Diamond Way Buddhism Brisbane, 110 Windsor Road. Red Hill, Brisbane (2026)

19/03/2026

Happy birthday dear Lama Ole!
With all our hearts, we thank you for your wisdom, kindness, and light.
You inspire us, guide us, and show us how to live with courage and joy.
May your life be long, your health strong, and your heart always full of happiness.
We are so grateful to have you in our lives!

03/02/2026

Should we consciously avoid ideas and concepts, or just consider them tools?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:

I wouldn’t avoid concepts, because they can be convenient and useful. On the other hand, I would always remind myself that they are all only a dream. They weren’t there yesterday and will be gone tomorrow. So we know that concepts are pictures in the mirror but not the mirror itself. The truth and wisdom of space itself is profoundly meaningful. It’s in the vibration of every atom. It’s truer than all our concepts, ideas, and thoughts, and we are part of this space.

In fact, we can act much more effectively if we don’t continuously ask “why?” and “what for?” and so on. A lot of our everyday mental activity is like a coup d’état in a banana republic: Only two or three aspects of the radiant jewel that is our mind try to dominate everything. The ability to understand mathematics, to create poetry, or to do many other things is suddenly dominated by our intellect, pride, expectations, fears, and so on.

It’s beneficial to dissolve this, so that these abilities can arise when they are needed and disappear when they are no longer necessary. This has deep meaning. At work, one or another quality is very useful, and when it’s not needed anymore, one can do something else—maybe fall in love, explore nature, or discover how exciting the here and now is. But if one always hangs on to everything, is never in the moment, then one is neurotic.

It is this “both-and” state of mind that we should strive for. Try to always do what is right in front of your nose without being distracted. That is real freedom.

21/11/2025

“Meditating is not always joyful and it is not always very blissful. Knowing this is part of the practice. It is the process of getting used to concentrating and training the mind. In that process, you do not look for the results. You just do it with confidence that, when you do it, the results will come.” — Hannah Nydahl

12/11/2025

What is the right attitude to have to create a happy relationship in which both partners develop best?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:
The best attitude in love is to think more of giving than of taking, to wish others happiness, and to try to give what is beneficial. Don’t have too much attachment; rather, share in a friendly, easy way without restricting each other. If you always hold your partner in your mind, it will become less tight and more fun.

This is a long path and takes some time. Since you were born a human being in this life, this means that desire was the strongest emotion. As you become more and more clear headed, pay particular attention to whether what you do is useful for other people, especially if you have power over them. Think about what you can and cannot share with them, what is good now and what will be beneficial later. There are a lot of different things to consider.

At times, one even has to do things that appear quite odd. Drugpa Kunley was a master of this. One day, he was walking along the streets of Bhutan when a young lady passed by. He said to her, “We definitely have to make love. Come with me right now.” She looked at him, unshaven and long-haired as he was, and replied, “Oh!” She ran to the next house and said, “Listen, further down there is a terrible man with lots of hair and a big beard who wanted to sleep with me!”

“You are the stupidest girl in town,” the people answered. “That was the best yogi we have; that was Drugpa Kunley. It certainly would have been fantastic.” And again she said, “Oh!” She went back and told him, “Alright, I have thought it over and…”

“Sorry,” he retorted, “I don’t have time anymore. The moment I offered it to you, a highly realized awareness passed by and I could have fathered you a wonderful child. But now—I’m sorry, another time.”

If you look beyond the personal, you’ll see that things aren’t simply good or bad, but rather they produce happiness or suffering depending on the circumstances. As regards sexuality, if people have the fitting karma, it will be joyful for them. In other cases, sexuality only causes problems—problems in the first relationship, in the second, in the third, and so on.

If you are closely connected to someone else, physically close, then the best thing you can do is to leave freedom to him or her as best you can. This is the true gift in love: to show people their beauty and potential, and to let them be free. Test this out—think of others, not of yourself. This is what is important.

If we look at love, for instance, there are two kinds: one that gives, enriches, and grows, and another that has limits and expectations, freezing things and constantly clinging to the past or future. In this constricting, bad kind of love, one tries to place the other in boxes, saying, “Now that you have married me, you cannot talk to that person and you have to do this and that.”

