There's a letter from HH Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje which says that Ole and Hannah were authorized as instructors for those first encountering the Buddha Dharma, but that letter specifically notes that they were primarily heads of the Dharma Centers in Europe at that time (1978), and that they had arranged for visits of "highly accomplished and learned lamas" to bestow empowerments and teach, etc. In 1979, there was another "Certification" which gave Ole and Hannah the authorization to bestow refuge and bodhisattva vows to students in the absence of qualified lamas. (Emphasis mine).dzoki wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:33 pmThat is not a question here, and I am not arguing that Ole was not given a role of teacher, but that 16th Karmapa would wish that Ole's students receive teachings only from him alone and teachers whom he inveted to teach on specific topics and from no other source.Simon E. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:10 pmI hesitated before answering this believe me, because I didn't want to be misunderstood as being in any kind of Nydahl camp. But the 16th Karmapa definitely did endorse Nydahls teaching role..which endorsement did not amount to recognising him as a guru..dzoki wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:14 pm
As someone who has friends within Diamondway organization, I can tell you that the number of people who are literally afraid of attending teachings of other teachers is quite high. I remember that when Beru Khyentse Rinpoche was in Vienna more than two years ago, there were only five people from Ole's group among those present and none of them were from Austria or Slovakia. One of them told me that she came there despite being warned by the Diamondway organization that she should not attend. People who chose to ignore such warnings are often shamed within the group for going against lama and being confused.
It would absolutely make sense to ask Ole to provide concrete citations whether by 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, 17th Karmapa or his other teachers to support his claims, but no-one ever did, or at least not boldly and publicly. This situation is comparable to Trump in the USA, when he says: "People say...or...Everybody says...," when in fact it is only him who says this.
I know this because I was there.
Of course much has changed since then.
Subsequently, Ole and Hannah derived their support from HE Shamar Rinpoche and a few others. Khenpo Chodrak Rinpoche wrote a letter regarding Ole being entitled to the title of "Lama" in 1995, and Shamar Rinpoche wrote a confirmation letter.
There's nothing in any of the documentation regarding Ole and Hannah restricting the visits or instruction of various teachers, and in fact, reading between the lines, it would seem that "qualified lamas" would have been preferable instructors. But over time, the Diamond Way organization developed under Ole's direction and I see nothing official from any high Kagyu Lamas to support any critique of that direction. Anyone who researches the curriculum and methods of the organization, and compares them to other Kagyu centers or institutions, would recognize different emphasis, and likely different target audiences. Shamar Rinpoche himself started BodhiPath, which differs in several respects from a more orthodox or traditional Kagyu curriculum as it has historically existed. And of course we have the example of Trungpa Rinpoche, and now of the whole Shambhala system. So, even Kagyu Lamas do not subscribe to some monolithic system, it seems. Ole made some public comments regarding not "mixing" various traditions, and I believe he was specifically referring to "Phowa"--Diamond Way teaches a version of Phowa which comes from Drikung tradition in fact, and is not the more common tradition taught by Karma Kagyu--which actually comes from NamCho Mingyur Dorje's Nam Cho Amitabha corpus!
Given the audience, I think the admonition not to "mix" traditions--provided one is talking about practice--is not a bad instruction. But "banning" other presentations, which to be clear I don't know that Ole has done, though there is conjecture to that effect--seems to be a bit strong. Having two (or more) different Phowa transmissions, for instance, is not at all a bad thing for anyone. Trying to practice them all together is mistaken, but this should be clearly explained to beginners in the practice before they undertake a retreat or practice.