James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings

Excerpt from the teaching "Dual Consciousness and Non-Dual Awareness" on Zoom, 18.Jan.2025, available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/G6mr94nEbm0📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachinhgs: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/eventsVideo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6-bWNh1K0c

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Note: the constant cuts in this video result from the removal of James Low's periods of silence, while waiting for the consecutive translation from the German translator.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/"(0:00) Supporting the life blood of the Sangha""(14:55) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?""(22:26) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?""(28:10) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?""(38:29) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?"Full transcript: https://bit.ly/JL-QnA39-STLBS-Z02-2025Audio file of this video: https://bit.ly/4jwD8o1English: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28 (you are here)English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308Playlist “Questions & Answers. Zoom 07.2020 –”: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv-KZQo9b6hRc2WtJW4KWXp8GefCiVa-R📱 Instagram of excerpts: instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachinhgs: simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: simplybeing.co.uk/eventsVideo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIH-pX6Qv28

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/S1) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaS2) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?S3) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?S4) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?S5) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?Turkish translation: Mustafa mert ÇelebiEnglish: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308 (you are here)📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8N1CUex308

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/B1) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaB2) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?B3) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?B4) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?B5) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?Russian translation: Marina SamarinaEnglish: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOA (you are here)Polish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eprVDmFmiOA

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/Intro) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaP1) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?P2) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?P3) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?P4) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?Portuguese translation: Milton PetruczokEnglish: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwY (you are here)Romanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o66Atzd6uwY

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/P1) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaP2) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?P3) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?P4) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?P5) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?Polish translation: Bartłomiej CzajkowskiEnglish: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PY (you are here)Spanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlVpHZ5G3PY

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/P1) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaP2) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?P3) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?P4) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?P5) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?Spanish translation: Juan García Lázaro ( @juanb.garcialazaro )English: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlwRussian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqE (you are here)Portuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vzvxmFpbqE

12nd February 2025. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.Supporting the sangha of some students from Brazil to travel and attend James' retreat in Portugal this summer, 2025: https://simplybeing.co.uk/autocategory/28876/F1) Supporting the life blood of the SanghaF2) You have said before that we should observe our minds to see how we cheat ourselves. Does this mean that we should try to observe the moment at which we begin to reify our experience? And does this bring us along the path of the eight consciousnesses? If so, could you explain a little how to do this in meditation?F3) When it is said, after dying, the consciousness sees and hears, for example, when relatives enjoy the fact that you are dead, how is this possible? It is said that our perceiving is as seeing a copy of the objects. What then about this object, which are surely empty?F4) When I identify with awareness itself, when I find myself in awareness, and then release a bit from the aspects of my personalities and the specificities of my identity, I myself also seem to become another person in a way, as if this is a different kind of experience, but there is still a certain center or subtle focal point in my heart area. Is this a dualism to go beyond?F5) I have understood that the cleansing effect of Guru Yoga ceases in the moment in which we put mind into thinking voluntarily. I find it hard to distinguish which thoughts are spontaneous and which ones are voluntary. How can I distinguish them?German translation: Robert JaroslawskiEnglish: youtu.be/HIH-pX6Qv28English (without silence cuts): youtu.be/Lpt5fLqClb8German: youtu.be/EfPMyqmwIlw (you are here)Russian: youtu.be/eprVDmFmiOAPolish: youtu.be/wlVpHZ5G3PYSpanish: youtu.be/5vzvxmFpbqEPortuguese: youtu.be/o66Atzd6uwYRomanian: [soon]Turkish: youtu.be/l8N1CUex308📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfPMyqmwIlw

Language has nothing to do with the world.Look at everything in your house. Look at carpets. Look at clothes. Look at children's homework. Look at everything you encounter and see how it is constructed. It's something put together.And start to observe the function of language in your existence. Language is something exquisite. It's a very beautiful thing.It can bring us so much pleasure. But it is a game. Language speaks to language. Language hovers like some mesmerising archangel in the world with glistening wings and little rainbows falling from them. Words and things exist in a very complex and strange relationship. People like Wittgenstein would say, language has nothing to do with the world.Language only speaks to language. The world is…….. And that's quite a good place to start.James Low, Lojong mind training, Macclesfield 12.2006 (on YouTube)Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zERm9hcDWI

Excerpt from the teaching "Me First! and the Will to Power.", Zoom teachings with James Low on March 14th, 2025.Note: the constant cuts in this video result from the removal of James Low's periods of silence, while waiting for the consecutive translation from the German translator.English: https://youtu.be/3xLfMetyBVA (you are here)German: [soon]Russian: [soon]Polish: [soon]Spanish: [soon]Portuguese: [soon]Turkish: [soon]Romanian: [soon]Machig's Way" book, available in Kindle e-book and hardback on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=machig%27s+way+jamesA Tibetan girl's struggle to follow the path of a yoginiMachig Labdron was one of Tibet's great meditation masters. She started a whole lineage of practice that still exists today. It has been incorporated in one way or another by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.The paintings on each page were inspired by her biography and illustrate her life and difficulties. Being an inspiration for Buddhist practitioners, it goes beyond the merely biographical.One thousand years ago villagers and nomads in Tibet had many expectations about how a young girl should behave. Girls were trained in all the tasks of maintaining a household and ensuring that nothing was wasted from the animals. This was the basis for a good marriage.But Machig carried within her a deep spiritual vision of a different life. Every experience she had of village life convinced her that her place was in the high hills, living in caves and devoting her life to meditation practice. Her struggle to fulfil her vision is recounted in this illustrated brief biography which includes some of her most beautiful and challenging songs.This life story of Machig Labdron is directly translated from an original Tibetan text by James Low. Paintings by Diana Collins.Each page has paintings by Diana Collins commissioned by James Low to accompany the text. They illustrate Machig Labdron’s life and difficulties in a way that hopefully brings them to life and is an inspiration for Buddhist practitioners.📱 Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLaow🎧 Poscasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/📆 Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeTCyeMmdkY