James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings

27 October 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) I follow dharma and live in a country where most people do not. I see them suffer, but they are committed to their beliefs. How might I respond?" "(04:22) I have a lot of negative thoughts, although I try to be a good person. Where do these thoughts come from and how to stop them?" "(09:18) How to purify the karmic effects of bad thoughts, intentions and deeds?" "(15:08) What should we do to prepare for sleep and to prepare at the time of waking and to work with the events of the day and the night?" "(20:04) Outer inner secret: what do these terms indicate?" "(21:35) Say something about the relationship between the teacher and student in the present times." "(25:35) I have the experience of nothingness with awareness, sometimes after Phat. It's vast, clear and unlimited. Is this still within duality?" "(29:20) Are there objective natural laws spontaneously arising from the primordial ground? Or are all concepts, including the apparent relationship of cause and effect that appear in the natural world a product of ignorance?" "(32:47) What dharma approaches can help a person with chronic illness and chronic pain, without making them feel unable, inadequate or stressed?" Video at https://youtu.be/Pbz7R_xzOUc?si=I6ImEZaSFYTHLiN2

6 October 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) Can dzogchen be reconciled with a scientific view of the world? Do they need to be reconcilable? If they can't be reconciled, how to resolve the tension between western cultural beliefs and dharma views?" "(04:13) Are mind and matter truly different?" "(19:08) Wisdom indicates that there are no really existing beings. Compassion indicates that we should respond to the suffering of beings and try to help them. How to reconcile this and not be an unethical bystander?" "(29:06) What does the term unborn mean, when applied to phenomena?" "(39:48) And the consequent facts that for the great bodhisattvas thoughts do not arise?" Video at https://youtu.be/IgvcKxejmO8?si=kGHwpihXQtqCtvPc

23 June 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) How to deal with being self-critical in relation to dharma?" "(02:38) Is it valid to do practice linked to the mamos at this time? How to integrate vajrayana rituals with our contemporary life?" "(06:05) Explain the meaning of the three roots guru, yidam and dakini" "(15:00) I am not sure if I want the family or to dedicate my life to dharma practice. I think I could lose time in family life. Any advice?" "(23:37) If I had difficulty understanding this dzogchen view, how can I overcome these obstacles?" "(27:49) Is it important to have our eyes open in the "white A" guru yoga?" "(29:32) Can you say more on the image of the mirror and the crystal ball? Is there a difference between what they are used to illustrate?" "(36:32) I see suffering beings yet I practice to see that there are no actual beings. This is confusing." "(39:58) When I'm sitting, resting in stillness and presence, at some point, there's a loss of vividness and lucidity. I don't fall asleep, yet I'm not fully aware. It's rather flat and dull. Then, I return to the more spacious experience and I've become aware that I have become somewhat veiled or covered" Video at https://youtu.be/kLKxDPChUww?si=XPEIqcWaoNquQxqh

9 June 2021. 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. Index "(0:00) Even though I practice, the sense of myself is not changing. How can I directly dissolve the idea of self?" "(15:55) When and how to use Phat?" "(18:09 You said: 'Devotion to the other merges self and other in non-duality'. Please explain further") "(28:40) What does it mean to use the energy of the ego to dissolve the ego?" "(30:06) Are there natural laws spontaneously arising from the primordial ground?" "(40:57) Why does it seem harder to let go of pleasant memories, joy and bliss?" Video at https://youtu.be/ZpRzur9l_rc?si=o19LhiyeTGaroV7d

12 May 2021. 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. Index "(0:00) What is the origin purpose and benefits of doing a padmasambhava tantric practice? How is this guru yoga practice related to dzogchen teachings?" "(6:22) James said that the practice of chöd and semdzins were disruptive practices. What does this mean?" "(13:59) How to see through the false sense of self which is so embedded?" "(26:52) Can we get a taste of freedom without doing years of retreat?" "(29:52) if I experience a sense of presence in my heart area, is this related to materiality and therefore not to be given importance or is it related to the intrinsic sense of awareness?" Video at https://youtu.be/WmFLJ23nc-s?si=O2rZKp2ETjNs1I7F

26 May 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) With the practice of dzogchen, are art and music an obstacle or they can be useful?" "(09:41) Since rigpa or awareness is uncompounded, does it have self essence or other qualities?"" "(17:42) What to do with tantric practice commitments, when now a person wants to do guru yoga and dzogchen? Is it necessary to finish the ngöndro?" "(23:11) Is being trans an obstacle to practicing vajrayana and how to deal with prejudice?" "(29:50) How to know if you are on the path? Am I attuning with the teachings in the right way?" Video at https://youtu.be/N-TBTvgtvVk?si=IUdrtvPwZIa19gsR

