![[Banner] Exhibition From the Himalayas to the Danube](./thm/new3/img/b2_vystava_30rokov.jpg "Exhibition From the Himalayas to the Danube")
When we dream that we don't obtain what we want, we can suffer both physical and mental pain. When we realize the illusory nature of the dream, there is no more room for suffering.
Exhibition From the Himalayas to the Danube
We warmly invite you to the exhibition From the Himalayas to the Danube, which marks the 30th anniversary of Diamond Way Buddhism in Slovakia and presents its story within the broader context of the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Through photographs, archival materials and texts, it captures important moments along this journey – from the Himalayan roots of the Karma Kagyu lineage to its Slovak chapter.The exhibition will take place in three Slovak cities:
- Bratislava, 5–24 October 2026: Baroque Courtyard of the University Library in Bratislava, Ventúrska 11.
- The exhibition opening will take place on 5 October at 6:00 p.m.
- Stará Turá, 2–20 November 2026: Municipal Office, Gen. M. R. Štefánika 63, 916 01 Stará Turá, during the Municipal Office’s opening hours
- Žilina, 23 November–6 December 2026 PASÁŽ, Horný Val 67/24, 010 01 Žilina
- The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of lectures and film screenings
- Admission is free.
30 Years of Diamond Way Buddhism in Slovakia
The exhibition From the Himalayas to the Danube presents the story of the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West and three decades of Diamond Way Buddhism in Slovakia.
Fifty years ago, Ole and Hannah Nydahl, the first Western students of the 16th Karmapa, began establishing meditation centres across Europe at his request. In this way, the Tibetan Buddhism of the Karma Kagyu school gradually entered a new cultural environment, and its teachings and meditation methods became accessible to people living a modern Western way of life.
This story reached Slovakia in 1996, when Lama Ole Nydahl gave lectures in Košice and Bratislava for the first time. This was followed by the establishment of meditation centres, lectures, courses and other activities that shaped Diamond Way Buddhism in Slovakia over the next thirty years.
Through photographs, archival materials, texts and symbolic elements, the exhibition captures important moments along this journey – from the Himalayan roots of the Karma Kagyu lineage and the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West to its Slovak chapter.
At the same time, it raises a broader question that accompanies this story: how can a tradition more than 2,500 years old be transmitted to a different era and culture while preserving its essence?
Accompanying Programme – Bratislava
- 07/10 18:00 Lecture: What Is Diamond Way Buddhism?, Ján Kysucký
- 12/10 18:00 Film screening: Hannah: Buddhism’s Untold Journey
- 15/10 18:00 Lecture: Buddhism in Everyday Life, Peter Jevoš
- 21/10 18:00 Lecture: Meditation, Zuzana Ilavská
The exhibition programmes for Stará Turá and Žilina will be announced soon.
The exhibition will be bilingual. The English version of the exhibition texts will be available by scanning a QR code.
