James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings

November 10th 2001. James Low talked about the application of dharma in psychotherapy at The Sharpham Trust, in Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom.

This is an audio-only recording with background video extracted from "The flow of transmission and the transmission of flow. Macclesfield 06.2007".

Audio edited by Wendy.

More information: https://simplybeing.co.uk/audio-recordings/retreats/interpersonal-dharma/#sharpham-trust-totnes-devon-uk-10-nov-2001

Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrRJd7DtSjo

Chapters

00:00 Living applied phenomenology through Dzogchen

09:08 Historical and cultural context of Tibetan Buddhism

21:57 The three poisons: stupidity, attachment and aversion

30:49 Taking refuge in the Buddha, dharma and sangha

44:19 Finding security without mastery

51:07 Observing thoughts and feelings to understand self

1:05:46 The body of experience and the body of representation

1:14:06 The impact of inner dialogues and self-judgment on the body

1:25:28 Dissociation and difficulty integrating traumatic experience

1:36:55 The three stages of ignorance

1:46:59 The construction of self in relation to others

1:59:47 Introduction to Dzogchen: the great completion

2:07:23 The mirror as metaphor for mind's nature

2:13:57 Attachment theory and the constraint of predictability

2:25:20 The central channel and the side channels

2:31:48 The central channel (avadhuti) and ungraspability

2:38:58 Attunement and finding value in the other's perspective

2:53:30 Finding value through attunement with others

3:01:00 Karma and rebirth as explanatory frameworks

3:06:46 Explanations as skillful means, not truth

3:17:21 The two accumulations: merit and wisdom

3:26:55 Beliefs as skillful means (upaya)

3:38:24 Form is emptiness: reflection and essential being

3:47:57 Family systems and situational loss of self

3:54:15 Staying with the breath during engagement

3:59:27 Mirroring and the development of narcissism in childhood

4:06:17 Authenticity and adapting to relational limitations

4:14:18 Resourcing through meditation and infinite nature

4:28:32 The depressive position and living ambivalence

4:35:29 Dzogchen as direct recognition of indestructible nature

4:42:08 Agency and identification with resistance

4:50:25 Identity as co-creation with others

4:56:01 The three A practice: emptiness and form

5:05:13 The four-fold frame: view, meditation, activity, result

5:12:38 The three modes of arising: dang, tsel and rolpa

5:19:36 Breathing in the five elements

5:26:30 Returning to familiar patterns and observing the self

5:31:30 Self and other as process rather than solid entities

5:48:15 Compassion as balance between self and other

5:54:46 Attachment to negative identity and ruling in hell

6:00:15 Trusting presence over planning interventions

6:12:26 Power, capacity and ethical responsibility in practice

6:21:57 Closing meditation and instructions

James Low's Dzogchen retreat "Approaching Non-Duality" took place 23rd-26th April 2026 in Todtmoos, Germany.

James Low writes: "The traditional structure of Buddhist teachings is that each level or vehicle has its own View, Meditation, Activity and Result. Over the years I have focused on making the various views and meditations as clear as possible. I feel that our retreats now need to have increasing emphasis on your activity and proactive learning."

He continues: "We all have a lot of life experience and so how can we mobilise this experience to become an ally on our path instead of an obstacle? Rather than relying on our habitual assumptions and conclusions, our practice is to investigate how our subjectivity arises in different situations. We aim to locate the ground (or basis) for our subjective thoughts, feelings and actions in our simple presence within the ever-open here and now."

The retreat featured morning teachings by James Low, with afternoon small group activities led by experienced sangha members. The aim in Dzogchen is to see the self-vanishing of each moment by ripening our presence without engaging in dualistic reificatory judgement.

Organiser and German translation: Robert Jaroslawski
Cover art: Jari Lobo (Pexels.com)

More information: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/approaching-non-duality-todtmoos-april-2026/