If people tie themselves together in such a narrow relationship that they completely exclude themselves from communicating with the outside world, this is a sign of weakness and is not good. It impoverishes everyone.

The good kind of love—which is giving and generous, which has the taste of freedom and growth—can be found in those relationships where both partners want to learn and grow together, and each wants the other to develop. This is the case when the man looks at the woman and thinks, “I will turn you into a queen.” And the woman looks at the man and thinks, “I will turn you into a prince.” Here, one doesn’t want to control or limit the other but rather to show them their qualities—their strength, beauty, and potential. This is the right kind of love.

04/11/2025

What should we do to deal with attachment?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:
The Buddha gave two pieces of advice concerning attachment, and Karmapa has added another special remedy. On the highest, absolute level—within the Mother Ta**ra lineage—the Buddha advises working with the melting phase in particular. This means that one keeps the building-up phase in the meditation short and remains in the melting phase for a long time. In the meditation on the 8th Karmapa, there are also special antidotes for attachment.

On a practical, everyday level, and for people who are mainly motivated by strong desires and wishes, the Buddha advises us to think a lot about impermanence, so that we do not bind ourselves too much to the world of phenomena. Secondly, we should share everything good we experience with all sentient beings because desire types do experience a lot of wonderful and rich things. We should always carry a feeling inside us of “I want to show this to others!”

If you make use of all the different levels in this way, you will obtain good results. The most important is to understand that the thought wasn’t here before, it will be gone by tomorrow, and it need not disturb you today—like the waves in the ocean which come and go.

22/07/2025

How do you experience an unpleasant situation on the highest level — for example, if you are caught in smog and can’t breathe well?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:

Then I am aware of the inability to breathe for a moment and imagine how all those lead molecules find their way into my blood stream, where they go from there, and so on. Of course I try to leave the place, but it’s no tragedy.

We will all grow old, get sick, and die. The question is whether you make a problem out of it or not—here you can decide. You might also enjoy holding your breath. Instead of experiencing the breath in the throat, you experience it in the chest, and then comes pressure in the eyes. It’s possible to turn anything that happens into a party in the mind. In the same way one celebrates a beautiful lady, mind can celebrate itself.
And again, it’s about doing two things at the same time. On the one hand, one maintains the fresh moment of experiencing whatever is happening, and on the other, one considers what is worthwhile and what isn’t—how to manage to live a bit longer and to take better care of oneself.

Also remember that nobody will want to listen to you if you are caught in too many dramas and tragedies. The joyful view is better, where people say, “Ah, here there might be possibilities” and “here we can do something.” The way you act will influence people. If you can do something witty, joyful, and meaningful, then people will listen to you. You should always stay in a good mood.

If you lose the feeling of people’s buddha nature, of their potential, then you will become lonesome. Try to think instead, “OK, we made a little mistake there; maybe we can change it in this or that way,” and come in with surplus. Then you’re in a good position.

15/07/2025

Are men and women considered equal in Buddhism?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:

In Tibetan Buddhism, yes. But there are three different levels in Buddhism:

1) In Theravada Buddhism, the male principle is considered to be higher than the female. It is said that on the last step to enlightenment one must take rebirth as a man. Women are seen more as dangerous distractions for the monks.

2) In Mahayana Buddhism, it is said that the male mind is stronger. But even here men and women are more or less on the same level.

3) And in Diamond Way Buddhism, the male and female principles are equally important. Male or female alone is too little. The point is that we learn from each other, that we complement each other. On the inner level, the female is wisdom and the male is activity. And on the secret level, the female is space and the male bliss. In Diamond Way Buddhism, one can’t say “better” or “worse.” It is a matter of realizing both and bringing both together.

That’s why on the highest level of enlightenment, the Maha-Annuttara Yoga Ta**ra, there are only male and female buddhas in union.

