Buddhist Literature

Lama Ole has written many profound books relevant for different stages of the buddhist path. On the other hand there is also lots of other literature only claiming to be buddhist. Your center should have a library in which you can find books that correctly show you the view of the Diamondway. Suitable books have also been written by the Karmapas or other lineage-holders and should also be in your center, though not necessarily with completely free access. Reasons for this are explained below.

Literature from other sources usually contains views conflicting with the buddhist views of the Diamondway. Reading those books will most certainly cause severe confusion and may even prevent you from receiving the transmissions or give you wrong ideas about the realization of Lama Ole, on the methods that will eventually help you attain realization yourself, about the people in your center who want to help you clearly see the way things are or on aspects of the Diamondway-organisation, the benefit of giving donations and other contributions and so on.

Dharma may be discussed out of the correct order. You may even read on subjects that are normally kept secret until you are advanced enough on your path or that may require personal explanation by someone in your center with more experience or by a travelling teacher or even Lama Ole himself.

There have been wild accusations agains the Diamondway claiming that these strict recommendations qualify the Diamondway as a cult. In reality it is necessary to voluntarily limit your reading to appropriate sources. Otherwise you may become aware of concepts that are confusing and have even caused people to turn away from Lama Ole and follow teachings that oppose Lama Ole and block their path to realization.

Some people even get the idea that somehow the mind has some kind of ability to reach realization on its own without proper teachings. This error may happen if you never were in contact with Lama Ole. But once you are in the presence of the teacher most people will experience for themselves that the teacher is absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately some people are very new on the path and are still open to obstructing influences. For that reason all disciples of Lama Ole, especially the ones in positions with responsibility must be able to recognize when people become confused and act appropriately.

Proper explanation and support by those still on the path can help as long as the affected person is in principle still fully devoted to Lama Ole and simply got wrong ideas from somewhere else. But in more severe cases it may be necessary to temporarily exclude individuals from coming to the center, to quickly remove them from any responsibility or to recommend psycho-therapy before coming back.

There are some exceptions concerning the suitability of literature from sources outside of the Diamondway. There is even one book by the author Chögyam Trungpa who is the founder of a lineage that has been in conflict with Lama Ole for several decades. Trungpa has forbidden Lama Ole from teaching in his centers. Also he teaches meditation with the wrong methods and out of order. Basically his lineage starts by teaching sitting meditation without the correct visualizations even before the basic practices (see section on meditation). This will dull your mind and prevent you from reaching clarity.

But even this Chögyam Trungpa has written one book (Cutting through spiritual materialism) that some Diamondway-practitioners have actually read. Obviously still a thorough understanding of the diamondway-teachings is required but then it should be possible to read this book even at relatively early stage. It can still cause confusion but now you should be able to find older disciples of Lama Ole who can help clear things up for you.

The books written by the Karmapas give the correct Diamondway-views. They should not be read at the beginning of the path because they are mostly very profound and always require personal explanation by someone who has been with Lama Ole for at least five years and has already grasped the Mahamudra-teachings that Lama Ole regularly gives.

Correct literature helps by supporting the personal teachings of Lama Ole and the travelling teachers as long as some basic precautions are observed.