Diamond Way Buddhism: Difference between revisions
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:''This article concerns a specific organization. See ''[[Vajrayana]]'', which can also be referred to as Diamond Way Buddhism.'' |
:''This article concerns a specific organization. See ''[[Vajrayana]]'', which can also be referred to as Diamond Way Buddhism.'' |
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Diamond Way Buddhism |
'''Diamond Way Buddhism''' is a controversial religious organization in the [[Karma Kagyu]] [[Lineage (Buddhism)|lineage]] of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] under [[Trinley Thaye Dorje]]. It was founded by, and is directed by, [[Ole Nydahl]]. |
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==Early development == |
==Early development == |
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===Responses to the controversies=== |
===Responses to the controversies=== |
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"... 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." |
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<ref>http://www.lama-ole-nydahl.org/olesite/pages/dway/teacherstudent.html</ref> |
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“…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.”<ref>http://www.futureofbuddhism.com/budlamateach.htm</ref> |
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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"<ref>"The Way Things Are"; 2008 edition; O Books, www.o-books.net</ref> |
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"<ref>"The Way Things Are"; 2008 edition; O Books, www.o-books.net</ref> |
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Revision as of 11:33, 28 October 2008
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (October 2008) |
- This article concerns a specific organization. See Vajrayana, which can also be referred to as Diamond Way Buddhism.
Diamond Way Buddhism is a controversial religious organization in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism under Trinley Thaye Dorje. It was founded by, and is directed by, Ole Nydahl.
Early development
The development of Diamond Way Buddhism began in the early 1970s, when Hannah and Ole Nydahl were asked by the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, to return to Europe after spending 3 years learning from him in the Himalayas.[1] In 1972 they established the first Karma Kagyu Buddhist centre in continental Europe in their home town of Copenhagen, Denmark.
The 16th Karmapa’s first visit to Europe
Following Kalu Rinpoche's first visit in 1973, Ole and Hannah invited Rangjung to Europe. He arrived in Copenhagen on 10 December 1974. He travelled to Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland, accompanied by Hannah and Ole Nydahl, and founded many Karma Kagyu Buddhist centres.[2] Throughout the 1970s, at Rangjung's request, Ole Nydahl taught in the centres and Hannah translated for the visiting Tibetan lamas.[3]
Development of Karma Kagyu centres in the West
The number of Karma Kagyu Buddhist centres steadily increased, especially in Western and Central Europe, particularly Germany and Poland.[4] A scandal erupted after another western Karma Kagyu teacher, Osel Tendzin, infected several of his students with AIDS after having sex with them, and the Karma Kagyu School’s reputation in the USA was seriously damaged, blocking the development of centres there.[5]
Karmapa Controversy
In 1992 controversy erupted over the recognition of the 17th Karmapa when Tai Situ Rinpoche announced Ogyen Trinley Dorje as his candidate for the title. The scandal forced Hannah and Ole Nydahl to take sides. They could not accept a Karmapa who was accepted by the Chinese government.[6]
Although an alternative candidate to Dorje had not yet been revealed, they trusted Shamar Rinpoche, who stated that the prediction letter presented by Tai Situ was forged. Although the majority of Tibetan lamas, including the Dalai Lama, supported Tai Situ’s choice, Hannah and Ole Nydahl supported Shamar Rinpoche, who stood in opposition.[7]
During the two years before Thaye Dorje was announced as Shamar Rinpoche’s candidate for the title of 17th Karmapa, all Karma Kagyu Buddhist centres choose whether to accept Dorje, who was recognised by Tai Situ, the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, or to support Shamar Rinpoche. During the 1990s, while the majority of Kagyu monasteries chose to accept Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the majority of European Karma Kagyu centres chose to accept Thaye Dorje. In 1998 Ole Nydahl stated "During the early nineties our centers repulsed a communist Chinese attempt to take over our lineage and brought the real 17th Karmapa to freedom, all because we trusted each other. We stood shoulder to shoulder, even when it hurt, and therefore we won."[8]
Diamond Way Buddhist Centres
With the approval of Shamar Rinpoche and other high Kagyu lamas such as Topga Rinpoche and Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche, the practical direction of the European and American Karma Kagyu centres which supported Thaye Dorje increasingly became the responsibility of Hannah and Ole Nydahl (with the exception of the Karma Kagyu centres in France led by Jigme Rinpoche and Gendun Rinpoche).[9]
The process of adaptation of the Karma Kagyu teachings to Western culture which Hannah and Ole Nydahl had instigated, combined with what they and Shamar Rinpoche perceived as a need to dispense with unnecessary Tibetan customs, trappings and organisational structures,[10] culminated in a distinct Western approach and style of practice. In 1996, in order to distinguish the approach adopted by Hannah and Ole Nydahl to the transmission of the Karma Kagyu teachings, the network of approximately 150 centres he and Hannah Nydahl had helped to establish became known as "Diamond Way Buddhist Centres". The first Diamond Way Buddhism website was launched in 1997.[11]
Western Buddhism
The main principle which underlies the approach of Diamond Way Buddhist centres is the attempt to combine the traditional practices of the Karma Kagyu School with a transparent Western style of organisation. Diamond Way Buddhism is a lay tradition offering methods for people who have jobs, partners, families and responsibilities.
