Non-Silk Road. Ole Nydahl

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Also known as Lama Ole (Tibetan name - Karma Lodi Zhamtso), transmitting the teachings of the Karma Kagyu school in a form adapted for the Western world - " learned people complicate simple things, and yogis simplify complex things." He founded more than 550 Diamond Way Buddhist Centers around the world. Karma Kagyu is a sub-school of Kagyu - one of the four largest Vajrayana schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Diamond Way centers are also recognized belonging to the Kagyu school of a certain part of the Lam Karma Kagyu. Since the early 1970s, Ole Nydahl has been traveling, giving lectures, courses and establishing “Diamond Way Buddhist centers”. He has more than 10,000 students, including more than 2,000 in Russia.

Ole Nydahl grew up in Denmark. From 1960 to 1969 he studied at the University of Copenhagen, and several semesters in Tübingen and Munich in Germany. Main subjects: philosophy, English and German.

Ole Nydahl took an active part in the spiritual quest of hippies - including with the help of drugs, having problems with health and law. A continuation of my spiritual search was a trip to the Himalayas.

In 1961, he met his future wife Hannah. After their wedding in 1968, they went on a honeymoon to Nepal, where they met their first Buddhist teacher, Lopen Tsechu Rinpoche, a Lama of the Drukpa Kagyu school. On their next trip they meet and become the first Western disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu school.

Ole and Hanna Nydahl became close disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa. At the same time, they met other Kagyu teachers such as Kalu Rinpoche, Kunzig Shamarpa, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche and others. Both also became disciples of Lopen Tsechu Rinpoche and Kunzig Shamarpa.

Ole and Hanna Nydahl received traditional Buddhist education under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche. As close disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa, they also received many teachings, empowerments and transmissions informally.

According to the assessments of Küzig Shamar Rinpoche and Khenpo Chödrag, speaking on behalf of the Gyalwa Karmapa Buddhist institutions, and Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje himself, Ole Nydahl is recognized as a teacher of Diamond Way (Vajrayana) Buddhism within one of the parts of the Karma Kagyu school.

Diamond Road Centers

According to many accounts, the Sixteenth Karmapa instructed him to establish Karma Kagyu centers in the west. You can learn more about this from the letter of Khenpo Chödrag.

Since 1973, Ole Nydahl has been traveling giving lectures. Soon the first meditation center was formed in Copenhagen, which was subsequently visited by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. In 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1980, the Sixteenth Karmapa visited centers in Europe and the USA. In January 2000, the Seventeenth Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje made his first trip to European centers, founded by Lama Ole Nydahl.

The centers founded by Ole Nydahl are called the Diamond Way Centers of the Karma Kagyu school. The Diamond Way is a variant translation from Sanskrit of the term Vajrayana.

Since the 1970s, Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah have founded more than 600 Buddhist meditation groups in Central and Western Europe, Asia, America, Australia and South Africa. Ole Nydahl prefers not to give lectures or open Diamond Way meditation centers in countries where the population is predominantly Muslim. In his opinion, he would not be able to effectively protect his students in these countries in the event of oppression - even in those countries of the Middle East and North Africa where there is no oppression and other Buddhist centers coexist with Islam. Thus, despite the existence of Buddhist centers in the "Islamic world", Ole Nydahl argues that opening centers there would be an irresponsible step on his part. The exception is the traditionally Muslim republics of the Russian Federation (for example, Bashkortostan) and the former USSR (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), where there are groups that have received the blessing of Lama Ole Nydahl.

There are 73 centers and meditation groups in Russia, opened with the blessing of Lama Ole Nydahl.

Teaching activities

Ole Nydahl continuously travels to various

countries, teaching his students, as well as people interested in Buddhism. The purpose of Ole Nydahl's courses on various topics such as Mahamudra (Great Seal) is to promote a deeper understanding of Diamond Way Buddhism.

Since 1978, Ole Nydahl has written several books about Buddhism, some of them autobiographical. Some of his books have been published in Russian. For people starting to practice, Ole Nydahl does not recommend reading texts on the topic of Vajrayana from other Vajrayana schools. He explains this by saying that it is better to understand one thing well than to get confused about many things. Different schools use such terms in different meanings, which sometimes escapes the attention of beginning Buddhists.

Ole Nydahl's disciples are, without exception, lay people who live primarily in Western culture. Monastic Buddhist education with the adoption of a vow of celibacy, according to Ole Nydahl, is not suitable for the way of life in Western society.

Ole Nydahl supports Trinley Thaye Dorje on the issue of recognition of the Seventeenth Karmapa.

Karma Kagyu in Russia today

Most of the Karma Kagyu communities now found in Russia and other CIS countries were founded by Lama Ole Nydahl. His status is that of a teacher of the Karma Kagyu tradition, who received the right to this from the head of the school of the Sixteenth Karmapa, who passed away in 1981. The first of the Karma Kagyu communities in Russia appeared in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1989.

The current European and Russian Karma Kagyu centers, like other Buddhist centers Sakya and Nyingma, also existing in Russia (with the exception of the traditional Gelug school for Russia), are very different in style from the school that arose in the 11th-12th centuries. in Tibet. But this is natural, for any religious organization, no matter where and when it arises, having found itself in another cultural space, will adapt to it, otherwise it will be doomed to disappear. European and Russian Karma Kagyu centers are focused on small groups of secular followers of this branch of Buddhism, engaging in the practice of Buddhist meditation, mastering Buddhist theory as needed, not associated with either entering monasticism (hermitage) or abandoning their civic responsibilities. This is a natural and calm form of seeking religious truth within Buddhism.

Confusion about the practice of Buddhism by a lay person and the disparagement of this type against monasticism (hermitage) have a stereotypical basis that supposedly only one who is a monk is a Buddhist. In the history of Buddhism, there is also a place for secular Buddhism, for example, thanks to it, Buddhism was able not to disappear due to the Islamization of India. Lay Buddhism from the practical point of view has no contradictions with the teaching, which claims that there are many types of mind and, accordingly, many approaches to working with this mind, one of which is worldly Buddhism. Some people think that in order to become a Buddhist, you need to become a monk or go into hermitage, which is a big misconception, since you can work with the mind without the monk’s dress, sitting at home, and not in a cave, meditating. This is one of the indicators of a logical approach to everything in Buddhism, because you can be a doctor without a robe, this requires knowledge and experience, the same thing in Karma Kagyu - you need knowledge and experience. This is where the apparent freedom of lay Buddhism ends, because a layman, just like a monk, must carry out the practice given to him by the teacher, otherwise he will not achieve the goal - recognizing the nature of the mind. In Karma Kagyu, a special place is allocated for the teacher - he is the main figure, thanks to his experience

Practitioners can quickly follow the path of development using the quality of mind - identification. You also need to remember that the entire Buddhist pantheon has nothing in common with the pantheon of saints in other religions, since in Buddhism the main driving force of development is the mind of the individual who has taken the path of Buddhism, who practices (develops) or does not practice (does not develop). This conclusion is directly related to the law of cause and effect (one of the key concepts in Buddhism). If we talk about “Saints”, then you need to understand that they indicate the enlightened qualities of your mind and help with their blessings not because of their divine grace, but because of their enlightened attitude, which by definition makes you want to help all beings as equals.

Disagreements

Ole Nydahl is one of the supporters of Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje on the issue of identifying the Seventeenth Karmapa. According to the position of Ole Nydahl and the second most important lama in the Karma Kagyu school - Künzig Shamara Rinpoche - the Dalai Lama is not authorized to recognize (and has never previously participated in recognizing) the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed the recognition of Urgyen Trinley Dorje as Karmapa at the request of Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche.

Criticism

Oliver Freiberger, Researcher The University of Texas at Austin points out that there is "ongoing controversy" regarding Ole Nydahl. Freiberger reports that the German Buddhist Union's magazine, Lotusblätter, states that Nydahl's statements and activities offend some German Buddhists, who believe his behavior is unbecoming of a Buddhist teacher. “Nydahl has been accused not only of being opinionated and militaristic, but also of being a right-winger, racist, sexist and hostile to foreigners. His unusual activities (such as bungee jumping, parachuting, riding high-speed motorcycles) also irritate Buddhists who are not his disciples - regardless of whether they belong to the Karma Kagyu school." Ole Nydahl evokes the same attitude among a number of Russian Buddhists who are not his disciples.

