Way Things Are

It is my wish that through this book, the seed of Buddhahood is planted in the reader's mind. By putting the teachings presented here into practice, may they accomplish the ultimate goal of Enlightenment for the benefit of all. Trinlay Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Years of travel and search for adventure matured in 1968 when Hannah and Ole Nydahl met the great Tibetan lamas in Nepal. Having fled south into India during the Communist Chinese occupation of their country and facing the loss of their timeless wisdom, these masters of meditation readily imparted to the eager Danes the view of the Great Seal Mahamudra and the methods of Diamond Way Buddhism. Trained in the Himalayas until the autumn of 1972, the Nydahls were first directed by the great Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche and then adopted by Tibet's first incarnate lama, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, who asked them to work in the West. Since then they have traveled around the world twice a year, with Lama Ole teaching nearly every night. They have written half a dozen books, translated into over twenty languages. To date they have founded, with the help of their countless students and friends, over 560 meditation centers for the lay Diamond Way Buddhist Karma Kagyu lineage. Until her death in 2007, Hannah also organized study courses of traditional learning and Tibetan translations under the spiritual guidance of the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje and Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche. Lama Ole, one of the few qualified western lamas of the Karma Kagyu tradition, provides a fresh, exciting summary of Buddha's timeless wisdom. This seminal work offers the liberating and powerful methods of Diamond Way (Vajrayana) Buddhism for readers seeking to incorporate Buddhist practice into their daily lives. Lama Ole Nydahl began teaching Buddhism in Europe at the request of H. H. the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. He has established over 450 Diamond Way Buddhist centres in the Western world