Organization
The organisation consists of 589 centers and groups in 52 countries, mainly in Europe, Russia, South America, North America and Israel.[12] All work in connection with the centres and groups is unpaid and voluntarily. Nydahl states "...our work is grown on the basis of friendship and trust... since the Karma Kagyu teachings aim to bring freedom and independence, it is people who already have those qualities who are generally attracted to our centers."[13]
In Tibet the monastic system and its administration was the basis of a feudal society and institutionalised a political power structure.[14] The medieval Tibetan monastic system does not easily lend itself to western culture where democracy and transparency are valued and demanded. Hannah and Ole Nydahl wished to avoid the rigid, hierarchical system employed by Tibetan monasteries, which other Tibetan teachers has tried to replicate in the West. As Shamar Rinpoche explains, because of the politics of monastic administration "nearly nobody reached enlightenment in a monastery" [15]
Hannah and Ole Nydahl were also keen to avoid what was perceived to be the more exotic or ritualistic aspects of Tibetan Buddhism such as pujas sung in Tibetan with Tibetan musical accompaniment. In 1998 Ole Nydahl stated "I simply don’t want the gifted and critical people who discover us to step right into a puja, as has repeatedly happened in the past. They then think they landed with the Catholics or some sect, and we won’t get a second chance to benefit them or their like-minded friends." [16] Instead, most mediation texts (except mantras) are translated and used in native European languages.[17]
Practices
In Diamond Way Buddhist Centres the main practice in public meditation sessions is guru yoga on the 16th Karmapa. Individual practitioners then usually start with the ngöndro (preliminary or preparatory practice) entitled "The Vehicle for the Path of the Supreme", which was composed by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje. In most cases, following completion of ngöndro, students practice guru yoga on the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje "The Guru Yoga in Four Sessions" (Tibetan Tun Shi Lame Naljor).
Other practices include the meditation on Chenrezig (Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara) composed by the 12th Century siddha Tang Tong Gyalpo and the phowa (transference of consciousness at the time of death) of the Longchen Nyingthig Lineage. The short invocation of Mahakala (Tibetan Dorje Bernagchen) composed by the Eighth Karmapa is a daily practice.
