Hannah Nydahl

Hannah Nydahl (1946-2007) together with her husband Ole became the first Western students of H.H. the 16th Karmapa in December 1969. For over 30 years, she interpreted for the highest Karma Kagyü teachers, including the 16th Karmapa, Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche and Kalu Rinpoche, and translated many Tibetan Buddhist texts on teachings, practice, and philosophy.

kunzig shamar rinpoche

The Essence of Our Practice: A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 5th Shamar Rinpoche

The Essence of Our Practice: A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 5th Shamar RinpocheBy /

During a talk in 2005 in Hamburg, Germany, Hannah Nydahl read and commented on two vajra songs (songs of enlightenment or realization) of the Shamarpas. In our last issue, we shared the commentary of the vajra song of the 2nd Shamarpa, Khachö Wangpo. In this issue, we present the texts and commentaries of the vajra song of the 5th Shamar Rinpoche, Könchog Yenlag.

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hannah nydahl

This Luminous Perception of the Present (A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 2nd Shamarpa)

This Luminous Perception of the Present (A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 2nd Shamarpa)By /

During a talk in 2005 in Hamburg, Germany, Hannah Nydahl read and commented on a vajra song of the 2nd Shamarpa, Khachö Wangpo, and then on one by the 5th Shamarpa, Könchog Yenlag. In this issue, we present the text and commentary on the 2nd Shamarpa to our readers here in full. In the next issue, we will share the text and commentary on the 5th Shamarpa.

Vajra songs are teachings in poetic form and an expression of realization. However, the term “vajra song” does not mean that these teachings must be chanted. In our lineage, Milarepa is especially famous for this, because there are many teachings from him in this form. These songs by the 2nd and 5th Shamarpas respectively, come from a collection of texts by the main teachers of the Kagyu lineage, published in English under the title The Rain of Wisdom.

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the preliminary practices for mahamudra

The Preliminary Practices for Mahamudra

The Preliminary Practices for MahamudraBy /

This article is based on a question and answer session that Hannah Nydahl gave during a Preliminary Practices (Tib. Ngön Dro or Ngöndro) course. The Extraordinary Preliminary Practices, also known as the Foundational Practices, consist of four meditations done one after another. Each of them is repeated 111,111 times. They prepare one’s mind for more advanced meditation.

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Shinay and the 16th Karmapa Meditation

Shinay and the 16th Karmapa MeditationBy /

The following text is a transcript of a portion of a lecture held at the 2003 Summer course in Kassel, in Immenhausen, Germany. During this course, Hannah Nydahl taught calm abiding meditation (Tib. shinay). Other excerpts of this lecture were published in Buddhism Today, issue 36, in 2015. The excerpt below now presents these teachings in relation to the 16th Karmapa meditation.

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Women in Buddhism

Women in BuddhismBy /

In 1993 Lama Ole and Hannah Nydahl visited Casa Tibet in Mexico, where Hannah gave a talk on Women in Buddhism. This is an edited transcript of that talk, following by questions. It is interesting to note that during the talk Hannah mentioned that there did not seem to be much interest from women in becoming Buddhist teachers. Today, twenty-three years later, Diamond Way Buddhism has many accomplished and powerful women teachers. Hannah’s example, tireless work, deep wisdom, and gentle but unshakeable confidence have surely played a large role in this development. We are happy to share this text, one of her first public teachings in the Americas.

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