Buddhist meditation is a tool for developing a well-balanced, calm and joyful mind.
Over time, meditation leads us to a better and better understanding of ourselves and the world of phenomena. As we observe how everything appears and disappears in our mind, we cerate space within ourselves to finally recognise the One who perceives everything - the true nature of mind.
The Diamond Way meditations can be learnt in all of our 640 Buddhist centers around the world.
Beginners must get the oral explanations in order to be able to practice properly. Meditating with a group is very helpful to learn the rhythm and sequences of the meditation. It’s also a great way to stay motivated to continue the meditation practice!
The following meditations, together with the view of the Great Seal (Mahamudra) can lead in one lifetime to liberation and enlightenment. They are traditional meditation practices of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. They were transmitted to Lama Ole Nydahl by various masters of the lineage, and translated to Western languages to give direct access and understanding to Buddhist students in the West.
The bread-and-butter practice of Diamond Way Buddhism. All our centers offer it as the main meditation practice, and most Diamond Way Buddhists do it daily. Here, one imagines the 16th Karmapa — the realized teacher — and receives his blessing for body, speech and mind. One melts with his qualities, and continues with a fresh, wider, and less personal view on the world. The 16th Karmapa composed this meditation himself and asked Hannah and Lama Ole to teach it as the main practice in the West. It’s a very condensed and very effective meditation.
The Refuge Meditation builds the beginning of a long meditation series. Here one checks if one really wishes to engage in a serious Buddhist path. One will get familiar with, and take refuge in, lasting values. The Buddha represents the ultimate goal of enlightenment, the teachings bring one to this state of mind, the realized Bodhisattvas are friends on the Buddhist path, and the lama represents blessing, methods, and protection at the same time, and is necessary to reach enlightenment. Repeating a refuge formula, one opens up to these four sources of refuge. After completing 11,111 repetitions, one can decide if one is ready to start the Four Foundational practices, which take longer.
The Foundational Practices, or Extraordinary Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro in Tibetan) consist of four meditations done one after another. Each of them are repeated 111,111 times. They prepare one’s mind for more advanced meditation.
Taking Refuge and Developing the Enlightened attitude
This is a well known physical practice from Tibet. One prostrates while visualizing all the aspects of the Refuge and repeating a refuge formula. This practice mainly cleans hindrances of the body so that it becomes a useful tool on the way to enlightenment. The openness and devotion which will appear are used for the next meditation, on Diamond Mind.
Diamond Mind
In this meditation one cleans difficult subconscious impressions (the causes of disturbing feelings) before they can manifest as difficult results in one’s daily life. One uses the mantra of the Buddha Diamond Mind, who has the ability to dissolve all impressions of whatever we have said or done in this or former lives.
Mandala Offerings
After having cleaned body, speech and mind, one gets the space to receive new impressions. That’s why this practice can enrich our now open mind with everything good imaginable. One focuses on everything beautiful, precious, good and pure which one offers to the refuge. The surplus and joy that appear from this practice are used to benefit others.
Guru Yoga
The Guru Yoga meditation follows the same principle as the 16th Karmapa meditation. It is a more elaborate practice, where one repeats certain wishes to the whole transmission lineage, and increases one’s devotion and openness to the source for development. The identification with the lama will help us to experience the world as ever more blissful.