Mahamudra means "The Great Seal" and is considered to be the crown jewel of Buddha's teachings. When one rests in the totality of the seer, what is seen and the act of seeing at all times, the goal, Mahamudra, is reached. During Mahamudra Courses, Lama Ole describes the progressive stages which lead to this state and also guides his students in various Diamond Way meditations throughout the course. There are only very few schools of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism which have succeeded in keeping these teachings alive until today.

What is Buddhism?

The best explanation of the Buddha's teachings comes from the Buddha himself. In Sanskrit the teachings are called the Dharma and in Tibetan Chˆ. Both mean the way things are. So Buddhism can be seen as a set of tools that enable us to see things as they really are here and now. Buddhism has no dogmas and allows question marks to be placed everywhere. Buddha's teachings aim at the full development and freedom of body, speech and mind.

Who was Buddha?

Buddha was born in India about 2560 years ago into the royal family of a highly developed culture. The young prince enjoyed extremely privileged circumstances and up until the age of twenty-nine he had known only pleasure. Leaving his palace for the first time, his world was turned upside down. Over three consecutive days he saw a very sick person, somebody old and someone who had died. Upon his recognition of the inevitability of old age, sickness, death and the impermanence of everything, he became deeply troubled. The next morning, he passed a Yogi in deep meditation and their minds met. Inspired by this, the prince then left his home and family and wandered the country in search of teachings that could overcome death and suffering. He studied with various teachers, but none of them could lead him to his ultimate goal.

At the age of 35, after six years of deep meditation, he realized the true nature of mind and was enlightened. He became awakened to the essence of all things: the all-knowing space that makes everything possible, its radiant clarity that playfully expresses mind's richness and its limitless love that obstructs nothing. For the next 45 years the Buddha taught the methods to reach the goal of enlightenment to thousands of gifted students.

Further information on buddhism could be found here.

Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah met the 16th Karmapa in 1969 during their honeymoon in the Himalayas and became his first western students. After years of studying buddhist teachings and practising meditation, the 16th Karmapa gave them the task of making the Diamond Way teachings accessible to the western world. In his name almost 600 Diamond Way centers have been founded in the West since 1972.

Lama Ole shows us that spontaneous freshness and resting in the nature of one's own mind belong together. He is the author of several books on Buddhism.

You can find more information on the official web site.