Martin Baumann, a professor at the University of Bern (Switzerland), noted in an interview in 2005 that critics accuse Ole Nydahl of teaching "Buddhism-lite" or "instant Buddhism" and that he agrees with this when he hears some of Nydahl's "suspiciously superficial phrases" .

In Buddhism, it is forbidden to kill living beings, but Ole Nydahl allows abortions prescribed for medical reasons to preserve the life of the mother or associated with defects in the development of the fetus. When asked about the dangers of abortion, he answers the following: “There are many families who would like to have children, but cannot have them. If the child is clearly handicapped, ask the doctor what he thinks. But if the child is clearly healthy, then don’t kill him, give him to someone who clearly wants a child.”

Ole Nydahl's position on Islam

Ole Nydahl's position towards Islam and Muslims sometimes causes surprise to the audience and criticism; he makes politically incorrect statements, which were also regarded by critics as racist and xenophobic.

In one published interview, he stated: “I have two concerns for the world: overpopulation and Islam. These two things can destroy a world that could otherwise be a beautiful place.” He explains that "men who suppress women are likely to become suppressed women in their next life."

Born north of Copenhagen.

1941 - 1960

Ole's turbulent childhood with his brother Bjorn, which also carries over to his youth spent in Copenhagen. Climbing trees and fighting with neighbors is being replaced by motorcycles and boxing. My father teaches at a high school and after the war updates about 50 German language textbooks in Denmark. Ole has been dreaming since he was 2-3 years old. vivid dreams about fighting in the mountains, where he protects men and women in red dresses.

1960 - 1969

Studying at the University of Copenhagen, from time to time - a semester in Tübingen and Munich, main subjects - English and German. Excellent grades in philosophy, begins a master's thesis on the topic "Aldous Huxley and the vision that gives joy."

In 1961 he met his future wife Hannah.

Wild hippie years in Copenhagen, replete with drug experiences, boxing fights and long nights.

First trip to Nepal for honeymoon with Hannah. On their next trip, a year later, they met their first Buddhist teacher, Lopyon Tsechu Rinpoche.

During the third trip to the Himalayas, Ole and Hanna have their first meeting with the 16th Karmapa. He arrives in Kathmandu and performs a special Buddhist ceremony.

A few days later, the Karmapa invites them to his place for the first time. That same evening he gives them a bag containing the hair of all 16 Karmapas.

1969-1972

Three years of training under the guidance of the Karmapa in the Himalayas. Ole and Hanna become his first Western students. They also study and practice meditation under the guidance of other eminent teachers of the Karma Kagyu school, such as Kalu Rinpoche.

In the fall of 1972, the Karmapa sent them to Europe, authorizing them to create Karma Kagyu centers in the West.

1972 - 1975

"One day, when everything appeared necessary signs, Karmapa called us to his place, gave us wonderful gifts promising good luck and said that we now, as the first people from the West, receive his blessing to found the centers. Our work in Scandinavia will extend throughout Europe and the world. He promised us all possible help and said that his blessing and transmission would always be with us. Half-shocked, but with an explosion of energy that continues to intensify today, we were sent by him to Europe on a mission that would become our life's work."

Reception with the Danish Queen Margarethe. Visit of the Dalai Lama to the Copenhagen center, headed by Ole.

Immediately upon returning from the Himalayas, work begins: lectures in Scandinavia and Austria, Holland and Belgium, then also in Germany, Switzerland, France and Greece.

After each lecture, Ole gives Buddhist Refuge and explains to people how to follow the path further - this model has currently led to the emergence of two hundred centers in Central and Eastern Europe. From the very beginning, all work inside and outside the centers is done voluntarily - in this regard, too, nothing has changed until now.

Ole accompanies the Karmapa and other teachers of the Karma Kagyu lineage on their lecture and initiation tours throughout Europe. Hannah translates for them. Ole conducts meditations and gives lectures.

New trips to the Himalayas follow, as well as transmission of deep meditations (such as conscious dying, Phowa) from the Karmapa and other teachers of the Kagyu lineage. Later, annual pilgrimages to Sikkim with students and short visits to the Dalai Lama were added to this.

Ole makes a living by teaching at school, working as a cleaner, cutting down trees or digging holes for swimming pools. Hannah and friends are nearby and, if possible, help with work.

"In the 70s, you could be something without having much, and freedom of movement was almost unlimited: to travel by short distances successive rusty Volkswagen buses served, and in terms of long trips, friends who worked in the transportation department of a car rental company helped.”

1976 - 1981

Breakthrough to Eastern Europe: Ole brings Buddhism to Poland for the first time. The Karmapa entrusts him with the entire eastern bloc, all the way to Japan. First trips with lectures to South Africa and the USA. Since then, Ole has been teaching all year round, all over the world, ending up in a new city almost every day. The groups are growing, and since the 1980s travel expenses can be covered by lecture fees.

In 1978, he wrote his first book - about his youth and years spent with the Karmapa in the Himalayas: "Buddhas from the Roof of the World" (in the Russian edition - "Discovery of the Diamond Way").

The first disagreements between Buddhists in Europe. Some follow teachers like Kalu Rinpoche, who want to see Western students in monastic robes; these predominate in France. But an increasing number of Westerners are attracted to the style of lay people and practitioners (in Sanskrit - yogis), in accordance with the wishes of the Karmapa, used by Lama Ole. This Diamond Way style comes from the tradition of practitioners in Eastern Tibet. Despite their differences, Kalu Rinpoche asks his European students to support Lama Ole's work. The Karmapa several times declares Ole Lama and the radiation of the Buddhist Protector (in the USA and France). Ole decides not to use the title Lama for now, so as not to undermine the work of Kalu Rinpoche (his lamas lost the title if they refused celibacy - but many aspects of general cooperation remained).

All teachers of the Karma Kagyu lineage promised to work under the leadership of the Karmapa. However, some Tibetans establish centers under their own leadership, most notably in France and England. Therefore, Karmapa centers arise, mainly thanks to Ole, in Central and Eastern Europe. They deliberately dissociate themselves from the activities of the above-mentioned teachers.

“The Karmapa told us exactly what we should do. This has happened every time we have met since we became his disciples in 1969. The content of these directives and his blessing are probably the reason why we are doing so well.”

November 5, 1981 The 16th Karmapa dies of cancer in Chicago. A year and a half earlier, he had told Ole and Hannah when he was going to die, and they were waiting for him with 108 disciples in Rumtek, Sikkim. When the Karmapa's body was delivered by plane, Ole, as the first Western disciple of the Karmapa, carried his coffin. She and Hannah could say goodbye to his still warm body. On December 20, at the cremation of the Karmapa's body, group members witness numerous miracles.

1982 - 1988

There is especially extraordinary interest in Buddhism in Poland. Ole visits Japan and Korea for the first time, and later also Hungary.

During these years, some of the largest centers of meditation and study of the Karma Kagyu lineage emerged in Europe. Between trips with lectures, meditation courses lasting several days are held in various countries in Europe and America.

The next step in the development of Buddhism in the West is indicated: in the mid-80s, up to 400 people come to Ole’s lectures. More people come to Poland than in Western Europe, and in North and South America, mainly small groups, up to 100 people.

Tomek Lehnert, a Polish disciple of Lama Ole, manages to escape the clutches of the communist military police and flee to Denmark shortly before he was about to be arrested for criticizing the system. Since then he has helped organize Lama Ole's trips around the world.

Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, the highest teacher of the Karma Kagyu lineage after the Karmapa, gives Ola the teaching title of "Buddhist Master".

In 1983, Ole's 83-year-old mother dies as a result of a road accident. That same year, Ole received official credentials to teach Conscious Dying (Tib. Phowa), a method he has taught since 1972. Soon after, his first Phowa course took place in Graz, with 130 students. Since then he has conducted these courses about 12 times a year all over the world. To date, more than 35,000 people have successfully completed them.

