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Williamson County Sun Article, November 2007
Austin Student Article, November 2005
Austin Student Article September 2005
Lama Ole's New Year's Letter 2004
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Article from McGill Daily, October 2002

Finding Enlightenment
The Austin Student - Daily News Paper
September 15, 2005
By Emily Starbuck Gerson

Karma. Yoga. Meditation. Many Westerners have heard of Buddhism and can recognize these Buddhist symbols and terms, but know very little about it. The practice was created by Buddha, who was born around 570 B.C. He sought to understand the nature of mind and through intense meditation, he reached what is called enlightenment, a form of spiritual awakening which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. His teachings, intended to make people fearless, joyful, and kind, have been passed down through the years and remain very strong to this day.

While Buddhism originated in India and is closely associated with East Asian countries, it has recently become a popular practice in Western cultures. Buddhist leaders are traditionally of Asian decent, but it is now acceptable for Westerners to take become ranked members as well. In 1969, Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah became some of the first Western students to achieve status in Buddhism. Lama Ole is one of the few Westerners fully qualified as a lama and meditation teacher in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Buddhism, and he believes that Buddhism can offer many things to Western societies.

He is a follower of the Diamond Way Buddhism, which has a practicing center here in Austin. According to the center, “Buddha’s teachings are like a diamond- unchangeable in its nature, yet reflecting the color of the ground upon which it is laid. In this way, without losing their essence, the teachings have adapted to the cultural conditions of different societies and times.”
The Diamond Way Buddhist Group of Austin looks to Lama Ole Nydahl for guidance, and are thrilled to welcome him this November when he comes to lecture at UT, in addition to the thrill of the Dalai Lama being here at the end of September. Lama Ole and his wife have been traveling the world for the past thirty years, going from one Diamond Way center to another across the globe to lecture and give workshops.

When one thinks of Buddhists, one may imagine monks with shaved heads in heavy robes.However, at this center, you will find UT students and normal men and women with real jobs. Started about a decade ago by several eager students, the Austin chapter of the Diamond Way group has grown over the years, and now has a public center of its own. They hold meetings on the UT campus once a week and meetings at their center weekly as well. I recently met with the Diamond Way Buddhist Group of Austin to ask them about how they apply Buddhism to their lives in a modern Western society. Meeting with me were Sergio Ayala, a Diamond Way Buddhist traveling teacher, and three practitioners who live at the center full-time.

Austin Student: How do you understand Buddhism? Is it a religion? A Philosophy?

Diamond Way: Buddhism is not quite a religion because there is no god. Religion means losing something- you have fallen from grace and need religion to complete you. In Buddhism, you are already complete and perfect. Buddhism is a religion of experience, not belief. It is a method for attaining realizations. Religion wants to bring perfection back, but Buddhist meditation uncovers what has always been there.

AS: Do you follow a strict set of beliefs, or are you open to varying beliefs here?

DW: We have no stringent rules and are not dogmatic. We are not a moralistic or monastic group and we don’t have a style of being away from society. One merely brings the knowledge they learn here into relationships, work, and how they live. It’s very practical.

AS: What is it like for someone to live here at the center full-time?

DW: Someone who lives here helps with the group and has to put their private life aside. There are programs about four nights a week so they are always helping with the center. Two women and two men live at the center right now. It’s very fun and inspirational. It is courageous, and they must have confidence in their mind because you are forced out of your private ego space. Your ego has less food to feed on.
AS: How does yoga tie into Buddhism?

DW: The practice of yoga has become extremely commercialized. Its goal is really to learn the qualities of ones awareness. Physical yoga prepares ones body for the meditation state, but most people don’t realize that and stop before they get to that part. They think yoga is sensual and about the body, but in Buddhism, it is about the mind and nature. It unveils the mind’s qualities through practice.

AS: How does Buddhism help people? Who is it for?

DW: We see people change here non-stop. They change from having a heavy mind to having a light, joyful, spontaneous mind. Buddhism is good for critical individuals because it is based on experience rather than following dogmas. Buddha said not to believe what he said because he was Buddha, but to be a skeptic and know it for yourself. Being critical is primary. We are creatures of emotion and ideas, but we can be free and have nonconceptual clarity free of delusion. We search for the truth, and the closer one comes to truth, the more freedom and bliss one has.

AS: How can you best describe your group here in Austin?

DW: We are very jovial and spontaneous. We look for the highest joy in everything that is occurring. Hard work rounds out in sharing fun. We have lots of parties because we believe in the honest and free exchange of people. You can meditate on your own but if you don’t work with people, you’ll be stiff. This center lets you apply your teachings and let it be useful in the world.

The Diamond Way Buddhist Group of Austin welcomes you. They have weekly meetings- Tuesdays at 7pm in the Texas Union, and Sundays at 7pm at their center. They also have workshops and lecture series open to the public, many of which are coming up in the next few weeks. Lama Ole Nydahl will be speaking at UT at 7pm on November 28. To find out more information or get directions to their center, their web address is http://www.diamondway.org/austin

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