[Vwdiesel] Oil is in my cooling system water

[Sherwin Goff]

To all you wonderful VW Diesel lovers out there: 
   
  I have three questions.
   
  My belief is that before I set about to fix a problem, I really need to understand the first cause of the problem. 
   
  If I fix the problem now but do not understand its cause, I can have the same problem again and again. 
   
  After I understand the original cause, then I can better understand the problem. I'm looking for the original cause of the problem. 
   
  1983 VW diesel Westfalia
   
  My three questions are:
  1.) What problem do I now have that is allowing engine oil to escape into my cooling system?  
   
  2.) What could have been the original CAUSE or possible CAUSES of my having this oil seeping into my cooling system? What would be the cause of a thing like this ever happening in the first place?
   
  3.) What kind of damage could this have done to my engine (if any)? 
       (a) What then are the solutions 
       to the problem I now have and; 
  (b) What is the solution to what may have caused this problem to begin with?
   
  Thanks!
  Sherwin