In 1987, the lecture in Freiburg became the basis for the book "Mahamudra", a revised version of which was published in 1999 under the title "The Great Seal".

1988 - 1989

In 1988, Ole traveled to Russia for the first time, crossing the Finnish border “incognito” by car, taking a tent and sleeping bag. In Leningrad he teaches from morning to evening in private apartments, and this is how the first centers appeared in Leningrad and Tallinn.

Buddhism gets official recognition in Denmark: among other things, Ole receives the right to officially bury and marry.

Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche gives Ola the official title of “Lama” (Buddhist teacher).

In 1989, Ole’s second book “Beyond All Borders” (in the Russian edition - “Riding the Tiger”) appeared, describing the development of the Diamond Road in the West. Clearly showing errors on the Buddhist stage seems provocative to some "politically correct" Buddhists.

1990 - 1993

In 1990, the Karma Kagyu Dachverband ("Rafters of the Karma Kagyu Line") was registered, today - Buddhistischer Dachverband Deutschland der Karma Kagyu Linie ("Buddhist Rafters of the Karma Kagyu Lineage in Germany"), briefly - BDD. This is an organization dedicated to serving German meditation centers, which organizes visits of Buddhist teachers and takes care of the publication and distribution of meditation texts. In the 1990s, this was supplemented by books, educational videos, CDs and a lot of public relations work. Lama Ole and Lama Jigmela, whom the 16th Karmapa left as his deputy in Europe, are responsible for the content of the teachings. Today, a total of 79 centers and meditation groups are part of 7 regional Buddhist associations, which, in turn, are part of the BDD.

In the approximately 260 centers founded by Lama Ole around the world, in addition to himself and his Asian colleagues, there are now about a dozen Western traveling teachers authorized by him, primarily from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. They have many years of experience in meditation and are invited by different centers.

In the same year, Kati Hartung begins to accompany Ole as an assistant on his trips around the world.

After “glasnost and perestroika,” work in Russia is growing explosively. Within a few days, more than 1,000 people take refuge. In November, the first lectures are held in East Germany, where there is still little interest.

In 1992, the 17th Karmapa's rebirth, nine-year-old 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje recognizes Ole in a photograph in Tibet. They joyfully meet in India, in Delhi, after the Karmapa's escape from the Chinese invaders of Tibet.

1994 - 1999

In March 1994, representatives from around the world receive the 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje in New Delhi. Since then, the Karmapa has received his traditional education in New Delhi and in the Himalayas.

In 1996, in New Delhi, numerous Kagyu teachers from different countries gather for the International Kagyu Conference. On this occasion, Lama Ole promises the confirmed Künzig Shamarpa Karmapa Thaya Dorje to support the Diamond Way centers throughout the world.

Since 1993, Lama Ole has held large meditation courses in Kassel every summer, attended by up to 1,500 people. The number of participants in other European courses is also increasing, from 500 to almost 2000. Lopyon Tsechu Rinpoche, the first teacher of Hannah and Ole, often comes to the courses; he also tours the world himself.

Here is how Lama Ole's travel plan for the year was distributed at the time of the change of centuries:

Czech Republic - Balkans - Poland 1.5 months
Central Europe 4 months
Ukraine - Russia (including Siberia) - Lithuania - Latvia 2 months
Scandinavia 2 weeks
Australia - New Zealand 1 month
South America - Central America 1 month
North America 1 month

The rest of the time: projects, mail, writing books.

Vacation: A three-day trip with close friends on very fast motorcycles through the Alps.

The 2000th New Year celebration saw the largest Kagyu New Year's party in Wuppertal so far, with 2,500 people attending.

2000

At the beginning of the year, the 17th Karmapa visits Europe for the first time. On January 2nd and 3rd, approximately 6,000 people, primarily from Central and Eastern Europe, together with Lopen Tsechu Rinpoche, Hannah and Lama Ole, are present at this great event in the Philipshalle in Düsseldorf. Karmapa gives Buddhist teachings and initiations. 3,000 people welcome him to Budapest; thousands come to greet him in France, Austria and Munich.

Material from the site
http://buddhism.ru/

...the central path in Kagyu is the path of “Guru Yoga,” meditation on the Lama. Through devotion and the ability to see the Lama as Buddha, the precious qualities of our mind are revealed and we become identified with the perfect state of the Lama.
Lama Ole Nydahl

All-honorable fathers, brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen.

I have a task no less difficult than the one that Andrei Dmitrievich Redkozubov tried to solve, discussing whether Wahhabism to sects in general and totalitarian and destructive in particular or not. In this case, we will have to find out the same thing about the mission, more precisely, the network of centers founded in Western countries, as well as here in Russia, by the modern Buddhist missionary, Danish by birth, Lama Ole Nydahl.

This problem can be presented in the form of the following questions:

If so, is it totalitarian?

What are the social consequences of Ole Nydahl's activities, is it destructive?

Before attempting to answer these questions, it is necessary to make a few preliminary remarks regarding the history of Buddhism in Russia.

Buddhism in Russia exists since the 17th and early 18th centuries... when they came to the territory of our country mongol tribes nomadic pastoralists: Kalmyks (Oirats) - in the lower reaches of the Volga and Buryats - in Transbaikalia. They brought with them Tibetan Buddhism, or Lamaism, in the form of Gelug-pa (Tib. “school of the Ge monastery”), which began to spread among the Mongols in the second half of the 16th century. The term "Lamaism" comes from the word "lama" (Tib. "highest"), which is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit "guru" - "teacher". In Lamaism, the traditional tripartite formula of the profession of Buddhism, including the invocation of the “three jewels” - the Buddha, the dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) and the sangha (the Buddhist community), is supplemented by the vow to the lama, and the lama is considered the quintessence of the first three refuges; without his help it is impossible to achieve salvation, understood in northern Buddhism as the awakening of consciousness and the achievement of Buddhahood.

It should be clarified that there are four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Gelugpa, the dominant school in Tibet, was created at the beginning of the 15th century. reformer Tsonghapa (1357-1419), who streamlined various Buddhist traditions, restored the celibacy of lamas and created a system of 20-year regular education of the clergy. The Dalai Lama, one of the first hierarchs of the Gelug school, is the head of Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhists.

Only Gelugpa Lamaism is a traditional religion for Russia, primarily in three regions of our country: Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva. Currently, the majority of Gelugpa Buddhists are united into three ethnic communities: the largest is the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (Buryat associations), headed by Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayushev; Association of Buddhists of Kalmykia and the Office of Kamba Lama of the Republic of Tuva.

Since the late 1980s, traditional Buddhism has been experiencing a revival in Russia, but at the same time we have missions of other directions of Buddhism, including the missions of the three so-called old, that is, pre-reform, schools of Lamaism. They carry out active proselytizing work both among traditionally Buddhist peoples and among Russians and other ethnic groups of Russia.

The number of Russian Buddhists today is several thousand people, while literally only a few belong to traditional Russian Buddhist associations. Of the more than two hundred Buddhist associations in Russia, less than half are traditional ethnic ones.

The largest non-traditional Buddhist organization in our country has become “ Russian Association of Buddhists of the Karma-Kagyu School", which includes 66 local organizations in Russia and Belarus. Thus, more than a quarter of all Buddhist associations in Russia are Karma Kagyu communities. The formal head of the “Russian Karma Kagyu Association” is the president, but in reality all communities are subordinate to their founder - the Danish lama Ole Nydahl, the most active preacher of the Europeanized version of Karma Kagyu in the West and in Russia.

What is the Karma Kagyu school and who is Lama Ole Nydahl?

Karma Kagyu is the largest and most influential subtradition within the Kagyu-pa, one of the three pre-reform schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The name "Kagyu-pa" means "School of Tantra", or "School of Continuity". Its foundation is attributed to the famous tantric yogis from India Tilopa and Naropa (11th century), who are considered magicians and miracle workers. In the same 11th century, thanks to another famous figure of Tantric Buddhism, Marla, Karma Pa came to Tibet. Many tantric yogis were not monks or were only formally monks. They got married or led a promiscuous lifestyle. In the reformed Gelug school, tantric practices are available only to those lamas who have shown the greatest success in mastering Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and sexual elements are left in these practices only in a symbolic form. Whereas in the old pre-reform schools, including the Karma Kagyu, which are based on Tantrism, married lamas are still found, although not often.

