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22. januar, 2022; last updated November 2025.  

Lama Ole Nydahl suffer from severe Alzheimer dementia

a recent picture of Lama Ole Nydahl

The condition of Lama Ole Nydahl has gradually
worsened over the last 10 years – now he is very
sick and even unable to read a text aloud

 
Lama Ole Nydahl is a legend i the modern history of Buddhism about the spread of Buddhadharma in the West. His activity started together with his deceased wife Hannah Nydahl more than 50 years ago. Han has become known everywhere as a missionary, author of many books and a Dharmateacher. He has also made himself disreputable because of xenophobia and radical right political sympathies. He has had an extraordinary energy in everything he has done, but in the last 10 years, his abilities have declined. Alzheimer dementia has burnt his brain down. So his short time memory has deteriorated, he forget where he is, lose the thread of conversations and now he cannot read a text aloud anymore. It is very sad, indeed.

 
 Lama Ole Nydahl has upheld several serious prejudices, that has antagonized many people and kept them away from him and his centres. But he has also been very kind and accommodating to thousands of people, that were in search of a meaning with their lives. His activity has in this way been a meeting point for very different people and an inspiration for many to understand and practice the teachings of Buddha.

 
 This perspective has changed in the later years, when his disease became bad and then worse. His lectures has started to look like ‘absurd theater’. Apparently, he is in good health besides his disease; but people that have known him for many years are in shock over the dementia, that they now witness. The Ole Nydahl that they knew and loved, has disappeared and is gone. Those that did not like him, has nothing to hold against him any more. He is really in a very sad condition. And it is a pity for everybody that have a connection with him in one way or another.
  A rather strange atmosphere of panic has risen everywhere among the followers of Ole Nydahl. Quite a lot of them deceive themselves in thinking, that he is not sick, but display ‘crazy wisdom’. This is in itself a tragedy within the tragedy.

The dignity of Ole Nydahl is insulted
by  his  own  organization

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
They expose him to big gatherings of people where he talk nonsense for everybody to witness. His lectures was supposed to present Buddhism and meditation, but Ole Nydahl is incapable to talk coherently, forget the subject of the lecture and do not necessarily understand what is going on. He is of course used to big gatherings, but he does not know anymore, what he is should do, when he is supposed to teach or guide a meditation.

Both the Lama and the congregation are in this way the laughing stock of the world. Ole Nydahl’s organization ‘Diamondway Buddhism’ cannot in decency do this to the helpless man. And indeed, it is very strange that they do so. Apparently, they are in denial, because the leadership say, that he is not at all sick. But in truth, it cannot be that they have not discovered his Alzheimer dementia, because it is quite clearly visible and obvious to behold. This is a catastrophe that should be stopped at once.
  (Written in 2022; the situation has changed somewhat since.)

 
  His international organization ‘Diamondway Buddhism’ uphold a narrative for unknown reasons, that he is not sick. And that those who think so, are themselves ill. This is the official stance in spite of the obvious and explicit alzheimer dementia that has handicapped Ole Nydahl. That has lately led to a split among the members of the organization. The ‘true believers’ has gained full control over the organization, so people with right consideration and conscience have been excluded. Many Dharmateachers within the organization has been told, that they are not welcome to teach any more in the centers of Ole Nydahl, because they ‘imagine’ that he is sick.

 
  The leadership of the Diamondway organization apparently do not think, that special consideration should be applied concerning the ill Lama. They push him to teach as before. Though he ought not try to read a text to a public, when he obviously is not capable of doing that – nor should he answer questions from the public, since he has forgotten the question after just a little while. Actually, he ought not teach at all. He is unable to speak coherently in any extended period of time.
  Never the less, the Diamondway organization arrange lectures and seminars, where Ole Nydahl – just like in the old days – is supposed to explain the teachings of Buddha and guide meditations. Since he cannot do that, he just sit and talk nonsense. Also, he is unable to guide a meditation, because he quickly lose the directions. This is why his handlers has started to make him read the meditation text aloud in stead. But lately, he has been incapable to do even that.

 
  In brief, it does appear that he is being misused by those people that right now are in control of the Diamondway organization. It is a tragedy, because he evidently need support, care and compassion. On top of this, his followers become the laughing stock to the rest of the world.

 
  Also, it may reasonably be perceived as an insult to his dignity to expose him to a lot of people as an audience, while he is pushed to teach, though he obviously cannot do that. In this way, he is displayed as a fool and is ridiculed to the whole world. He really deserves better.

