This blog has now been running for a year and has made significant progress in exposing Ole Nydahl and his Diamond Way cult! Thanks to all of you who have made this possible through protests, flyering, and other ways the word has been spread. Keep up the good work!
Also, a rather amusing blog: http://diamondway-buddhism.blogspot.com/2009/05/diamondway-cult.html
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“Where after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works…
unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair, Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, 1958
With this in mind we should take a closer look at what happens in local diamondway groups spread all over the world. Ole is very proud having established 500 diamondway centers worldwide, but the truth is some of those centers are seriously out of control.
Taking into account Ole’s military style, the diamondway organization is very much leader and power oriented. Having organization which is that big it’s not possible to maintain good standards in all those centers. Hence that’s why there are cases of harassment and abuse.
Not being the main religion in western countries, buddhism is not a subject of social and government supervision. There is too little government interest in how small religious groups are run.
This is why in my opinion it’s important that people exercise freedom of speech. Having this type of venue as this blogger is very important because where else people can express themselves.
Please speak up. Let people know what you think about diamondway teachers and people who run groups. Are they all so crystal clear? If there is something you think people should know, if you know about some corruption or “crime in white gloves cases”, please speak up.
In the way people express their opinion on various web pages about doctors and private practitioners in their cities, we should be able to express ours about people who strive for power in diamondway groups and who want to dominate religious communities.
Even with the best intentions in mind and with the good policy Ole has not been able to prevent human rights abuse cases on the level of local groups.
If we care about the development of buddhism in the West we should give it a thorough social check, otherwise we will damage its best values.
I recently visited a Diamond Way center in search of a place to practice meditation. At the time all I knew about this center I had read in their website. I had also seen some of their youtube videos. It all seemed reasonable so I went.
The center was remarkably young and casual, and it had a fun laid back atmosphere. I left with a good impression of the place and an intention to come back.
I knew if I was going to start going to this place then I had to learn about it, so I picked up one of Ole's books, Entering The Diamond Way. That was the real eye opener. He seems to believe that Buddhism is a practice of creating and transmitting mystic powers more than learning about your mind. One of the first time he meets the Karmapa, Ole claims the Karmapa grants him superhuman strength to help him control a crowd. He claims to have seen a Lama become transparent in front of him through the power of his mind. He claims to have purchased a bracelet that cures hepatitis. He claims to have dreamt from a young age of being a Buddhist leader - to have been born for this job - even before he knew anything about it. He supposedly put a knife through his own chest to feign a suicide attempt in order to speed up his drug smuggling trial. These aren't mere anecdotes from the book, they are the highlights. It's all there in plain English - check it out. Or just read the back cover of the book, even.
I don't know enough to discuss the finer points of whether this is a cult. I do know that I'm looking for a practice that is free of superstition, and I know that someone who believes the things Ole has in his book is not fit to be my spiritual leader. Was Buddha teaching about ending your suffering through the attainment of psychic powers?
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