The Karma Kagyu school is headed by the first hierarch with the title Karmapa. Today this is the 17th Karmapa. According to his status, the Karmapa is considered the third hierarch of Tibet (after the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama). In the Karma Kagyu school, the veneration of lamas is especially strongly developed, which is characteristic feature tantric Buddhism. First of all, this veneration relates to the Karmapa, towards whom the followers of the Karma Kagyu should, at least according to Ole Nydahl, show boundless personal devotion.

After the occupation of Tibet by communist China in the mid-20th century, the Dalai Lama, Karmapa and many other lamas emigrated to India. After some time, some lamas moved from India to Western countries, where they began to acquire followers among Europeans and Americans. On the other hand, from the West to the “India of the Spirit”, starting in the 1960s, hippies and representatives of other youth subcultures moved in search of adventure. Some of them were looking for a deeper “religious experience”, some psychedelic, some “tantric” (in the sense of exotic forms of fornication), for some it was all one, and some generally combined “pleasant with useful": "spiritual search" with the search for suppliers of cheap drugs to Western markets.

At first, the object of interest of Western “seekers” was Hindu, and even more often neo-Hindu, gurus. But soon the pilgrimage became widespread, and Hindu gurus, especially the popular “business gurus,” acquired a certain “pop” tinge in the eyes of nonconformists. And then the most persistent “seekers” found Tibetan lamas in northern India.

One of these “seekers” was the Dane Ole Nydahl. He was born in 1941. From I960 to 1969 he studied and then taught at the University of Copenhagen. In parallel with his studies, from the early 1960s, Nydahl joined the early European hippie movement. He also enjoyed racing motorcycles and was a regular participant in street fights. In his own words, he used all types of drugs, which, as he believed, following the preachers of the “psychedelic religion,” open the “gates of perception,” expand consciousness and promote “travel” into completely unusual worlds. Finally, Nidal began smuggling gold and drugs from Asia to Europe. In search of new intense sensations and new sources of cheap drugs, he traveled around Asia with his wife Hannah. On one of his trips to Nepal, Nidal met the lama of the Karma Kagyu school. In 1969, during his third trip to Nepal, he met the 16th Karmapa and became his disciple. In 1970, Ole and Hannah converted to Buddhism. Having prostrated before the Karmapa and taken a vow of complete and unconditional devotion to him, Ole received the name Karma Lodi Jamtso. At the end of the initiation ceremony, the Karmapa said to Ola and Hannah: “You must have confidence in me as a Buddha.”

Nydahl claims that already in 1972, that is, only two years after the formal adoption of Buddhism, the Karmapa ordained him as a lama and sent him to Europe with the task of creating Karma Kagyu centers in the West, which he began to actively do.

Soon Ole Nydahl obtained an audience with the Danish Queen Margaret and organized a visit of the Dalai Lama to his center in Copenhagen. In the 1970s Nidal organized trips for the Karmapa and other Karma-kagyo lamas throughout Europe. In addition, until the early 1980s. Nidal and his students made annual pilgrimages to India to the Karmapa with brief visits to the Dalai Lama.

In the second half of the 1970s. The Karmapa declared Ole Nydahl to be a “radiation” of Mahakala. It should probably be clarified that Mahakala (Sanskrit “Great Black”) is one of the dharmapalas, that is, “protectors of dharma (Buddhism)”, which Buddhist missionaries at one time declared to be the demons of Indians, Tibetans and Mongols. This was a kind of missionary technique - to declare that the gods and demons revered by this people accepted Buddhism, which means that the entire people should follow their example. Buddhist figures did not generally seek to eradicate local forms of witchcraft, shamanism and polytheism, but tried to introduce them into the Buddhist context. Thus, the veneration of dharmapalas was gradually rethought in a Buddhist way. Many of them came to be considered wrathful forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. retaining their demonic appearance, which is reproduced in their images and in the mind of a Buddhist during meditation.

Mahakala, whose phenomenon Nidal considers himself to be, is Shiva who “accepted Buddhism” in his tantric form as the lord of demons. He is depicted with a body of black and blue, with a necklace of death's heads and earrings of bones, with three bloodshot eyes, with a bared fanged mouth, with a ferocious muzzle, surrounded by tongues of flame. Mahakala holds a weapon in his hands to destroy internal and external obstacles in Buddhist practice, including the enemies of Buddhism.

Often Mahakala is depicted copulating with a dakini (demoness) or with the Tibetan goddess Baldan Lhamo (riding a mule, in the middle of a sea of blood and fire), which, according to tantricists, symbolize wisdom. From the point of view of Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), veneration of the wrathful forms of Buddhas and bodhisattvas should lead to an early realization of the nature of all beings without exception as the single, non-dual nature of the awakened Mind, that is, the Mind of the Buddha.

For the second half of the 1970s. accounts for the founding of the first Karma-kagyo center in Eastern Europe - in Poland. Then, according to Ole Nydahl, the Karmapa entrusted him with the entire “eastern bloc,” right down to Japan.

Today there are more than 400 centers around the world founded by Lama Ole Nydahl and his students. About half of them are in countries of Eastern and Central Europe, including Russia. The number of Ole Nydahl's students in the world, in his own words, is 6 thousand people. It turns out that the average number of adherents in Karma-kagyo centers is 15 people. However, the number of people who come to Nydahl's performances during his visits to local centers is much greater. For example, more than 35 thousand people have taken the course of Phowa (yoga of conscious dying) since 1983. Most of those who attended Lama Ole Nydahl's speeches and courses, listened to his lectures and received the initiations that he gives to everyone indiscriminately, did not become followers of the Karma Kagyu, many did not even become Buddhists. This audience perceives Nydahl through the prism of the New Age worldview as one of a number of “spiritual teachers.”

In 1988, Nydahl received state recognition of his status as a Buddhist clergyman in Denmark, which, in particular, gives him the right to officially perform funerals and marry (religious organizations recognized in Denmark are given the right to register civil status acts). That same year, Ole Nydahl visited our country for the first time, entering incognito across the Finnish border. From morning to evening he preached and gave initiations in Leningrad apartments, and as a result the first centers arose in Leningrad and Tallinn.

In 1989, Ole Nydahl visited Moscow, where he gave a lecture in an architectural workshop located in the Nativity Monastery. But the center in Moscow appeared only in 1991. The “Moscow Buddhist Center” (officially the name of the organization of Moscow followers of Ole Nydahl) moved from place to place until it occupied a large communal apartment on Petrovsky Boulevard. There are communities of the “Russian Association of Buddhists of the Karma Kagyu School” in all major cities our country. They are divided into nine regions (including Belarus). The headquarters of the association is located in St. Petersburg. The association has its own educational institution, a branch of the International Institute of the Karmapa (Elista, Kalmykia), and has its own websites on the Internet. The number of Ole Nydahl's followers in Russia and Belarus is about 2 thousand people.

We can now return to the questions posed at the beginning of the speech.

According to Ole Nydahl, ethnic Buddhism in the countries of its traditional distribution has practically outlived its usefulness, having become overly formalized, clinging to the external. The culture of peoples who profess Buddhism has no special value and should not be transferred to the West. That is, Buddhism must be separated from the traditional culture, in this case Tibetan, and in such a purified form is connected with European culture. Lama Ole says that he brings people a new, young, Western, advanced, fresh and strong Buddhism. Thus, he himself calls his version of Buddhism new. “New Buddhism” is neo-Buddhism, to put it briefly.

How is this orientation toward neo-Buddhism implemented by Ole Nydahl? First of all, in his lifestyle. He abandoned the traditional robes of the Buddhist clergy. He usually speaks in front of an audience in denim trousers, a jacket and a black T-shirt or vest. He behaves quite cheekily, he can, for example, take off his socks and put his feet on the table for everyone to see.

