Guru yoga

I have been attending the Diamond Way centre in Canberra and studying hard and I feel a little detached from the whole experience.

I have found a wonderful meditation that has given me a lot of insight. I am learning a lot about the nature of the universe, mind and the pursuit of happiness.

I look forward to becoming more deeply involved and learning even more. I have set up an altar with a Buddha and I've got some beads I can use during my devotions. But for right now I just feel like I'm in limbo and have to wait until I can meet the guru who leads the Diamond Way centre or alternatively make a pilgrimage to meet some of his teachers and find a guru who will be able to lead me in my study.

You see Tibetan meditation is based on devotion, lineage and the desire to emulate a trusted guru. You can study some types of Buddhism from a book and even become a self-realised Buddha but Tibetan methods are based on the availability of a teacher. The leader of the tradition represented by Diamond Way Centres is Karmapa although there are other schools. For example the third Karmapa taught Sharmapa and ever since that time the two have alternated in the roles of student and teacher, recognising each other in successive rebirths. The two teach a very similar method however each has a different energy and some of the details may vary.

I have found the Karmapa visualisations to be very powerful and have a desire to take my meditation further however how can one practice guru yoga in Australia when the guru Karmapa lives in India and doesn't visit us here?

The people at my centre are followers of a very charismatic and Danish Lama called Ole Nydahl who has been instrumental in communicating the essence of Tibetan buddhism to a European audience. Lama Ole studied with the previous Karmapa and continues as a student of the current Karmapa. While his biggest followers are in Germany he does visit Australia every year and holds courses in Asia (for example there may be a Phowa course in Hong Kong next year) so there are many more opportunities to meet him... however he is a controversial lama and with good reason. In order to make Buddhism more familiar to Westerners he disregards the Tibetan cultural traditions which is good but the problem is that he also drinks, parties, travels all over the world... again probably great but not the right role model for me - I want to balance out my energy, not get swept up in an International party!

Sharmapa's recent blog on finding a meditation teacher emphasises the importance of a teacher who lives a simple life. But there are exceptions and Sharmapa would probably identify Lama Ole as a powerful exception for many Europeans and people with European heritage around the world.

So for right now I'm in limbo attempting to build a connection to a teacher and a method. Luckily there are stacks of videos on YouTube that allow me to connect with the lamas and receive their teachings by distance until I can make a pilgrimage and make contact. These videos are going to be crucial to my initial practice of meditation if I am to continue with this method. And I hope I can because up to now it has been really good!