Hi, I'm new to this thread...

I've always been curious about Tibetan Buddhist practice, but there doesn't seem to be an accessible authentic lama... I'm doubtful of the Dalai Lama....and he is supposed to be the leader of Tibet both politically and spiritually, right? As corboy mentioned in the thread, "Real teachers stress the Bodhisattva precepts and never, ever claim to be exempted from the commitment to practice Buddhist ethics, no matter how high their attainments." Why would the Dalai Lama indulge in meat-eating, and other sorts of things that a true teacher would not?

I'm still searching for an authentic teacher who speaks the truth and lives it.

I visited a Diamond Buddhism center in Auckland, NZ while backpacking a few years ago. I thought the vibe there was very nice although I did get the feeling they were disappointed I didn't donate after I visited a few times. That one was Karma Kagyu Lineage. Is that same line as being discussed here? I still keep in contact with a woman heavily involved in the centre there and feel greatly disturbed for her well-being if this is one and the same as is being discussed here. If it is..how does one reach out to someone possibly in a dangerous situation such as this?

Hi LaurenRose,

If you are still in contact with her, do you get any sign of her being in any distress? Do you speak of the center with her? If so, how does she seem when speaking of the center and the people there?

Hi Otto,

Yes, we exchange emails and FB messages every couple of months. She seems to be ok but I do sense that she might be looking for something else in her spiritual journey. She recently started posting things about Christianity and even Native American type shamanism.

She has mentioned what an internal struggle she experiences being so thoroughly immersed as she is. Maybe I should try to get closer to her to make sure she is ok.

Do you have any suggestions on what I should ask or look for her in her responses. Thank you for the help.

This is an interesting point. I once attended a Diamond Way lecture about Mahamudra in London, several hundred people were present (this in itself was a surprise); after an hour or so someone obviously versed in Mahamudra asked a question to Lama Ole from the floor "do you hold any transmission in Mahamudra?". To his credit Lama Ole said he didn't. The person then asked "what are we doing here then?"

Teaching without apparent transmission for a fee, can anyone explain how this might work?

Can I ask in the Lama Ole group in Rochester UK part of the Diamond Wau UK or some independent set-up?

If the Dharma requires us to check out our teachers before we take them seriously who can we blame if we don't check them out and they are not reliable?

Some teachers may lie and be deceptive, but through the Web some people can potentially find out who is a con man and running a scam.

Otto Wagner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi, I'm new to this thread...
>
> I've always been curious about Tibetan Buddhist
> practice, but there doesn't seem to be an
> accessible authentic lama... I'm doubtful of the
> Dalai Lama....and he is supposed to be the leader
> of Tibet both politically and spiritually, right?
> As corboy mentioned in the thread, "Real teachers
> stress the Bodhisattva precepts and never, ever
> claim to be exempted from the commitment to
> practice Buddhist ethics, no matter how high their
> attainments." Why would the Dalai Lama indulge in
> meat-eating, and other sorts of things that a true
> teacher would not?
>
> I'm still searching for an authentic teacher who
> speaks the truth and lives it.


There's nothing in Tibetan Buddhism that says you can't eat meat. Vegetables don't grow at 12,000 feet. The only grain that will grow there is barley. So Tibetans are mainly herders, and also grow barley and eat barley flour and dairy products. At lower elevations in Tibet, some vegetables and fruits grow. Tibetans and Mongols are traditionally meat-eaters. There is a prohibition against Buddhists killing animals for meat themselves, but farmers/herders slaughter their own animals (as the Dalai Lama parents did).

budhistcke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is an interesting point. I once attended a
> Diamond Way lecture about Mahamudra in London,
> several hundred people were present (this in
> itself was a surprise); after an hour or so
> someone obviously versed in Mahamudra asked a
> question to Lama Ole from the floor "do you hold
> any transmission in Mahamudra?". To his credit
> Lama Ole said he didn't. The person then asked
> "what are we doing here then?"
>
> Teaching without apparent transmission for a fee,
> can anyone explain how this might work?


haha! Charging money when the teacher technically isn't qualified to teach on certain topics? Good question!

Teachings are free when they're part of a weekly dharma prayer/meditation group. When there's a special course being offered with special arrangements for a teacher to travel to the location and teach, it's not unusual to charge a fee. Though some sanghas don't require the fee, they leave it up to individuals to make a "suggested donation".

I've attended a weekend workshop for which a teacher was brought in from India, so the suggested donation was set at an amount that would cover the teacher's airfare and meals, plus a small honorarium. At the time, I wasn't able to pay the suggested amount, so the person handling registration and payment said I could pay whatever I could afford. That's a fair and reasonable way to handle it. If there's pressure to pay the full amount, or even harassment about not paying the full amount, that's a sign of a teacher or sangha on the make.

Lama Ole really isn't qualified to call himself "lama" ("teacher") at all. He hasn't done the usual 3-year retreat that qualifies someone to call themselves "Rinpoche" ("Reverend"), and I doubt he's done the full multi-year course of scripture study to qualify him to be a teacher. He studied tantra with the 13th Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche, but normally the course of study begins with very basic, foundational Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha in the Pali Canon (which tradition the Tibetans call "Hinayana Buddhism"). This, itself, takes years. Then the program moves on to Mahayana Buddhism. The third and final stage is tantra (Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism). However, in the beginning, the Karmapa jumped right in and taught Ole about sexual tantra, which was a very irresponsible thing to do, especially with a student like Ole. This is what resulted in this trainwreck that is Diamond Way.