In the late 1960s, a Danish couple honeymooning in Nepal crossed paths with exiled Tibetan Buddhists, eventually meeting up with spiritual leaders of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, who sent them back into the world to share the teachings with the West. More than 45 years (and 600 Diamond Way Buddhist Centers) later, Ole and Hannah Nydahl succeeded by creating an international Karma Kagyu Buddhist organization of lay practitioners.

Lama Ole will visit Las Vegas next week to lead Holding the Highest View, a seven-day course at the Tropicana expected to draw more than 500 Buddhists from around the world, along with locals from the Diamond Way Buddhist Center Las Vegas. While not a visual parade of saffron, Sara Finnerty from the Las Vegas center says the event will see “the innate purity of all beings and all situations,” bringing it down from the mountains.

While the conference is open only to registrants, anyone is welcome November 24 at 8 p.m. at the Tropicana conference center for a talk and meditation. Not your usual night at the slots, but this way you’re only dropping $15 at the door.