He continues to engage in extreme sports: skydiving and riding motorcycles at a speed of 200 km/h on mountain roads, believing that the Buddhas are protecting him.

In his missionary work, Ole Nydahl uses elements of the methods of American evangelical preachers. They take as a basis public performance in front of large audiences, at the end of which Nidal calls for taking “Refuges,” that is, Buddhism. In the early 1990s. in Russia, within a few days, more than a thousand people took “Refuge” after Ole Nydahl’s speech. As has already been said, not all of those who accepted Buddhism in this way went on to attend the local Karma Kagyu center or otherwise practice Buddhism.

But all this could be classified as special Buddhist techniques - “upaya” (Sanskrit “tricks”) - to attract the public to the teachings of the Buddha, even if they are not used very successfully.

Much more serious are those aspects of Ole Nydahl’s teaching and life that conflict with traditional Buddhist (and not only Buddhist) ethics.

Ole Nydahl eats meat and drinks alcohol, following the example of the founders of the Kagyu school. However, for many centuries in the Karma Kagyu school, such provocative behavior that violates the basic precepts of Buddhism has been considered special techniques of the great yogis of the past and is not approved for lamas. Moreover, Nidal drinks alcohol, of course, not alone. For example, Lama Ole began his first sermon in Moscow by treating everyone present to cognac.

Ole Nydahl is married. He denies the need for celibacy for lamas and generally preaches non-monastic, lay Buddhism, which, of course, is quite scandalous for Tibetan Buddhism: even in the old tantric schools, married lamas are rare and do not occupy a serious position in the hierarchy. As a result of such views, soon after Ole Nydahl began his activities in the West, he began to have disagreements with those lamas of the Karma Kagyu school who represented authentic Tibetan Buddhism in Europe, in particular with Lama Kalu Rinpoche, who was at one time one of Ole Nydahl’s teachers, B As a result, Ole Nydahl was forced to renounce the title of lama for more than 10 years. However, despite the controversy with Buddhist teachers in Europe, Ole Nydahl maintained some status through his personal devotion to the Karmapa. During the period from 1976 to 1981, the Karmapa, while in the United States and France, publicly confirmed several times that Ole Nydahl was a lama.

However, it was not until 1988 that Ole Nydahl was officially proclaimed lama by Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, one of the supreme lamas of Karma-kagyo.

Further. In traditional Buddhism, activities such as trafficking in drugs and one's own body, that is, prostitution, are prohibited. Regarding drug trafficking, Ole Nydahl does not say that it is strictly prohibited, he says that it is difficult to be a Buddhist and at the same time sell drugs. After all, he himself, having actually already become a Buddhist, did not immediately stop drug smuggling. But Ole Nydahl fully justifies prostitution and believes that prostitutes and those who use their services may well be Buddhists.

Ole Nydahl generally allows such types of sexual relations that are considered unacceptable in Buddhism. In fact, he promotes “free love” without any restrictions, with the exception of sexual violence, incest and “destroying other people’s relationships.”

He also considers various forms of sexual perversion, including homosexuality, acceptable for a Buddhist. Ole Nydahl himself seems to be setting an example of “free love.” He has a constant mistress, Katya Hartung, who accompanies him on his trips (people who know him talk about this, and he himself does not really hide it) and, judging by his revelations with adherents and other indirect evidence, he enters into sexual relations with his followers. During one of his speeches, when asked if he had children, Ole Nydahl replied: “I think I have a child in Paris. Of course. our family is very healthy, and sometimes you really think about passing on your genes to someone. If he comes to me clever woman with the desire to raise a child from me without involving me in legal formalities. - I will give her this child... I cannot afford to have many children, since in many places I sign up as a property manager for the Karmapa. If I have heirs, it will be problematic.”

The emergence of AIDS, as is known, forced supporters of “free love” to remember caution. Ole Nydahl, among others, became an ardent supporter of condoms, which he even supplied to our country as humanitarian aid. Lama Ole encourages the use of all contraceptives, without going into the fact that many of them are abortifacient, whereas, according to Buddhist teaching, the mind is united with the body at the moment of conception and, therefore, abortion is murder (which Ole Nydahl does not deny) .

Such “liberation” of Ole Nydahl, of course, cannot but cause confusion and even indignation among traditional Buddhists in Russia. Sanjey Lama, Moscow representative of Hambo Lama Damba Ayushev. When asked by the author of the report about the attitude of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia to the activities of Ole Nydahl, he answered that although Ole is a legally ordained lama, “he is corrupting our youth.” Indeed, Ole Nydahl preaches a morality unusual for Buddhism in the regions where Buddhism traditionally spreads.

In addition, Sanjay Lama referred to the change in last years the position of the Dalai Lama, who no longer supports Ole Nydahl. The latter, in turn, criticizes the Dalai Lama for his efforts to normalize relations with the Chinese government. In fact, Lama Ole Nydahl found himself at odds with the majority of Tibetan Buddhists. This split, which arose in the early 1990s, became especially aggravated in 2000, in connection with the escape of the young 17th Karmapa from China.

Here we need to make a small digression and recall that in the Middle Ages in Tibet, thanks to the Karma-kagyo school, the institution of “reincarnates” was established. It is believed that the highest lamas are consciously reborn in new bodies after their death. To search for such a “reincarnation”, the instructions of the late hierarch made by him before his death, the prophecies of the oracle, astrological calculations, as well as special procedures for identifying applicants are of great importance. During the search and education of a successor to the next hierarch, the regents must fulfill his duties. It happened that various interested groups among the Buddhist clergy, for political and other reasons, entered into a struggle among themselves for recognition of their candidate as a “reincarnation.” This happened in the case of the search for a successor to the 16th Karmapa, who died of cancer in Chicago in 1981.

The Buddhist lamas of Tibet, and with them the Dalai Lama, who referred to the secret letter of the 16th Karmapa, recognized Urgyen Trinley as the seventeenth rebirth of the Karmapa. As such, he was recognized by the Chinese authorities. However, some emigrant lamas, who were strongly anti-Chinese, declared the 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Lama Ole Nydahl also joined the latter. In 1992, Thaye Dorje, being nine years old, in turn recognized the authority of Ole Nydahl. In January 2000, Urgyen Trinley fled Tibet for India. Today, most lamas, led by the Dalai Lama, recognize Urgyen Trinley as the legitimate 17th Karmapa, and schismatic lamas, including Ole Nydahl, consider him an agent of the Chinese intelligence services.

We will not consider the question of the authenticity of Ole Nydahl's transmission of the teachings of Buddhism in the Karma Kagyu version of the school, since this would require too much time. Let us only note that Lama Ole strives for the maximum simplification of Buddhist teachings, even translating the proper names of the characters of the Lamaist pantheon into European languages.

So, the mission of Lama Ole Nydahl can be confidently considered neo-Buddhist in socio-cultural terms.

We mean the concept of “sect” as a religious term. A sect is characterized, firstly, by opposing itself to the religious tradition from which this sect separated; secondly, opposition to culture-forming religions traditional for a given country or region (“the mother” and “dominant” religious tradition in a country can be one and the same). In the second case we're talking about about, in relation to the West, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, in relation to Russia - about Orthodoxy and, at the regional level, about Islam and Lamaism of the Gelug school.

The fact that Ole Nydahl in a certain way contrasts his “new Buddhism” with the traditional one and even ended up in a schism with the Dalai Lama was mentioned above. It may be added that in 1989 he published a book criticizing the mission of traditional Buddhists in the West, and as a result his relations with many traditional lamas deteriorated further.

There is one more circumstance. Europeans and Russians who have converted to Buddhism are characterized by a multi-school system. Even if converts identify themselves with a particular branch of Buddhism, they usually take initiations in several schools, often even from different regional traditions (both Tibetan and Far Eastern). The Tibetan Buddhism movement, which arose in the 19th century, is popular in Rome. and those who advocate joining all three pre-reform schools of Lamaism (for example, rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov belongs to Rome).

But Ole Nydahl does not allow his followers to take initiations in other schools and use the instructions of their teachers. In addition, he recommends reading only your own books.