 
  It will not stand to pretend, that Lama Ole Nydahl still is able to lead – and that he actually does lead – the Diamondway organization. Since he cannot do that, the people in the leadership do things and decide all sort of matters in his name and on his behalf. (Ole Nydahl does of course not realize what is going on because of his handicap.) This is maybe the reason that the leadership think he should not be perceived as demented, because then these people – mostly Germans – will perhaps lose the power. It is difficult to find other explanations. It is not credible, that the whole leadership of the Diamondway organization is in complete denial of Ole Nydahl’s disease. It must be obvious also to them, and they would know that there is no hope of healing at all. Or they should know. So, when the truth is anathema to his ‘helpers’ and the reason cannot be denial – it must be something else.

 
  It could of course be, that the organization do not have many other means of income. But the reason seems to be a power contest. The result is, that very bad thinking and lies are cultivated. In stead, the Diamondway organization ought to put Lama Ole Nydahl in focus, take care of his special needs and leave the general leadership to Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Apparently, they do not want to do this. It is not known, what his new wife think about this circus.

 
  According to a normally truthful source, it is Lama Ole Nydahl that want and insists to continue teaching. That may be. But it does not help at all. Both he and those attending his teachings appears to be fools in the eyes of the world. But of course, it does to some degree lift the responsability of the Diamondway organisation, though only so far. They ought to do whatever they can to make him stop making a fool of himself in public.

 
  In these days, we experience something like the shipwreck of the Titanic – in slow motion. The situation is described in this way by one of Ole Nydahl’s close students over many years. The ship is is scraping against the iceberg, that is going to sink it. The question is, how many will jump into the lifeboats and how many will perish with the ship. It seems that the clever ones have already left. Half of the rest will follow Karmapa – the other half will go down and in due time disappear. It is very sad, even Lama Ole Nydahl had many prejudices and limitations. He also had many qualities and did a lot of good works over the years. But now he is finished as a leader, missionary and Dharmateacher.

 
  Many people that have experienced his later lectures, are deeply shaken over his condition, disease and all the deception, that his organization envelop around him. It is very tragic. He certainly deserves better. Also the members of his organization deserve better! An organization should not be based on lies and manipulations. And the followers of Lama Ole Nydahl should not be led astray to believe, that a demented man’s speech has anything to do with ‘wisdom’.

    2023

 
  In the month of June 2023 more than a year later, it seems that the Diamondway organisation has dropped any pretence, that Lama Ole Nydahl should teach or guide meditations in public gatherings. In the various programs in the 'Europe Center' and in 'Karma Guen' in Spain, they only mentions that Ole Nydahl will be present at the initiations of Karmapa Thaye Dorje. So people will be able to see and meet Ole Nydahl, which is probably a good thing. So it does appear, that the Diamondway organisation acknowledges, that the man suffer from Alzheimer, even no one says so. On the other hand, the Diamondway organisation has not allowed the purged Dharmateachers to return to the Diamondway centers and teach again. So the situation is still not OK.

    2025

 
(The picture shows Lama Ole Nydahl, summer of 2024.)
 
 
 
 
 
Now in August 2025, several Diamond-way members in the Danish leadership of the national organisation has underlined, that the Diamondway organisation always has simply followed Lama Ole Nydahl’s own wishes about what he ought to do in public. Or to phrase it differently, it is his own fault, if and when some people may regard him as a fool because of his strange behaviour at various public gatherings, due to his disease. Also, his followers and students may not have thought of themselves as the laughing stock of the world, because they felt a great blessing in his presence. They also have not been happy about this portrait of the sick Ole Nydahl in this paper, because it does not follow the official line of the Diamondway organisation. They cannot understand, that someone from the outside may experience the situation in this way, so unlike their own.

 
  This may very well be. So an alternative explanation of the way the Diamondway organisation have handled this situation – that obviously is very difficult for them – is that they may not have tried to exploit Ole Nydahl for personal or institutional gain directly. They may have acted as they did, in a sort of solidarity with him and so have simply followed his wishes without questioning. That this is the way in which you become the laughing stock of the world, have not appeared to them. So this story is maybe more that of a tragedy than about power struggles. Actually, I am not able to judge that from the informations available to me. Both may be true on the other hand, the later may be hidden within the former.

 
  I previously wrote that the Diamondway organisation had ‘misused’ Ole Nydahl and disregarded his dignity. Misuse, I now think, is too much of a strong word to use here about the leadership of the central Diamondway organisation, even it really looked like that back in 2022. If and when the secretaries of Lama Ole Nydahl is just doing, what he asks them to do. There are 5 of such secretaries, that in fact constitute the central or international leadership of the organisation. But they are disregarding his dignity, because he does not know, how his behaviour is being perceived by the general public. Someone ought to have told him so, and indeed, it seems that has happened during the last couple of years.  (More about that later.)

 
  Since the 5 secretaries represent Lama Ole Nydahl, they are the actual international leadership and therefore have a big problem. When Lama Ole Nydahl no longer is seen to be responsible because of his sickness, all the 5 loose their position as de facto international leaders. This has not yet happened. When it happens, the Diamondway organisation will no longer have an international leadership. The actual leadership will then be transported to the national level of the various national boards of directors, that constitute the Diamondway organisation.