28 April 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) Why do stories belong in the house of compassion and not in the house of wisdom?" "(04:43) How do the visualization's practices of tantra relate to dzogchen?" "(09:21) How can we lose our sense of ourselves by experiencing ourselves as Padmasambhava or a deity?" "(12:25) How does anger relate to the water element? How can it be transformed into mirror-like wisdom? How does this mirror-like wisdom differ from the wisdom of dharmadhatu?" "(16:18) How to release recurring karmic patterns such as fear and anxiety, which hinder the recognition of open presence?" "(20:19) How to discern a thought as it arises rather than suddenly finding oneself lost in the thought or. carried away by it?" "(28:10) How to spread the truth of dharma, for example, impermanence and karma, when obscurations are everywhere and emotions like anger are intense?" "(33:13) Is it still possible to have a guru-student relationship today?" Original video at https://youtu.be/As9haJCwIh0?si=K0s6byyFRWMynqyc

The Practice of Meditation. This Retreat will focus on The Mahamudra Instructions of Tipun Pema Chogyal. This short text shows us how to identify and respond to the many kinds of obstacles that can occur in practice. The aim of the retreat is to enable us to maintain calm, clear awareness whatever occurs. Dates: 7-14 July 2024Martin Breuger and Robert are organising. Waldemar did the audio recordings. Reiner Steiner did the video recordings.Index"(00:00:00) About Mahamudra and the focus of the retreat""(00:44:28) The ground - how are you""(00:53:01) Refuge""(01:07:55) Reciting the refuge""(01:11:48) Human birth - Bodhicitta""(01:19:27) Emptiness""(01:53:17) Connectivity - limits and non-duality""(02:05:03) Text - Notes on Mahamudra - Padma Karpo""(02:08:27) Ordinary consciousness - original knowing""(02:50:10) Text - Co-emergent yoga - the world and you""(03:01:38) Death and impermanence""(03:06:54) Precious human birth""(03:08:08) Suffering""(03:22:48) Karma""(03:27:19) Your assumptions about who you are""(03:33:36) Nine round breathing""(03:35:24) Polarities and dialog""(03:47:36) Meditation posture""(03:49:16) Uninvolved open available""(04:10:48) The Vajra posture""(04:33:13) Inserting the five winds into the central channel""(04:46:56) Regarding speech the residual winds are expelled""(04:57:27) Thoughts of the past and future""(05:05:59) Meditating on concepts""(05:12:28) Whatever arises in the present - mind flows as it will""(05:28:56) Tilopa - rest with how it is""(05:43:39) Non-distraction - mind isolated""(05:58:18) Quiet sitting""(05:58:54) Distracted in an ocean of clarity""(06:03:25) Caught in delusion"The Mahamudra Instructions of Tipun Pema ChogyalText in English at https://simplybeing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Mahamudra-Instructions-Tipun-Pema-Chogyal-BT-31-01-2024.pdfText in German by Robert Jaroslawski at https://simplybeing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Mahamudra_Tipun_Deutsch_V.1.5_Final-1-06-02-2024.pdfNotes on Mahamudra by Padma Karpoin English at https://simplybeing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Notes-on-Mahamudra-Padma-Karpo-JLow-27-02-2024.pdfin German at https://simplybeing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Notes_on_Mahamudra_Padma-Karpo_German_RJ_V.1.11_Final.pdfAgain, Jonathan (Jon) Lever has usefully prepared the topics on each day of the retreat in separate recording snippets.For a better understanding of the retreat, each day is separate so that you can follow the flow of the teaching in the correct chronological order.Content also available at https://simplybeing.co.uk/audio-records/the-practice-of-meditation-audio-berghof-july-2024/

20 January 2021. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer. Original video at https://youtu.be/GbT757nEQd0?si=TfTVXfjKOY71Tr9x

14 April 2021. 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. Index "(00:00) How does the guru yoga of the white A relate to using Phat?" "(03:06) How does one work with a habit of technique-based mindfulness practice with the strong presence of the watcher?" "(10:10) The many veils of samsara are so thick. Can we truly find a way out of samsara?" "(17:41) Over the years you have decided to translate some words or ideas differently. What is the thinking behind this?" "(24:57) If I follow dharma, how do I enjoy life without feeling guilty that I am not studying or saying mantras?" "(31:07) What are the possible energetic experiences when dzogchen practice is going the right way?" "(39:02) In dzogchen, what is the meaning of the unchanging nature of our mind?" Original video at https://youtu.be/1iHDa0mmRoA?si=ao6XayoN2lJdhXSS