James Low & Simply Being

[gad rgyangs]

interesting passage u got page ##s please?

Vima Nyinthig, volume two, starts on page 222.

thanks M, but which edition?? some editions vima nyingthig is 3 vol, others 4...

bump: still looking for a useable reference that includes the edition, you know, like how references are given in an academic publication...
thanks in advance.

[Malcolm]

bump: still looking for a useable reference that includes the edition, you know, like how references are given in an academic publication...
thanks in advance.

I am not an academic (thankfully), but here you go:

dri med 'od zer. "gsang ba bla med sgron ma dbu skor gyi gdams pa:." In snying thig ya bzhi. TBRC W12827. 4: 158 - 245. delhi: sherab gyaltsen lama, 1975. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O01CT0042|O01C ... 812$W12827


N

[MalaBeads]

It seems unfortunate that this thread has strayed so far from the OP which was about James Low and his teachings. Thanks so much to Astus for posting about him. I have been reading his talks and feel I have benefited greatly. Thanks again.

[Paul]

Here is a talk (in two parts) by James Low:

http://soundcloud.com/simplybeing

The transcript is here: http://www.simplybeing.co.uk/articles.p ... _teachings

I like it - he really is very good at explaining the Dzogchen view in a straightforward way.

[asunthatneversets]

Here is a talk (in two parts) by James Low:

http://soundcloud.com/simplybeing

The transcript is here: http://www.simplybeing.co.uk/articles.p ... _teachings

I like it - he really is very good at explaining the Dzogchen view in a straightforward way.

It's really really basic though, and he still gives credence to dualities of self and other even though he's trying to show the emptiness of the subjective-self, he basically tries to convey that our own views of ourselves is based on external situations and interactions. He even said were pretty much energy going out and energy coming in, which is a wrong view and suggests coming and going and in and out and all sorts of dualities. If dzogchen is being applied correctly there are absolutely no dualities at all. I only read the transcript though so perhaps this isn't his best talk for all I know. It's akin to the tip of the iceberg in dzogchen though I'd say.

He spends an awful lot of time discussing the self to really be attempting to successfully convey the emptiness of the self. But it is important to do self-work(purification) in the beginning for some, I know I had to, in order to dispel some habitual tendencies. So to each their own.

[Paul]

If dzogchen is being applied correctly there are absolutely no dualities at all. I only read the transcript though so perhaps this isn't his best talk for all I know. It's akin to the tip of the iceberg in dzogchen though I'd say.

Personally, I think all those aspects of teaching are certainly in there, but he often seems to talk on multiple levels - something I've seen many teachers do.

[Astus]

Indeed, it is his straightforward manner of teaching that grabbed me in the first place. It is difficult to find teachers who don't just repeat the common terminology all the time. Perhaps it is also an advantage that he can teach directly in his native tongue, thus breaking down those cultural and linguistic difficulties.

[asunthatneversets]

Indeed, it is his straightforward manner of teaching that grabbed me in the first place. It is difficult to find teachers who don't just repeat the common terminology all the time. Perhaps it is also an advantage that he can teach directly in his native tongue, thus breaking down those cultural and linguistic difficulties.

Agreed, I think any nondual teaching can be a great supplement to ones understanding and some teachers are definitely more clear than others. There might be an aspect of Buddhist teachings whether dzogchen, mahamudra etc that could seem unclear that can all of a sudden click by hearing someone put it a different way. Using the teachings as a tool and being able to implement various tools for the job is key, in my eyes.

Other good teachers who helped me are
Tony Parsons
Jeff Foster
Adyashanti
Greg Goode
Scott Kiloby
Rupert Spira
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Ramana Maharshi
Ramesh Balsekar
Atmananda Krishna Menon

I took bits and pieces of everything they say and found the correlations within buddhism and dzogchen and the traditional texts and teachings and then came at it from the position of Buddhism and dzogchen in the sense of what does it say about what these other teachers are saying.. How does it critique their views.. Do they mesh... What works.. What doesn't work. And it's helped my view and experience tremendously.

It's wild, even so called "advaita" teachers like nisargadatta for example; his advice for practice is the exact same as the dzogchen method of being present at all times. He just uses different terms like "staying in the I AM" and he says forget Brahman and all that, it's useless.

It's interesting stuff.

[Sönam]

... He just uses different terms like "staying in the I AM" ...

It does not sound very dzogchen ...

Sönam

[Malcolm]

... He just uses different terms like "staying in the I AM" ...

It does not sound very dzogchen ...

Sönam

Agreed. Not very dzogchen at all.

[asunthatneversets]

... He just uses different terms like "staying in the I AM" ...

It does not sound very dzogchen ...

Sönam

Agreed. Not very dzogchen at all.

Perhaps not, I just mean the reference to remaining present. But you're right it isn't a dzogchen teaching but that's where I was saying take bits and pieces and see the correlations. Discard of the rest. Nevertheless I'm all for traditional dzogchen texts and teachings they hold their own undoubtably.

[Mr. G]

Off Topic posts split: Jax's Dzogchen

[Dronma]

Off Topic posts split: Jax's Dzogchen

Thank you!

[MalaBeads]

The most recent talk by James Low to be posted is from September, 2010, Milan, Italy. It is called "Emptiness of the Self"

Worth reading, IMHO.

You can find it on his website www.simplybeing.com