 
  This is actually the reason that you so easily get an impression of the 5 secretaries wishing to keep their position, in order to uphold a central leadership of the organisation. For the same reason, they do not want to have Lama Ole Nydahl declared incapable and unfit to lead. Anyway, he is unfit and incapable to lead anything, so the central leadership of the Diamondway organisation is based on a fiction. Even so, there does not seem to be anyone within the organisation that want to destroy the illusion. Maybe because you will get kicked out of the organisation, if you try to do so. Maybe also, because it would hurt too much. A story about Lama Ole Nydahl have been crafted, where he appears almost like a Buddha, but Buddhas in such stories do not suffer strange diseases of the brain. In short, the situation seems to be somewhat unhealthy.

 
  Some people have criticised me for writing about this issue, because I am not really involved in this organisation and have no interest in it. This is literally true, but I feel that I have to engage due to our common history. I am indeed connected to the people of the Diamondway organisation and their Lama Ole Nydahl, who is an old friend of mine. We used to work quite well together, though not always without problems. But we managed. That was back in 1977 to 1989. Ole Nydahl did not speak badly about the Muslims back then.

 
  But when I returned to Denmark in 1994, Ole Nydahl had become very outspoken about his dislike of Islam and consequently Muslims. I tried to limit his antagonism to only the Islamic terrorists, but he would not do that. Therefore our cooperation could not continue, but our common history is of course still there. As another Danish Karma Kagyu Lama, who follow the 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje, I find it important to distance myself from such attitudes, that have become Lama Ole Nydahl’s calling sign over the years.

 
  To campaign against the Muslims in general in Europe is simply against the Mahayana principle of love and compassion. Only the most extreme Buddhist monks in Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka will agree with Lama Ole Nydahl on this point. They are actually very few, but they are there. Also in Europe, those with such erroneous views are in fact few. Most of us do not dislike Muslims at all and have respect for the authentic religion of Islam as a humanistic endeavour in its core. It remains an important issue to stress these days.

 
  The problem of immigration is not about Islam at all. It is a problem of social integration. Everybody, please understand that. The problem of integrating millions of strangers on the other hand, is very serious and have not always been handled well by our politicians. Also many of the strangers have enormous problems with integration. They do not feel welcome and may on top of that also not feel at home in the lands of their origin. So they suffer a double whammy. Their children on the other hand stand a much better chance of integrating very well with European culture and social norms.

 
  I have been told, that Lama Ole Nydahl at a given time after various discussions with those near to him, did agree to follow the advice of his doctors about his appearance in public, what he can do and what he should not try to do, because of his disease. That is why we no longer see him trying to teach and so on. This is very good. People should be able to meet with him and receive his blessing. His brain may be boiling down, but there is nothing wrong with his mind.

 
  The Diamondway Buddhism as a particular movement is in a crisis because of the Lama's disease. He is the sole leader, but quite unfit to lead. They are also in big trouble due to Ole Nydahl's way of delivering teachings to the many centres scattered over most of the world. There are very few really qualified Dharmateachers within the organisation. Most of them excel by being good friends of the Lama. The quite many western Lamas, that have been formed and educated in France within the Dhagpo Mandala over many years, have not been invited to teach, give refuge and so on in the centres of the Diamondway Buddhism network.

 
  They are actually very qualified to do so, but it appears that they have been excluded because Ole Nydahl does not like equals, that maybe will explain things a little differently to him. Thereby maybe creating trouble. The result of this policy is, that there now is no one to give refuge and most of the Dharmateachers within the Diamondway may only provide teachings of a limited character and depth. How they are going to deal with this situation is not clear at all.
  Read more about this in the biography of Lama Ole Nydahl via the link below.

 
  (There are many sources to this paper. I have known for some time, that something was amiss. But I could not find any concrete information, nor anything official anywhere. Lately though, several individuals have reported to me with reliable information, that have been corroborated by various anonymous sources within the Diamondway organization (in January, 2022). I of course vouch for these informants, even they are anonymous; their identities are known to me. The informants do not wish to participate in a ‘political’ fight about power. They just feel sad.
  The sources from 2025 did not ask for anonymity, but neither did I ask them to make public statements; we just had a frankly talk, so I see no reason to mention their names. For the general public though, their opinions are very interesting. Also, a few years ago, one of the secretaries of Lama Ole Nydahl wrote to me and asked that this paper be removed from public view. None of these 'official' contacts have denied the facts of this story; they just claim harm to the Diamondway organisation. I compassionately disagree. They ought to wake up and relate directly and publicly to their very serious situation.)

Read also:  Lama Ole Nydahl’s biography here.

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