Controversies
Ole Nydahl has been criticised for using the title of lama, despite having not completed the usual three year retreat often required to take on such a title. Lama Namsen Rinpoche, a lama of the Karma Kagyu lineage, states that the 16th Karmapa, during a meeting in 1977, told Ole Nydahl "You are not a Lama. You have met many Lamas, but you are not one of them. What you can do is tell others about Dharma, but you can't act like a Lama".[18]
According to Oliver Freiberger, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin,[19] there is an "ongoing controversy"[20] about Ole Nydahl. Freiberger reports that the German Buddhist Union's periodical Lotusblatter claims that Nydahl's statements and activities offend a number of German Buddhists who claim that his conduct is not appropriate for a Buddhist teacher.[20] "Nydahl has been accused not only of speaking in a conceited and militaristic way, but also of being right wing, racist, sexist, and hostile to foreigners. His unusual activities (e.g., bungee jumping, fast motor cycles and parachuting) also annoy Buddhists who are not his followers—be they other adherents of the Karma Kagyü school or not."[20][21][22]
Martin Baumann, Professor at the University of Bern (Swiss), remarked in a 2005 interview that critics accuse Ole Nydahl of teaching a kind of "Buddhism light" or "Instant Buddhism" and that he agrees with them when he hears Nydahl's "alarmingly superficial phrases".[23]
Diamond Way Buddhism has been criticized as a cult of personality by the Minnesota Daily,[24] a student-produced newspaper of the University of Michigan (as reported by the Buddhist Channel website). [25]
On the 6th September 2008, the Anonymous group most famous for protesting Scientology organised a protest against Diamond Way in London, UK [citation needed]
Responses to the controversies
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, the second highest lama within the same branch of Karma Kagyu, refers to Ole Nydahl as a "Buddhist Master" who "transmits the blessing and activity of the Karma Kagyud Lineage" (1983)[27] and stated that it is "absolutely appropriate" for him "to hold the title of Lama" (2006)[28]
See also
References
- ^ Nydahl, Ole "Entering the Diamond Way, Tibetan Buddhism Meets the West", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1999). ISBN 978-0-931892-03-5
- ^ Karmapa.org website
- ^ Nydahl, Ole "Riding the Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road - The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1992). ISBN 978-0-931892-67-7
- ^ Nydahl, Ole "Riding the Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road - The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1992). ISBN 978-0-931892-67-7
- ^ Batchelor, Stephen "The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture", Parallax Press (1994) (page 107). ISBN 0938077694, 9780938077695
- ^ Lehnert, Tomek "Rogues in Robes, An Inside Chronicle of a recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1998). ISBN 1-57733-026-9
- ^ Lehnert, Tomek "Rogues in Robes, An Inside Chronicle of a recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism", Blue Dolphin Publishing (1998). ISBN 1-57733-026-9
- ^ http://www.diamondway-teachings.org/export/en/content/olenydahl/bt4ole.html 1998 Interview with Ole Nydahl
- ^ http://www.dhagpo-kagyu.org Dhagpo Kagyu Mandala website
- ^ http://www.shamarpa.org/teachings/no-need.php teaching by Shamar Rinpoche from his personal website
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.kkbn.com Archive of early Diamond Way Buddhism website
- ^ Diamond Way International Site
- ^ http://www.diamondway-teachings.org/export/en/content/olenydahl/bt4ole.html 1998 Interview with Ole Nydahl
- ^ Curren, Erik "Buddha's Not Smiling, Uncovering the Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism", Alaya Press (2006). ISBN 0-9772253-0-5
- ^ http://www.shamarpa.org/teachings/no-need.php Teaching on Shamar Rinpoche's personal website
- ^ http://www.diamondway-teachings.org/export/en/content/olenydahl/bt4ole.html 1998 Interview with Ole Nydahl
- ^ http://www.dwbuk.org/buddhism/meditations
- ^ [1] Danish Karma Kagyu site
- ^ EUREKA | Faculty | Oliver Freiberger
- ^ a b c Oliver Freiberger, Department for the Study of Religion University of Bayreuth, Germany, in Inter-Buddhist and Inter-Religious Relations in the West
- ^ German Buddhist Union (DBU) Magazine Lotusblätter 13, no. 4, [1999], 64f.
- ^ Lotusblätter 14, no. 1, 2000, 56-61
- ^ Baumann, Martin 2005: Interview Neue Luzerner Zeitung, 04/11/2005, "Eine Art Buddhismus Light?"
- ^ Minnesota Daily
- ^ http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,2619,0,0,1,0
- ^ "The Way Things Are"; 2008 edition; O Books, www.o-books.net
- ^ see document 2 on Ole Nydahl's website
- ^ see document 3 on Ole Nydahl's website