Lama Ole Nydahl arriving in London
As it’s been a while since we last updated our blog, we thought you’d all be interested to hear about some of the great developments over the last year from our wonderful London Diamond Way Buddhist Centre. 2018 was a busy year for the London Centre, and despite all of the many projects and events, the doors stayed open to the public every Monday and Thursday, offering introductory talks and meditation sessions. So let’s take a look at what took place in 2018.
Karmapa and Sangyumla
From Karmapa’s website:
Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, and his beloved wife Sangyumla, are delighted to share the joyous news that they are expecting their first child.
Statue of the 6th Shamarpa carved by the 10th Karmapa
Here is an extract from the late 14th Shamarpa’s book “A Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters”, about the life of the 10th Karmapa, Choying Dorje. It illustrates their close relationship as student and teacher.
Here, the 10th Karmapa relates a conversation with his root teacher the 6th Shamarpa:
Shamarpa: “Can the lotuses in a lake stay ever together without separating?”
14th Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chokyi Lodro (1952-2014)
We are saddened by the profound loss of our beloved teacher Shamar Rinpoche, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday, only a few short days after visiting us in the UK. Below are some messages of condolence as well as encouragement from many eminent Buddhist masters with whom Rinpoche shared a close bond.
Shamar Rinpoche teaching in London, 3 June 2014
On Tuesday 3 June 2014, the London Diamond Way Buddhist Centre welcomed the 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche. Shamar Rinpoche is second to Gyalwa Karmapa in the spiritual hierarchy of the Karma Kagyu School, and is an emanation of Buddha Amitabha. The Shamarpas are referred to as the “Red Hat Karmapas” since the 4th Karmapa Rolpe Dorje presented a ruby red crown to the second Shamarpa, saying, “You are the one manifestation, while I am the other. Therefore, the responsibility to maintain the continuity of the teachings of the Kagyu lineage rests equally on you as it does on me.” The present Shamar Rinpoche received the complete teachings and transmissions of the Karma Kagyu School from the 16th Karmapa at Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. In 1994 in accordance with Karma Kagyu tradition, he officially recognised and enthroned Trinley Thaye Dorje as the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.
Fish-eye view of the Beaufoy, including the course marquee, from the Bellway construction site
The first week of April 2014 was packed with activity and excitement as Lama Ole Nydahl and his team, followed by Lama Jigme Rinpoche arrived in London to stay at the London Diamond Way Buddhist Centre at the Beaufoy Institute. While we have previously recounted two important days (namely Lama Ole’s tour Reading, Oxford and St Albans and the public opening of the London Centre at the Beaufoy Institute), here we’d like to share some impressions of what went on during the rest of the time the two lamas were with us.
Lama Ole Nydahl in Oxford 1 April 2014
Having arrived in London for a week-long visit to the UK, on the first evening, Lama Ole Nydahl expressed the strong wish to make a spontaneous visit to as many as possible of the Diamond Way Buddhist groups in the close vicinity of London. A few phone calls later to discuss logistics, and a plan was made for the following day, Tuesday 1 April, to drive to Reading, Oxford and St Albans. The was the first time since Lama Ole Nydahl’s 2011 visit that he had visited groups outside the Capital.
H.H. 16th Karmapa
“You would come in [to Rumtek Monastery], you would see H.H. the Sixteenth Karmapa. You would see a man who could laugh so that you could hear it five houses away. You’d see a house of power, something you’d never seen before. If he were here now, everybody would gradually vibrate against the walls. I promise you that, just from his power. I’ve never seen anybody like him. I’ve seen all the high Rinpoches, all the Holinesses, but I’ve never seen anybody like him – nobody with his power, nobody with his blessing, nobody with his energy, that I’ve never seen.”
– Lama Ole Nydahl, 30 March 1996 at the International Karma Kagyu Conference, Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi
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