Since 1978, Nydahl has written several books, some of which have now been published in Russian. True, after the student has mastered them well, he is allowed to read the books of other teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, primarily the Karma Kagyu school.

As for Christianity, Ole Nydahl, recognizing its success in social work and superiority in organization, believes that in all other respects it is inferior to Buddhism: Christianity is illogical, based on blind faith, and not on experience, therefore Christians believe in “God with a beard,” and in general, Christianity is the lot of the stupid and narrow-minded, and Buddhism - smart and broad-minded.

True, by Buddhism Ole Nydahl understands mainly Western neo-Buddhism, and he also calls traditional Buddhists not too smart, stupid and the like.

Nidal tends to speak very harshly about other religions and their leaders. He calls the Pope “completely crazy” because he does not allow Roman Catholics to use condoms. Russian Orthodox Church he attributes "a pronounced paranoia towards other religions", apparently referring to concerns among Orthodox Christians about his activities. But Ole Nydahl has a particularly negative attitude towards Islam. His claims
boil down to three points: 1) Muslims persecuted Buddhists in the Middle Ages (Ole Nydahl also blames the oppression of Buddhism in the past and present on Hinduism, which dominates in India and Nepal - countries that gave shelter to Tibetan immigrants); 2) Islam treats women poorly, especially those who “force” them to have many children (and it also blames Hindus for this); 3) Islam threatens Western liberal values and therefore must be expelled from Europe. It should be added that some of Lama Ole's statements about “black and brown” (in his terminology) peoples, especially about Arabs, border on racism.

It turns out that all the major religions in the world have become the target of attacks by Ole Nydahl. At the same time, he spoke very favorably, albeit with slight irony, about Shoko Asahara and wished him success (though even before Aum Shinrikyo was convicted of terrorism) and about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the leader of the pseudo-Hindu sect “Transcendental Meditation” .

On the other hand, Ole Nydahl, as you probably already understood, is not an opponent or critic of the way of life that dominates the West and is based on liberalism and rejection of the basic moral values of Christianity. His followers do not have to change their lives in any way, except perhaps to give up some extremes. Even though Nidal does not encourage drug use, he does not prohibit it either. Thus, Ole Nydahl’s organization operating in the West does not have such a sign of a sect as closedness in relation to the outside world.

However, it cannot be said about Russia that the lifestyle of the majority of its citizens is determined by specific Western liberal values, the acceptance of which in their totality means a departure from traditional religious ethics. For the youth of Russian megacities, most of whom are far from traditional culture and have no religious roots in morality, joining Ole Nydahl’s organization does not mean a change in the cultural and ethical paradigm. But for young people in medium-sized and small Russian cities, this seems to be largely the case. Let me once again recall the words of Sanjay Lama about Ole Nydahl: “He corrupts our youth.”

Based on the above, Ole Nydahl’s organization in Russia can be considered a sect, although with some reservations.

3. Is Ole Nydahl's sect totalitarian?

The presence in the group of an authoritarian leader endowed with an aura of mystical power is, as is known, one of the main characteristics of a totalitarian sect. In traditional Lamaism, the principle of honoring a teacher is limited by many factors, including the presence of other authorities. Lama Ole Nydahl focuses his missionary work largely on countercultural youth, who, on the one hand, are characterized by rejection of all kinds of authority, especially family authority, and on the other hand, infantilism and an unconscious craving for authority. This makes possible the adoration of an authoritarian leader, in this case Ole Nydahl, and blind obedience to him, which, in turn, gives scope for abuse and all forms of exploitation by the leader of his followers, including sexual exploitation.

Nidal demands complete devotion and submission to the lama. To strengthen the connection with the lama, you need to give him gifts, donate money and work in the centers. Everyone who works in Karma-kagyo centers does it for free. Moreover, all lectures and classes are paid. In Russia, a four-day course now costs 900 rubles.

As the number of people attending paid programs at Karma-kagyo centers grew, Nidal was able to lead the life of a traveling preacher: almost every two or three days he finds himself in a different city or even in another country. Sometimes he stays a little longer to conduct an intensive multi-day course. Gradually, Nidal also made some of his students traveling teachers.

A characteristic feature of a totalitarian sect is moral relativism, expressed primarily in the use of lies and omissions to achieve the goals of the organization. Lama Ole teaches his followers to avoid only lies about their experiences during meditation and lies that are aimed at harming living beings. Any other lie can be tolerated.

For example, the official position of the “Russian Association of Followers of Ole Nydahl” is that Buddhism of the Karma-kagyo school has existed in our country since the 13th century. among the Kalmyks and, thus, is traditional for Russia. Even if we assume that among the Kalmyks from the 13th century. There were individual followers of the Karma-kagyo school, then, most likely, in the 17th century, when these people came to the territory of Russia, they disappeared, since at that time Buddhism of the Gelug school was professed there. There is a deliberate misleading of the authorities and society.

Karma-kagyo Buddhism is not traditional for any of the peoples or regions of our country, and although this fact does not carry any legal consequences, it must be clearly understood that the neo-Buddhist mission of Ole Nydahl has nothing to do with the Buddhism that is mentioned among other traditional religions of Russia in the preamble to the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” (1997).

If we talk about mind control in totalitarian sects, then we need to pay attention to Nidal’s instructions to his students “not to listen to people who spread doubts and argue about the doctrine.” But at the same time, as far as is known from those. who has become a follower of Nidal is not required to break off relations with his former environment.

The question of the degree of control Ole Nydahl has over his followers is the same. as well as the presence in his organization of other signs of a totalitarian sect, remains open and requires further study. So far there are no sufficient grounds to qualify his sect as totalitarian.

4. What are the social consequences of Ole Nydahl's activities? Is it destructive?

Ole Nydahl's active work can lead, and is already leading, to conflicts with traditional Buddhists in Russia and increased inter-religious tension.
Ole Nydahl promotes contraception, because, in his opinion, a woman should have as few children as possible or not have them at all, so as not to lose her “freedom.” He calls women who give birth to many children “hens who lay eggs all the time.” He says that being born a woman in “black” and “brown” countries is a consequence of bad karma, because they give birth a lot. In the conditions of the current demographic catastrophe in Russia, this position, of course, cannot be considered constructive.

The only socially positive consequence of Ole Nydahl’s activities can be considered that part of the countercultural youth who use drugs he attracted reduces their use or stops using them altogether, since Nydahl promotes meditation as a more effective and qualitatively better means of changing the state of consciousness than drugs and says that drugs interfere with meditation.

So, the teaching (especially ethical) and practice of Ole Nydahl’s mission are destructive in relation to the traditional moral values of the peoples of Russia, including those professing Buddhism.

And finally, we can draw a final conclusion: the mission of Lama Ole Nydahl is a non-traditional neo-Buddhist sect for Russia, whose active activities have generally negative social consequences.

Deacon Mikhail Plotnikov,
candidate of theology,
deputy head Department of Sect Studies
Orthodox St. Tikhon's
state university,
vice president
Center for Religious Studies
in the name of sschmch. Irenaeus of Lyons
Moscow, Russia

Lama Ole Nydahl - about the author

In 1968, while honeymooning in Nepal, Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah met the “king of Tibetan yogis” - His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu lineage. This meeting decisively changed their lives.

After several years of study in the Himalayas, Ole and Hanna, commissioned by the Karmapa, began to establish meditation centers around the world, introducing Diamond Way Buddhism to the West. Thanks to their efforts, over three and a half decades, about six hundred Buddhist centers and meditation groups of the Karma Kagyu line were created in all corners of the earth - from Vladivostok to Venezuela, from London to Sydney.

Lama Ole Nydahl is the only Buddhist teacher who spends 360 days a year traveling around the world. Transcending both geographical and cultural boundaries, he reveals to the most idealistic minds of the West the deep inner wisdom of the East.

Master of meditation, Lama Ole Nydahl brings thousands of people the opportunity to realize their inherent potential, a state beyond fears and hopes, beyond conventions and limitations. In his lectures, conversations, books, and in direct communication with his students, Lama Ole reveals the path and goal of Diamond Way Buddhism of the Karma Kagyu tradition and the highest view of the Great Seal. His life and ease, a fresh look on the world clearly show what each person can achieve if he learns to rest in the space of his own mind.