26/06/2025

How much can we give without making people dependent on our help?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:
Modern psychology has many ideas on the subject, but for me it is much simpler: you help as long as it is practical and as long as people don’t become opportunistic. Help them as long as there is a natural exchange. If they become dependent or don’t achieve anything themselves, you can happily sit out a round and say, “I’ve given you my idea, and if you don’t like it then go somewhere else.”

For example, if I were to give good lectures only when rich people who might donate something were there, and bad lectures when just a few old hippies were listening, then I would be neither a good teacher nor an honest man. I have to give everything I can in every situation. Then, if something doesn’t come across the right way, it is the karma of the people.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to measure out one’s love. I would rather give it all: in love, full throttle and hug whoever gets close—and if someone keeps his distance that’s also OK. But go through with all the strength you have and give what you can. That’s my formula. If people can receive everything, then they get one hundred percent, and if they only have the karma for five percent, then that doesn’t mean we give any less.

29/05/2025

How does mirror-like wisdom express itself in everyday life?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:

If one simply lets anger pass by without getting involved, clarity arises, which is completely radiant. We call it mirror-like wisdom because it shows everything as it is, without adding anything or taking anything away. I would say that today the best expression for this is “keeping cool.”

You see how things come and go. You know that the emotion wasn’t there before and won’t be there later. So why get involved with it now? You just keep cool; you take it easy; you rest within yourself, in you center. You are simply the “fool on the hill” who watches worlds emerge and vanish, as Paul McCartney sang. But at the same time, try to stay completely clear and conscious of what’s going on, and, of course, try to share the experience with others.

03/03/2025

𝙃𝒐𝙬 𝙙𝒐 𝒘𝙚 𝙩𝒓𝙖𝒏𝙨𝒇𝙤𝒓𝙢 𝙚𝒇𝙛𝒐𝙧𝒕 𝒊𝙣𝒕𝙤 𝙟𝒐𝙮𝒇𝙪𝒍 𝒆𝙛𝒇𝙤𝒓𝙩?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:
In the beginning, we work largely with the determination to experience the effort as joyful!

It was never necessary for me to apply that therapy to myself. I always thought: the greater, the faster, the more joyful, the better! But for those who don’t experience this, I can actually imagine that it helps to tell oneself, for example, “Wow! How exciting! I made this woman happy! Look at how she lies there and radiates!” or, “Wow! I took the curve in the road faster this time!” or, “I worked for fourteen hours but am still fresh enough to have a beer!”

We should constantly think in a “both-and” way, and in doing so we develop the attitude that everything is completely great and exciting. Thus we pull ourselves up from the swamp by our own hair and make ourselves rich through our own will and strength.

You simply change your view. If you are looking through black glasses, everything is hell; if you’re looking through rose-colored glasses, then it’s heaven. And if you have no glasses, then it is really about whatever has to be done next. And that is more beautiful and exciting than any heaven. But you can reach this state only from heaven, not from hell. So you have to start with good projections and experiences and continue from there.

02/01/2025

It's big!

Yours, Lama Ole

Europe Center Diamond Way. December 31, 2024

16/12/2024

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕?

𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐎𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫:
There are two levels from which to see this. When one sees that people treat each other badly, it’s unpleasant and one thinks, “Why do they do that? In the next life they will swap roles and do it all over again. Why oh why?”
But at the same time, one can see things on the absolute level: both the victim and the perpetrator have buddha nature and at some point they will also realize it. For example, if someone came in here and threw a dozen hand grenades around, we certainly wouldn’t like it if bits of our precious bodies suddenly flew in all directions. We wouldn’t like it, but actually the trajectory of every piece of flesh, metal, and bone would follow the laws of higher mathematical wisdom. We must be free of attachment to our body, otherwise we’ll never understand the highest view.

Buddha gives us both levels of understanding. That’s what it is all about. Then at the end of our life, we can say—just as Caesar Augustus said as he lay dying—“If I played my role well, please applaud!” We do our best, and in the end we know we can let everything go because it is all just a dream anyway. We must meditate a lot to really understand this. But if we can grasp it conceptually as a first step, that’s also good

Diamond Way Buddhism Brisbane

19/03/2026

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