James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings

4/4 Taking your ease where you are always welcome. [EN-PT-ES] Sintra 08.2026

Part 4 of 4 from a Dzogchen retreat with James Low, held 1st–12th August 2026 at Casa de Exercícios de Santo Inácio, Colares, in Sintra, Portugal. The teachings were given in English with consecutive translation into Portuguese and Spanish.

James writes: "We will focus on opening to our minds as they actually are, free of conceptual covering. We will meditate, communicate and participate in various activities bring us ever-closer to the here-and-now."

The retreat followed a new style of timetable. James taught in the morning. In the afternoon there were small practice groups and activities such as drama and movement, led by experienced sangha members. This was designed to make James's work easier and to encourage active participation in learning.

Translators
Portuguese: Madalena Pedroza and Milton Petruczok
Spanish: Mariana Orozco and Juan García Lázaro

Links
Retreat details: simplybeing.co.uk
Audio recording of this video: https://bit.ly/3VYVuHT
Podcasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/
Instagram of excerpts: SBSangha_JamesLow

Cover video art: Matthias Groeneveld, via Pexels.com

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

Chapters
00:00 Juan García Lázaro (ES) • 11 August 2026
1:38:35 Madalena Pedroza (PT) • 12 August 2026

3/4 Taking your ease where you are always welcome. [EN-PT-ES] Sintra 08.2026

This is part 3 of 4 from the Dzogchen retreat "Taking your ease where you are always welcome" with James Low. The retreat took place from 1st to 12th August 2026 at Casa de Exercícios de Santo Inácio, Colares, in Sintra, Portugal, with consecutive translation into Portuguese and Spanish.

James writes: "We will focus on opening to our minds as they actually are, free of conceptual covering. We will meditate, communicate and participate in various activities bring us ever-closer to the here-and-now."

The retreat followed a new timetable. James taught in the morning. In the afternoon there were small practice groups and activities such as drama and movement, led by experienced sangha members. This is designed to make James's work easier and to encourage active participation in learning.

Translators
Portuguese: Madalena Pedroza and Milton Petruczok
Spanish: Mariana Orozco and Juan García Lázaro

Links
Retreat information: simplybeing.co.uk
Audio recording: https://bit.ly/4zOoYql
Podcasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/
Instagram of excerpts: SBSangha_JamesLow

Cover video art: Matthias Groeneveld, via Pexels.com

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

Chapters
00:00 Juan García Lázaro (ES) • 9 August 2026
15:13 Releasing clinging with the sound A or phat
28:40 Ageing and the changing permeability of the body
38:42 The ego as an exile who has forgotten home
47:17 Self-reference limits empathy for others
57:49 Looking at the one who looks
1:09:18 The five skandhas and the kaleidoscope of the person
1:21:20 Blessing in ordinary life: Padmasambhava and Christ
1:31:29 Milton Petruczok (PT) • 9 August 2026
1:45:37 Practising in a peaceful, isolated place
2:00:07 Your true home is the mind itself
2:16:55 Precious human birth, freedoms and opportunities
2:29:39 Valuing people by usefulness leads to abuse
2:39:32 Sitting naturally without manipulating body or breath
2:49:50 Mariana Orozco (ES) • 9 August 2026
3:03:53 Explaining and taking the bodhisattva vows
3:20:59 Aspirations of a child of the Buddhas
3:33:46 Supporting indigenous peoples between two worlds
3:53:39 Madalena Pedroza (PT) • 10 August 2026
3:58:01 Trauma, disturbance and working with the body
4:17:03 Our many inner voices like an orchestra without conductor
4:29:04 Self and no-self in Hindu and Buddhist views
4:45:13 All names are placed on reality by the mind
4:55:58 Watching thought dissolve back into silence
5:05:25 Blue cloth and crystal: appearance without substance
5:13:21 Five poisons purified as five wisdoms and Buddha families
5:29:59 Juan García Lázaro (ES) • 10 August 2026
5:41:28 Knowing and not knowing: the first stage of ignorance
5:56:08 Second stage: dualistic consciousness and co-emergence
6:06:05 Third stage: naming and fixing identity
6:23:39 Third level of ignorance: ego defining the object
6:36:31 The deadly power of definition and being defined by others
6:54:46 Madalena Pedroza (PT) • 10 August 2026
7:02:52 Padmasambhava images to consecrate for each continent
7:14:40 Milton Petruczok (PT) • 11 August 2026

Taking your ease where you are always welcome (Part 2 of 4)

This is the second of four recordings from a Dzogchen retreat with James Low, held 1st–12th August 2026 at Casa de Exercícios de Santo Inácio, Colares, in Sintra, Portugal. The teachings were given with consecutive translation into Portuguese and Spanish.

James writes: "We will focus on opening to our minds as they actually are, free of conceptual covering. We will meditate, communicate and participate in various activities bring us ever-closer to the here-and-now."