Lama Ole Nydahl - books for free:

Recent discoveries in quantum physics, as well as studies of near-death states, indicate that the consciousness of death exists after death. This coincides with Buddhist views, according to which death is only a transition to another state...

This book is a unique autobiography of the first officially recognized Buddhist Lama of the Karma Kagyu tradition of European origin. The book presents the experience of founding Buddhist centers in Europe and Asia, North and South America, Australia and...

In nothing but love can one experience so much happiness and suffering at the same time...

That is why in this area of life the Teachings of the Buddha, aimed exclusively at human improvement, are of particular value. Compared to this goal...

The book provides a fascinating account of the author's years in the Himalayas and the coming of Diamond Way Buddhism to the West, and also contains basic Buddhist knowledge.

Ole Nydahl

Ole Nydahl(born March 19, 1941), according to His Holiness Shamar Rinpoche and Khenpo Chödrag, speaking on behalf of the Buddhist institutions of the Gyalwa Karmapa, is a teacher of Diamond Way Buddhism, a Lama. Ole Nydahl transmits the teachings of the Karma Kagyu school in a form adapted for Europeans, trying to separate the cultural Tibetans layers from the essence of Buddhist teachings. Karma Kagyu is a sub-school of Kagyu - one of the four major Vajrayana schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the early 1970s, Ole Nydahl has been traveling, giving lectures, courses, and establishing “Diamond Way Buddhist centers.”

Learning and Encountering Buddhism

Ole Nydahl grew up in Denmark. From 1960 to 1969 he studied at the University of Copenhagen, and several semesters in Tübingen and Munich in Germany. Main subjects: philosophy, English and German languages.

In 1961 he met his future wife Hannah. After their wedding in 1968, they went on a honeymoon to Nepal, where they met their first Buddhist teacher, Lopen Tsechu Rinpoche, a Lama of the Drukpa Kagyu school. On their next trip they meet and become the first Western disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu school.

Ole and Hanna Nydahl become close disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa. At the same time, they meet other Kagyu teachers such as Kalu Rinpoche, Kunzig Shamarpa, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche and others. Both also became disciples of Lopen Tsechu Rinpoche and Künzig Shamarpa. Ole and Hanna Nydahl underwent traditional Buddhist education under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche. As close disciples of the Sixteenth Karmapa, they also received many teachings, empowerments and transmissions informally.

Title "Lama"

There are doubts in Buddhist circles about the justification of using the Tibetan title “Lama” for Ole Nydahl. Ole Nydahl did not practice the traditionally necessary source? for Lama a 3-year retreat. [ http://www.dharmawiki.ru/index.php/Karma_Chöchog Khenpo Karma Chöchog Gawa Dorje] comments on this thesis as follows: ““Lama” is simply a name for a teacher, a spiritual teacher, in Sanskrit - a Guru. The tradition of retreats of three years and three months appeared later, much later than the word “Lama” for a spiritual teacher. There are many Lamas who have not completed the three-year retreat.”

Some critics also point out that Ole Nydahl's clear and unambiguous political position on a number of issues does not correspond to the image of a Buddhist Teacher. source? It is also mentioned that during the life of the EU, the 16th Karmapa, Ole Nydahl's "native" Buddhist teacher, did not publicly call him Lama.

However, despite the above doubts and discussions, in the opinion of His Holiness Shamar Rinpoche, the second Lama in the hierarchy of the Karma Kagyu school, and in the conclusion of Khenpo Chödrag, Ole Nydahl is a qualified Buddhist teacher, Lama. Shamar Rinpoche mentions Ole Nydahl as a "Buddhist Master" who "transmits the blessings and teachings of the Kagyu lineage" (1983) document 2 on Ole Nydahl's website [ ]] and indicates that it is "quite appropriate" for him to "hold the title of Lama" (2006) document 3 on Ole Nydahl's website [ http://www.lama-ole-nydahl.org/olesite/pages/person/dokuments.html]]. On the official website of His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje [ cite web

url =http://www.karmapa-news.org/

title = Karmapa News

lang = en

accessdate = 11-06-2008] Ole Nydahl is referred to as Lama in all publications. The Gyalwa Karmapa addresses him in the same way at all meetings.

Diamond Road Centers

Ole Nydahl himself and Khenpo Chödrag report that the Sixteenth Karmapa instructed him to establish Karma Kagyu centers in the west. Document 1 on Ole Nydahl's website [ http://www.lama-ole-nydahl.org/olesite/pages/person/dokuments.html], ([http://www.buddhism.ru/teachers/ole.php Russian translation])] Since 1973, he has been traveling giving lectures. Soon the first meditation center was formed in Copenhagen, which was subsequently visited by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. In 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1980, the Sixteenth Karmapa visited centers in Europe and the USA. In January 2000, the Seventeenth Karmapa Thaye Dorje's first tour of the European centers founded by Ole Nydahl took place.

The centers founded by Ole Nydahl are called the Diamond Way Centers of the Karma Kagyu school. The Diamond Way is a variant translation from Sanskrit of the term Vajrayana.

Since the 1970s, Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah have founded more than 500 Buddhist meditation groups in Central and Western Europe, Asia, America, Australia and South Africa. Ole Nydahl prefers not to give lectures or open Diamond Way meditation centers in countries where the population is predominantly Muslim. In his opinion, he would not be able to effectively protect his students in these countries in the event of oppression - even in those countries of the Middle East and North Africa where there is no oppression and other Buddhist centers coexist with Islam [ List of Buddhist groups in the Middle East and North Africa [http://board.buddhist.ru/showthread.php?t=10932]]. Thus, despite the existence of Buddhist centers in the "Islamic world", Ole Nydahl argues that opening centers there would be an irresponsible step on his part. The exception seems to be the traditionally Muslim republics of the Russian Federation and the former USSR: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Bashkortostan, where there are groups that have received the blessing of Ole Nydahl.

In Russia there are 62 centers and meditation groups opened with the blessing of Ole Nydahl.

Teaching activities

Ole Nydahl continuously travels to various countries, teaching his students, as well as people interested in Buddhism. The purpose of Ole Nydahl's courses on various topics such as Mahamudra (Great Seal) [ Root text – Mahamudra of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, commentary by Ole Nydahl. ISBN 5-94303-002-6] – to promote a deeper understanding of Diamond Way Buddhism.

Since 1978, Ole Nydahl has written several books about Buddhism, some of them autobiographical. Some of his books have been published in Russian. For people starting to practice, Ole Nydahl does not recommend reading texts on the Vajrayana topic of other Lamas (both other Vajrayana schools and within the framework of the texts of the Karma Kagyu school). He explains this by saying that it is better to understand one thing well than to get confused about many things. Different schools use such terms in different meanings, which sometimes escapes the attention of beginning Buddhists.

Ole Nydahl's disciples are, without exception, lay people who live primarily in Western culture. Traditional Buddhist education with the adoption of a vow of celibacy, according to Ole Nydahl, is more suitable for life in a monastery, but not for the lifestyle in Western society.

Ole Nydahl supports Trinley Thaye Dorje on the issue of recognition of the Seventeenth Karmapa.

