørn Borup, a professor of religion at Aarhus University, says that Ole Nydahl is "the most lasting influence on the Buddhist practice scene in Denmark" and "has in many ways been the icon of living Buddhism in Denmark". The total number of Nydahl's adherents is unknown, but can be estimated conservatively to include 15,000 to 70,000 students and casual sympathizers world wide. In Germany alone, the German Buddhist Union, (Deutsche Buddhistische Union) estimates that about 20,000 persons regularly visit the Diamond Way centers and groups.

Role in the Karmapa controversy

Main article: Karmapa controversy

When a great Tibetan lama dies, it is tradition in Tibetan Buddhism to find the next reincarnation to continue the work. When the Sixteenth Karmapa died in 1981, two potential successors were found, Trinley Thaye Dorje and Ogyen Trinley Dorje, causing a major split in the Karma Kagyu. Nydahl, along with the Fourteenth Shamarpa, who was one of only four lineage-holders appointed to recognize the incarnation of the Karmapa at that time, supported Trinley Thaye Dorje. It was largely because of the work of Hannah and Ole Nydahl that most European Karma Kagyu centers chose to support Trinley Thaye Dorje. As a result, 592 of 856, or nearly 70% of the centers supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje are affiliated with Diamond Way Buddhism.

The other candidate, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, was recognized by Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama confirmed Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the Karmapa after he had been requested to do so by two of the other lineage-holders, Tai Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsap Rinpoche, but the supporters of Trinley Thaye Dorje say that the Dalai Lama is not entitled to do so, and has never done so before.

The argument that Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the Karmapa is based in part on a letter presented by Pema Tönyö Nyinje, 12th Tai Situpa. The supporters of Ogyen Trinley claim it was written by the Sixteenth Karmapa in order to predict the identity of his future rebirth. Nydahl, the Shamarpa, and Topgala requested that the letter's authenticity be tested. They believe that the letter was written not by the Sixteenth Karmapa but by the Situpa himself. They have requested that the letter be verified by independent experts including forensic document examiners. Tai Situ has thus far refused to allow this claiming it would be a violation of a sacred object.

Due to his role in the Karmapa controversy, Nydahl has been heavily criticized by the supporters of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, such as the authors Mick Brown and Lea Terhune, a student of Tai Situpa. In connection to this, some blame Nydahl for causing the 1992 split of the Karma Kagyu, although there is no evidence of this, and accuse him of breaking the samayas to his teachers, which is deprecated in Vajrayana.

Criticism

Qualifications, Karmapa controversy

Questions have been raised about Nydahl's qualifications as a Buddhist teacher, especially since the beginning of the Karmapa controversy. Nydahl has received particular criticism for never going on a three-year retreat, which is traditionally necessary for qualifying as a lama in some traditions of Buddhism. He had wanted to go on three-year retreats, but was prevented from doing so by the Sixteenth Karmapa's orders to build up Buddhist centers in the West. A range of Karma Kagyu lamas as well as Trinley Thaye Dorje himself endorse Nydahl's status as a lama.[2] The Sixteenth Karmapa also stated that, "if someone has a greater wisdom and capacity for penetrating the teaching, then even without doing a three-year retreat, it is possible for one to experience definite understanding and realization."

Sexual relationships with his own students;

It is well-known and acknowledged by Nydahl himself that he sleeps with his students. Jørn Borup, Associate Professor of Religion at Aarhus Univeserity notes: "He certainly isn't afraid to say that he likes the ladies, primarily his wife, who is now deceased, but also other women. This brings him into conflict with not just Islam but also, sometimes, with old-fashioned Buddhism..." [Citation: Information 18. june 2009 http://www.information.dk/195037]And while the Diamond Way community tends to view any critique of this as a projection of Christian morality, not pertinent to Tantric Buddhism,[Citation Needed] several newspapers have questioned as to whether this constitutes an abuse of a position of authority within the movement. [Citation: Morgenbladet 24. desember, 2009, cf. LaCrosse Tribune, November 15, 2009]

Questioned about his alledged sexual relationships with his own students, Nydahl replied, "There’s no teacher-student relationship involved in that. They’re Diamond Way Buddhists, but they’re not my students in that moment. They’re equal partners."

