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corboy
jamgon wrote:

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As Corboy stated early in the thread those defending Ole need not even be here (or words to that effect). If you are trying to have a rational debate on the issues which bug you this may not be the right venue. The raison d’etre of this forum is to “express and address” concerns, not to debate whether these concerns are justified.

Jamgon, are you defending Ole?

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SteveLpool
So am I in error to think that divisive speech regarding race and religion, extra-marital affairs and indulging in sexual acts with students is wrong? Have I misunderstood something fundamental to Buddha’s teaching’s in holding the view that all the above is harmful? I’d be interested in hearing your views.

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jamgon
Steve:
You can do better than regurgitate my views. You have the intelligence and knowledge to make up your own mind on the issue. To borrow from Corboy's wisdom "become your own Buddha".

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~*~ k a t e ~*~
Thanks for bringing us back on topic, Corboy.

Any ideas as to what is to be done about the cult's new London centre, granted by naive local government officials who clearly didn't do their research about DW and just saw the word Buddhism and thought 'great!'

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Diamond Way has always been a controversial group, but recently things seem to have come to a head, with some referring to the group as a cult, and protests outside some of their centres.
This documentary aims to get to the truth of the matter.

Let's start with the history of the organisation...
Diamond Way's founder and leader, Ole Nydahl, was born in Denmark in 1941.
He travelled to Nepal many times as did many hippies of the time in the 1960's.
He was convicted of smuggling drugs back into Denmark and sent to prison.

However, whilst in Nepal, He met the 16th Karmapa and took some Buddhist teachings. Despite never taking the 3 year retreat usually required, he took up and still uses the title 'Lama'.
When he returned to Denmark, he founded a meditation centre in Copenhagen that later became the Diamond Way organisation. It now constitutes over 500 centres around the world, mainly in Eastern Europe. Today, Ole Nydahl regularly travels round the world to his centres.

The group has always remained controversial, not least because of Ole Nydahl's behaviour.

Ole Nydahl is well known today for his racist comments, especially against black people and Muslims.
In his book 'The Way Things Are', he says: "Nobody informed expects anything but hate and suppression from Islam" and "Almost all the harm inflicted upon Buddhism throughout history has been caused by Islam".
He has also said in speeches and lectures that "Islam is criminal" and "Allah is a terrible god."
In a lecture in 2008, he said "people are reborn according to their merits. So, if they have been great sinners, they will be reborn into a very uncomfortable and difficult life, for example in Black Africa."

There have also been accusations of Ole Nydahl sexually abusing his female followers.
In an interview in November 2009, he admitted having affairs with female students, however stated that he felt there was nothing wrong with it.
When asked about sexual relations with students, he said "There’s no teacher-student relationship involved in that. They’re Diamond Way Buddhists, but they’re not my students in that moment. They’re equal partners."

There has also been extensive criticism from those involved with Tibetan Buddhism.
Stephen Bachelor, author and expert in Tibetan Buddhism, says the organisation has "fundamentalist and sectarian overtones."
Martin Baumann, professor of religion at Lucerne University, calls it 'instant Buddhism light'
The group was also involved in quite a public argument with the German Buddhist Union, which has since banned all advertising by Diamond Way from it's publications.

We spoke to former members of the Diamond Way organisation, who claim that group members have since been told that they were 'mentally ill' after they left. There have also been claims that former friends were told to have no further contact with those who had left.
We also spoke to former members who have decided to speak out about the organisation. On each occasion, they claim to have received hate mail and legal threats. They provided us with a selection. Here's a few that stand out.
"I am pretty sure this kind of false accusations is illegal, so drop this before you force anyone to turn you in. Stop with your silly accusations."
"That is very disgusting what kind of arguments you are using. You are probably some woman who failed desperatelly to love with Ole. I think that Lama Ole is a GREAT teacher. Also he has a free yogi style so he can have as many girlfriends as he wants."
"Are you seeing a doctor about your condition? You and your ilk would do the world best by not pushing your neurosis on others. Please get laid more often."

Most importantly, former members have referred to the organisation as a dangerous cult, and accused it of being Ole Nydahl's personal money-making scheme, with an elaborate set of books, lectures, courses, blessings and meditation practices all with a price.
They have also spoken of pressure to only read books published by Diamond Way itself, and that certain teachings are witheld from followers until they are sufficiently brainwashed.
Diamond Way did not den this, saying that members need to be 'spiritually ready' before recieving certain teachings.
In 2008, three of the organisations's books were leaked onto the internet via Wikileaks. A fourth was later leaked onto another website, but later removed. What is most striking about these books is that they were copyrighted, which is unusual for a religion.
Diamond Way maintains that only the translations are copyrighted, and not the original texts. They also admitted that the first three books were genuine, but claimed the fourth was a fake.
Diamond Way themselves also claim that through a practice of 'conscious dying', followers will recieve a small wound on the top of their heads. This has yet to be objectively proven.

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~*~ k a t e ~*~
A word of warning. Daffyd Morris, of the London Diamond Way centre, his brother Ceri Morris, who runs the cult's Reading centre along with his Polish wife Aga Moriss (an arranged marriage by the cult) have all been caught creating fake facebook profiles to try and smear former members. Facebook provided the details of the true identities of the people creating these smear profiles. The diamond way cult uses information on former members to smear them. Be aware!

Also, the cult's legal department has gone into overdrive lately to shut down any criticism, including censorship of youtube and various anti-cult blogs that had been around previously for years.