Bhutan
On December 14, 2012, Lama Ole Nydahl was warmly received by Prince Dashi Wangdi in Paro, Bhutan. Lama Ole was invited by the Bhutanese royal family to teach and to visit some of the country’s main Buddhist places. His visit included audiences with two of the former queens and sisters, a Buddhist lecture in the capital of Bhutan, a lecture in an asylum for troubled youth, and visits to important Buddhist sites in western Bhutan.
The visit to Bhutan strengthened connections that had been made in the late 1960s when Lama Ole Nydahl and his wife Hannah became the disciples of Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche. Rinpoche was a great Buddhist master who worked mainly in Nepal and Bhutan.
Kagyu Monlam
For the first time in twenty-two years, Lama Ole Nydahl traveled to the Buddha’s place of enlightenment in India. He joined the Kagyu Monlam 2012, the largest annual gathering of Buddhist masters and followers of the Karma Kagyu lineage, led by H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje. The Kagyu Monlam is held in Bodhgaya next to the Mahabodhi Temple, where all Buddhist schools meet and reconnect to the Buddha’s auspicious achievement of full enlightenment.
Lama Ole Nydahl joined the Karma Kagyu gathering following his journey to Bhutan. It was a joy to meet again with His Holiness and the Rinpoches of our lineage: Shamar Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Beru Khyentse Rinpoche, Jigme Rinpoche, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Nedo Rinpoche, Shangpa Rinpoche, Lama Teunsang, and many more. To Lama Ole’s joyful surprise, H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje honored Lama Ole’s 40 years of activity with a remarkable gift at the event: a traditional Tibetan robe made of golden brocade.
