[5][6][7] Following this visit and at the 16th Karmapa's request, Ole Nydahl began traveling further across Europe in order to teach the basic doctrines of Karma Kagyu Buddhism.

Following the Karmapa Controversy, Karma Kagyu Buddhist centers were obliged to decide whether to accept Orgyen Trinley Dorje, who was recognized by Tai Situ, the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, or to support Shamar Rinpoche.

[10] Diamond Way describes itself as an adaptation of the Karma Kagyu tradition to Western culture without Tibetan customs and organisational structures.

[11] Ole Nydahl describes Diamond Way as a lay tradition offering methods for people who have jobs, partners, families and responsibilities.

He states "...our work is grown on the basis of friendship and trust... since the Diamond Way teachings aim to bring freedom and independence, it is people who already have those qualities who are generally attracted to our centers.

In 1998 Ole Nydahl stated "I simply don’t want gifted and critical people who discover us to step right into the middle of a puja as has happened so often in the past.

[12] The most important practice in Diamond Way Buddhism is considered to be identification with the teacher and following that to try to sustain the Mahamudra view and bring what is learned in meditation into daily life.

[12] Like other Karma Kagyu practitioners, individuals then usually do a preliminary practice called the ngöndro, consisting of 111,111 repetitions each of 4 different meditations, as given by the 9th Karmapa.

In most cases, following completion of ngöndro, students practice a meditation on the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje, called "The Guru Yoga in Four Sessions" (Tibetan Tun Shi Lame Naljor).

[12] Other practices include a variant of the meditation on Chenrezig (Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara) composed by the 12th Century siddha Tang Tong Gyalpo and the phowa (transference of consciousness at the time of death).

[12] Diamond Way Buddhist temples are located in 65 different countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Crimea, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Europe Center, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

[19] Trinley Thaye Dorje was born in Tibet but managed to escape in 1994 and was enthroned by Shamarpa at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI).

[19] Ole Nydahl (born 1941 near Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Buddhist Lama and one of the main figures in the spreading of Karma Kagyu Buddhism in the West.

[18][20] Since the early 1970s he has toured the world, giving lectures and meditation courses, and together with his wife Hannah Nydahl (1946–2007) founded Diamond Way Buddhism.

[23][24] Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, born 1952 in Derge, Tibet, is second to the Gyalwa Karmapa in the spiritual hierarchy of the Karma Kagyu School.