On their honeymoon in 1968, Lama Ole and his wife Hannah met the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The 16th Karmapa asked them to teach Diamond Way Buddhism and meditation in the West, and to found Buddhist centers. Since then, he has travelled the world giving lectures, leading meditation courses and guiding Buddhist centers.
Lama Ole specializes in teaching Mahamudra, the “Great Seal”, in which a realized teacher can give an experience of the limitless nature of mind to the student, as well as the transmission of Phowa, “Conscious Dying”, a rare, centuries-old meditation practice. In his teachings, Lama Ole stresses combining lay Buddhist practice with independent thinking and the maturity that comes from life experience, as well as the importance of taking care of society, especially freedom of speech and women’s rights.