Criticism

Ole Nydahl is one of the supporters of Karmapa Thaye Dorje on the controversial issue of identifying the Seventeenth Karmapa. According to the position of Ole Nydahl and the second most important lama in the Karma Kagyu school - Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche - the Dalai Lama is not authorized to recognize (and has never previously participated in recognizing) the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Testimony of Professor Jeffrey Brian Samuel, Lama vs. Hope and Ors, CIV-2004-404-001363, Supreme Court New Zealand (Auckland), November 11, 2004, given in the case of a dispute over the ownership of property used as a Karma Kagyu Buddhist center. (denies the claim that there is historical precedent for the Karmapa being recognized by the Dalai Lama) [ http://www.karmapa.org.nz/articles/2005/geoffreysamuel.pdf]] Court decision, Lama vs. Hope and Ors, CIV-2004-404-001363, Supreme Court of New Zealand (Auckland), 10 March 2005. The case was decided in favor of the plaintiff, Beru Khyentse Rinpoche, on the evidence of Geoffrey Samuel (see above [ http://www.rigpedorje.com/court/lamavhope.pdf]] The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed the recognition of Urgyen Trinley Dorje as Karmapa at the request of Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. [ Ken Jolmes, "Karmapa", page 56, ISBN 3-89568-027-3]

Oliver Freiberger, research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, [ [ http://www.utexas.edu/research/eureka/faculty/view.php?pid=2284 EUREKA | Faculty | Oliver Freiberger]] indicates that there is a "constant debate" Oliver Freiberger, Department of Religious Studies, University of Bayreuth, Germany, in "Inter-Buddhist and inter-religious relations", see [ http://www.globalbuddhism.org/2/freiberger011.html]] regarding Ole Nydahl. Freiberger reports that the German Buddhist Union's Lotusblatter magazine states that Nydahl's statements and activities offend some German Buddhists who believe his behavior is unbecoming of a Buddhist teacher. “Nydahl is accused not only of opinionated and militaristic speeches, but also of being a right-winger, racist, sexist and hostile to foreigners. His unusual activities (such as bungee jumping, parachuting, riding high-speed motorcycles) also irritate Buddhists who are not his disciples - regardless of whether they belong to the Karma Kagyu school." [ German Buddhist Union (DBU) Magazine Lotusbl?tter 13, no. 4, , 64f.] [Lotusbl?tter 14, no. 1, , 56-61] Ole Nydahl evokes the same attitude among a number of Russian Buddhists who are not his disciples.

Martin Baumann, a professor at the University of Bern (Switzerland), noted in an interview (2005) that critics accuse Ole Nydahl of teaching “Buddhism-lite” or “instant Buddhism” and that he agrees with this when he hears some “suspiciously superficial phrases” Nidal.Baumann, Martin 2005: Interview "Neue Luzerner Zeitung", 04/11/2005, [ http://www.religionenlu.ch/pdf/2005-11-04.pdf “Eine Art Buddhismus Light?”]].

In Buddhism, it is forbidden to kill living beings, but Ole Nydahl allows abortion if it is prescribed for medical reasons to preserve the life of the mother or is associated with defects in the development of the fetus. When asked about the dangers of abortion, he answers the following: “There are many families who would like to have children, but cannot have them. If the child is clearly handicapped, ask the doctor what he thinks. But if the child is clearly healthy, then don’t kill him, give him to someone who clearly wants a child.” [ Olga Zaets. Article based on materials from a lecture by Ole Nydahl (2000, Russia) [http://religion.ng.ru/facts/2000-02-09/2_nidal.html]]

Criticism of the courses

Despite support for Ole Nydahl's activities from Künzig Shamar Rinpoche and Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje, some observers? note the differences in Ole Nydahl's style and practice from traditional ones:

* The Ole Nydahl Course does not include Mahamudra itself (including initiation and corresponding practice), but only lectures are given that comment on the poetic description of Mahamudra compiled by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje.

* In 1972, Ole Nydahl received the transmission of Phowa practice from Lama Ayang Rinpoche of the Drikung Kagyu school. Ole taught the first Phowa course in 1987. Ole Nydahl conducts Phowa courses that are different from the one he received from Lama Ayang Rinpoche (traditionally, the practice of Phowa is associated with a vow to practice Phowa 2 times a month and Tsog Amitabha or Milarepa once a year, which Ole Nydahl does not talk about). Ole Nydahl explains that he stopped using the transmission received from Ayang Rinpoche because in 1983 the latter took a political position different from that of Künzig Shamarpa. After this, Ole Nydahl abandoned the Phowa lineage received from Ayang Rinpoche and received Phowa practice through the Nyingma school lineage from Lama Tenga Rinpoche.

* Ole Nydahl began to organize three-day seminars on the practice of Phowa, simplifying the traditional forms (without requiring the corresponding tantric initiation and vows, limiting himself to three days instead of the traditional seven). The correctness of this simplification has caused controversy in Buddhist circles.

Ole Nydahl's position on Islam

Ole Nydahl's position towards Islam and Muslims has been seriously criticized; he has repeatedly made politically incorrect statements, which were also regarded by critics as racist and xenophobic [ Lotusbl?tter 13, no. 4, , 64f., and Lotusbl?tter 14, no. 1, , 56-61)].

Here are some examples of similar statements from Ole Nydahl:

* In one published interview, he stated, “I have two concerns for the world: overpopulation and Islam. These two things can destroy a world that could otherwise be a beautiful place.” He explains that "men who suppress women are likely to become suppressed women in the next life" [ Duh?rov?, Bibi?na.[ http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/07/11/ace-of-diamonds.php Ace of Diamonds: A conversation with Lama Ole Nydahl] in "The Prague Post", July 11, 2007.].

* “And also, I think they need to make sure that some Arabs live with each other also, who don’t like each other, it’s very simple. So that they would always fight with each other..." [ ]

* “Question: – Countries with bad karma?

*: Answer (Ole Nydahl): – Africa and Muslim countries, everyone there is unhappy. Also, if you look at all the Muslim republics, there is a lot of anger. It is simply the kind of belief that keeps people angry and makes them fight. Also in Africa it is very bad karma. Everywhere. A quarter to twenty-three percent of all black men between 20 and 30 years of age are now in prison." [ Ole Nydahl. Questions and answers at Phowa July 7-8, 1992 [http://praktika.narod.ru/budd/book/nidal-phowa92.htm]]

* “In fact, all races in the world have been above and below except the Slavs. All. At first it was all southern countries. First Africa, then China, then many other places, then it was the Romans, now the Germans. But we are already in decline. We fill our cities with people who do not belong to our culture... When the Germanic culture falls, the only race in the world that has not yet risen is the Slavs. It is you. Yours a big problem is that you are aggressive towards yourself. You always beat yourself up." [ Ole Nydahl. Questions and answers at Phowa July 7-8, 1992 [http://praktika.narod.ru/budd/book/nidal-phowa92.htm]]

: “I think you will be smart enough to create a strong connection with Europe and cut off the Muslim republics...” [ Ole Nydahl. Questions and answers at Phowa July 7-8, 1992 [http://praktika.narod.ru/budd/book/nidal-phowa92.htm]]

Responses to criticism

Regarding his anti-Islamic position, Ole Nydahl says that this position is the personal opinion of an experienced, well-traveled person, and is not directly related to Buddhist teachings. Ole Nydahl explains that he also uses criticism of Islam as an upaya to test students' ability to think independently.

When asked whether discussing social and political problems is the task of a Buddhist teacher, Ole Nydahl answers: “... If people who can see the future do not speak, then they are irresponsible. I always say, “I don’t need to be popular, but I guess I’m right.” Interview with Ole Nydahl [ http://www.diamondway-teachings.org/content/olenydahl/text/bt4ole.html]]: “... The teacher must do what he says. He should also not simply avoid controversial topics, but point out the causes of future troubles, such as overpopulation in ghettos and poor countries and the rise of Islam. If a teacher talks sweet nonsense all the time, then he is not protecting his students. He must be prepared to offend some people. This is his responsibility." [ Learning in a Total Way: Teacher – Student Relationship [http://www.lama-ole-nydahl.org/olesite/pages/dway/teacherstudent.html] ]

Supporters of Ole Nydahl point out that he often says: “the best approach to the world's problems is to pay poor families, especially women, so that they do not have more than 1-2 children and help them educate these children”:: “... Can you imagine what a relief it is when you can go to Africa and meet healthy, free and educated people, like in our current societies?”

In response to criticism that the teachings are superficial, Ole Nydahl says: “Learned people make simple things complex, but yogis make complex things simple” (Oral Teachings, Hamburg (Germany) December 29, 2007).

title = A modern introduction to the teachings of the Buddha. What everything is

original = Wie die Dinge sind. Eine zeitgem??e Einf?hrung in die Lehre Buddhas

edition = 1st edition

place = St. Petersburg.

publishing house = Peter

pages = 160

title = Fundamental Exercises

edition =

place = St. Petersburg.