Critical of Islam

Nydahl has a controversial view of Islam. He has described the religious ideology itself as "criminal", called Allah a "terrible god", and characterized Muslim beliefs as antithetical to freedom of speech and women's rights:

I seriously hope, you know, that we're not losing the freedom of expression right now, that we're not losing the ability to say what we think even if we step on the toes of some gentlemen from the Near East… who like to beat their wives or stone them or whatever else they do, right?

Nydahl says that he does not make political comments in his capacity as a lama, but as a "responsible, thinking human being", and that no one can make such statements from a Buddhist perspective because Buddha Shakyamuni did not comment on religious ideas founded centuries after his death. He also distinguishes the "mainstream Muslims" that he disapproves of from Sufis and Bahá'ís.

An online interview with Nydahl also featured the following controversial statement: Judaism and Christianity are fine. Islam, I warn against. I know the Koran, I know the life story of Mohammad and I think we cannot use that in our society today. [Citation: http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-5866-lama_ole_nydahl_controversial_unconventional_lama_.html]

Commenting on the controversy, another Tibetan Lama, Lama Tendar Olaf Hoeyer, has stated on his homepage: "Actually I thought that Lama Ole Nydahl was quite used to being criticised for his public promiscuity. People have complained about it for as long as I can remember. Since I am an old hippie myself, I have taken note that Ole does not promise his lovers anything but casual sex, so I have never criticised him for this kind of behaviour, even though of course, there is an issue of unequal power in such relationships. Therefore most professionals would abstain from such behaviour, and those, who do not, are in for criticism, as a matter of course." [Citation: http://www.tilogaard.dk/Shamarpa_and_Ole_Nydhal_statements_july_-_september_2010.pdf]

Dispute with German Buddhist Union

There is a greater concentration of Diamond Way centers in Germany, compared to elsewhere in Europe. Between late 1999 and April 2000 there was a public dispute between the German Buddhist Union and the German Diamond Way Organisation because of Nydahl's attitude towards Islam, his political statements, his manner of expressing and presenting himself, and his relationships with women. There was a meeting between the two organizations on 4 October 2000 and, although differences were clear, they agreed to learn from the past and cooperate in the future.

Academic Reception

Martin Baumann, a professor of religion at the University of Lucerne, remarked in a newspaper interview "when I listen to his [Nydahl's] alarmingly superficial formulations in his talks I can understand his critics who say that he is presenting a watered-down 'instant Buddhism', a sort of 'Buddhism light' for the West."

Burkhard Scherer, a pupil of Nydahl presents a different view of Nydahl by adding the hitherto neglected historical-critical approach of Tibetan Buddhist Studies. He regrets that Nydahl continues to be ignored by Tibet scholars.

The neglect of Modern Tibetan Buddhist movements by classically trained Tibetologists is deplorable; the historical-critical methodology of Tibetan Studies can complement sociology and anthropology and add greatly to the discourses about authenticity and legitimization of movements such as Nydahl's Diamond Way and argues that prevailing negative criticism from a position of suspicion by sociologists and students of New Religious Movements should be counter-balanced by positive criticism from a position of trust by Tibet scholars. Lay practitioners, both patrons and tantric adepts, played a decisive role in the process of assimilation that formed Tibetan Buddhism(s). In the same way, lay people are now playing a key role during the westernization of Tibetan Buddhism(s). The Mahāsiddha / crazy yogi heritage and the medieval Tibetan doctrinal debate about teaching the Great Seal outside of the Tantra [i.e. the "essence mahāmudrā" of sGam po pa] prove to be highly relevant historical precedents in the interpretation of unconventional modern/contemporary yogic/lay teachers such as the late Chogyam Trungpa and Ole Nydahl.

Bibliography

Ole Nydahl has written several books in English and Danish, which have been translated into several other European languages.

Most popular English titles:

• Ngondro: The Four Foundational Practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Blue Dolphin Publishing (1990). ISBN 978-0-931892-23-3
• 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 0-9752954-0-3
• The Way Things Are: A living Approach to Buddhism for today's world. O Books (2008). ISBN 978-1-84694-042-2

External links

• Ole Nydahl's website
• Diamond Way Buddhism
  • Nydahl's travelling schedule
• Photographs of Ole Nydahl