Watch the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vE2tZ5MsTI

Chapters

00:00 Form is Emptiness: The Heart Sutra and Non-Duality

07:54 The Five Poisons and Self-Deception

16:07 Wisdom and Compassion Flowing from Emptiness

29:25 Death Comes from Concepts

37:16 Two Paths from One Ground

45:08 The Three Kayas in Tantric Practice

52:35 Sambhogakaya: Enjoyment of Sensory Arising

1:00:36 The Eight Consciousnesses as Empty Forms

1:10:05 The Dzogchen View: Already Complete

1:16:59 The Delusion of Taking Becoming to Be Being

1:21:34 Critique of Self-Existent Phenomena

1:26:33 Clear Perception and Responding to Suffering

1:30:01 The Three Statements of Garab Dorje

1:34:19 Ngotro: Introduction to Your Own Face

1:38:19 Following the Stream to Its Source

1:45:04 Samsara and Nirvana: No Fundamental Difference

1:48:43 Guru Yoga of Machig Labdrön

1:55:06 Five Questions on the Nature of Mind

2:01:51 The Two Obscurations

2:07:58 Impermanence and the Vulnerability of Form

2:18:08 Twelve Metaphors for Emptiness and Form

2:22:40 Wandering Without Identity: The Sadhu Practice

2:29:09 The First Unawareness: Condensation from the Flow

2:42:06 The Third Unawareness: Conceptual Fixation and Naming

2:47:19 The Fourth Unawareness: Karma and Its Four Stages

2:57:06 Interdependence and the environment as inseparable support

3:06:19 Openness to experience beyond ego judgment

3:14:31 Emptiness as openness beyond fixed essence

3:22:15 Self-Deception and the Illusion of Fixed Identity

3:29:51 The three aspects of energy: dang, rolpa and tsal

3:38:35 Rolpa: The Mirror and the Play of Experience

3:44:24 Tsal: The Crystal and Manifesting Diversity

3:50:05 The Cuckoo's Cry: non-duality of experience and nature

A talk and Q&A session with Dzogchen teacher James Low, hosted by Jon Krop for the Sit-Heads Meditation Club via Zoom in March 2026.
Watch the original video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOt4FfKII6o

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Sit-Heads Meditation Club and James Low
04:21 The Nature of Identity as Temporary Clothing
08:09 The Five Skandhas and the Construction of Self
14:00 Impermanence and the Delusion of Inherent Existence
24:42 How the Five Skandhas Generate Illusory Patterns
28:52 The Mahāyāna View: Emptiness of Phenomena
32:32 Dzogchen Practice: Relaxing into the Space of Emergence
38:52 The Basic Meditation Instruction: Present Awareness
42:28 Ethics Without Agenda: Wisdom as the Basis for Compassion

How to cultivate mental health in a world on fire? A conversation between Lama Padma Samten and James Low, with consecutive translation to Portuguese.
In this conversation, James Low joins Lama Padma Samten to explore mental health, meditation and Buddhist wisdom in the face of the uncertainty, conflict and complexity of contemporary life.
Invited by Lama Padma Samten, James Low reflects on how our habitual ways of seeing ourselves and the world shape our experience, and how awareness, presence and a deeper understanding of the nature of mind can open a different way of relating to suffering, confusion and change.
Drawing from the Buddhist tradition and their many years of teaching and practice, they offer perspectives on how we can meet a troubled world without becoming overwhelmed by it, cultivating clarity, compassion and inner freedom.
Lama Padma Samten is a Brazilian Buddhist teacher and founder of the Centro de Estudos Budistas Bodisatva (CEBB).
Lama Padma Samten:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lamapadmasamten
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamapadmasamten/
Website: https://cebb.org.br/
James Low:
Instagram: instagram.com/simplybeingsangha
Podcasts: simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Events: simplybeing.co.uk/events
Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4pWqcK_jjA

Chapters
00:00 The delusion of a fixed self and poor mental health
02:42 Identity as construction and the obstacle of thingness
08:28 Impermanence and the instability of identity
14:07 Finding stability through meditation and presence
25:25 Working with depression and letting go of conclusions

August 15, 2026. How to cultivate mental health in a world on fire? A conversation between Lama Padma Samten and James Low, with consecutive translation to Portuguese.

In this conversation, James Low joins Lama Padma Samten to explore mental health, meditation and Buddhist wisdom in the face of the uncertainty, conflict and complexity of contemporary life.

Invited by Lama Padma Samten, James Low reflects on how our habitual ways of seeing ourselves and the world shape our experience — and how awareness, presence and a deeper understanding of the nature of mind can open a different way of relating to suffering, confusion and change.

Drawing from the Buddhist tradition and their many years of teaching and practice, James Low and Lama Padma Samten offer perspectives on how we can meet a troubled world without becoming overwhelmed by it, cultivating clarity, compassion and inner freedom.

Lama Padma Samten is a Brazilian Buddhist teacher and the founder of the Centro de Estudos Budistas Bodisatva (CEBB). He invited James Low to this dialogue as part of his ongoing work of bringing Buddhist teachings into conversation with the challenges of contemporary life.

Lama Padma Samten:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lamapadmasamten

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamapadmasamten/

Website: https://cebb.org.br/

James Low:

Instagram: instagram.com/simplybeingsangha

Podcasts: simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/

Events: simplybeing.co.uk/events

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4pWqcK_jjA

Chapters

00:00 Introduction of James Low by Lama Padma Samten

14:31 James Low's speech

1:05:53 Lama Padma Samten's speech and Questions & Answers