O Books Publishing (2008), 240 pages
The highest teachings on the nature of mind are like a diamond, transparent and indestructible, also reflecting the color of the society into which they are introduced. Originating in India, Buddhism changed in its transmission to Tibet, and is today taking a style more appropriate to educated and independent minds in the West. Lama Ole, one of the few qualified western lamas of the Karma Kagyu tradition, is a major driving force in this process, providing here a fresh, exciting summary of this timeless wisdom. This seminal work offers the liberating and powerful methods of Diamond Way Buddhism for readers seeking to incorporate Buddhist practice into their daily lives.
Blue Dolphin Publishing, (2012 2nd edition), 233 pages
A perfect book to introduce Westerners to Tibetan Buddhism. This is the genuinely compelling story, and spiritual odyssey, of Ole and Hannah Nydahl, who in 1968 became the first Western students of the great Tibetan master, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. Their exciting travels on the worn path between the green lowlands of Europe to the peaks of the Himalayas, led them to experience the skillful teachings of numerous Tibetan lamas who helped transform their lives into “limitless clarity and joy.” From their first contact with Tibetan Buddhism in Kathmandu in the form of a lama with extraordinary psychic powers, Ole and Hannah encountered the full spectrum of the Buddhist “view.”
Blue Dolphin Publishing, (1992), 408 pages
Riding the Tiger is the inside story of the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In his refreshingly unsentimental style, Lama Ole shows all aspects of the work. With breathtaking intensity, he highlights both healthy and unhealthy tendencies in the light of the Buddha’s ultimate aim: to bring about fully developed beings whose every activity blesses the world. The book describes the starting of the first 100 centers all over the world, with many intriguing cross cultural adventures and teachings along the way – from the spiritual hunger of the Russians to bandits in South America and travels in North America with Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche.
Firewheel Publishing (2011), 240 pages
Lama Ole Nydahl’s refreshing and modern commentary to this classic Buddhist text about the nature of mind makes these teachings accessible to many people. THE GREAT SEAL describes our basis for development, the path, and the goal of Diamond Way Buddhism and offers insight into both the conditioned world and absolute reality. THE GREAT SEAL, or Mahamudra view, is compared to painting on water. Everything fits perfectly in the moment, yet while it appears it is also dissolving. Enlightened actions work in the same way: here and now, beyond expectations or fears, without holding on or pushing away.
O Books Publishing (2008), 240 pages
For centuries Tibetan Buddhist masters have uncovered joy and meaning in the dying process. For them death is not a mystery. They know what will happen and see it as a great chance for spiritual development. Fearless Death makes their teachings accessible to the modern West.
Buddha & Love explains how a Buddhist approach to relationships can help us to relax our minds, break bad habits, and use relationships to grow ourselves and benefit everyone around us. Unafraid of taboo topics, and free from sappy clichés and political correctness, Buddha & Love provides both women and men with practical advice on how to love better.
Blue Dolphin Publishing (1998), 305 pages
When a Karmapa dies, his rebirth is recognized again by his closest students, most often by Shamarpa, the second-highest lama in the Karma Kagyu lineage.
When the 16th Karmapa passed away in 1981, centuries-old Tibetan politics, Chinese geo-political interests in the Himalayas, and old-fashioned greed conspired to make the recognition of the 17th Karmapa a little more difficult than usual.