The retreat followed a new style of timetable. James taught in the morning. In the afternoon there were small practice groups and activities such as drama and movement, led by experienced sangha members. This was designed both to make James's work easier and to encourage active participation in learning.

Translators
Portuguese: Madalena Pedroza and Milton Petruczok
Spanish: Mariana Orozco and Juan García Lázaro

Links
Retreat event page
Podcasts of some teachings
Future events
Instagram of excerpts

Cover video art: Matthias Groeneveld, via Pexels.com

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

1/4 Taking your ease where you are always welcome. [EN-PT-ES] Sintra 08.2026

Part 1 of 4 from the Dzogchen retreat with James Low, "Taking your ease where you are always welcome," held 1st-12th August 2026 at Casa de Exercícios de Santo Inácio, Colares, in Sintra, Portugal. The teachings were given with consecutive translation into Portuguese and Spanish.

James writes: "We will focus on opening to our minds as they actually are, free of conceptual covering. We will meditate, communicate and participate in various activities bring us ever-closer to the here-and-now.

The retreat will have a new style of timetable with James teaching in the morning and then in the afternoon there will be small practice groups and a range of activities such as drama and movement led by experienced sangha members. This is designed to both make James's work easier and to encourage active participation in learning."

Retreat information:
Event page

Translators:
Portuguese: Madalena Pedroza and Milton Petruczok
Spanish: Mariana Orozco and Juan García Lázaro

Credits:
Cover video art: Matthias Groeneveld, via Pexels.com

More resources:
Instagram of excerpts
Podcasts of some teachings
Future events

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O32vkOYOoaU

Dissolving Obscurations in the Innate Openness of Presence

A Dzogchen retreat with James Low in Wilga, Poland, held May 21–24, 2026. The teachings were given with Polish translation.

"From the point of view of dzogchen, collaboration and participation are much more important than dominance and control. That is to say, we relax and find ourselves within the field of our participation. The world reveals itself as we reveal ourselves – nothing is fixed and everything moves together. The field of experience is responsive yet will always slip out of our attempts at total control. The one who wants control is the one who is already in duality."
~ James Low

Credits
Polish translation: Bartek Czajkowski
Camera: Olaf Brockmann
Retreat organised by Olga Maj, Jagoda Tobota, Konrad Świtała and Robert Hnat

Links
Retreat event page
Audio recordings of this retreat
Podcasts of some teachings
Future events
Instagram of excerpts

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0tOnuUhFdg

Chapters
00:00 Why are we here? Reflecting on intention and Dzogchen as freedom
07:31 Thoughts, mind and the search for the thinker
18:17 Choices, habitual formations and the limited field of knowing
29:03 Hierarchies of meaning and the ego as interpretive system
36:19 Buddha's four sights and the eight worldly concerns
45:57 Buddha's six years of striving and awakening under the tree
1:02:56 Arising and dissolving of appearances; non-artificial presence
1:14:26 Buddha's awakening, emptiness and dependent origination
1:23:23 Gradual teachings, Buddha as doctor and trusting thoughts
1:37:48 Language, names and constancy as constructed
1:52:13 Situational nature of experience: water and ice example
1:57:44 Perceiving others in public space versus objectifying them
2:07:58 Naming, defining and shifting identity in samsara
2:16:53 Airport in Warsaw: experience as projection, not a thing
2:23:57 Am I a thing? Definitions received from education
2:29:09 Refuge and the bodhisattva vow to help all beings
2:35:50 Judging others and turning variety into hierarchy
2:47:58 Seven-line prayer and indebtedness to all beings
2:56:10 Light dissolving body, speech and mind into the ball of light
3:07:55 Why we rely on the guru: dissolution of subject and object
3:17:19 Mind as it is: cataract and lamp examples
3:28:13 Properties of the base; presence versus consciousness
3:36:04 Self-arising presence is free from concepts: the tea example
4:09:41 Origin of delusion: lack of presence of the base
4:16:26 Lack of presence and the dissolution practice into light
4:25:36 Water and ice: fixation and the sense of a separate self
4:39:30 Primordial trauma and forgetting the source
4:45:52 Practising from vulnerability: Padma light and dissolving
4:58:07 Absorbing the meaning of the text into oneself
5:07:56 First obscuration: the five poisons
5:13:05 Second obscuration: conceptual knowing
5:23:15 Invasion and abandonment, opacity and the separate self
5:29:09 Freedom of choice and the ego's need for privacy
5:39:37 Co-emergent presence and co-emergent ignorance
5:52:59 Naming and labelling as an act of power
6:03:44 Six realms of samsara and karma as a trace

The Illusion of Perception

A teaching by James Low on Dzogchen and Tibetan Buddhism, given to a practising audience.

This episode is an extract from the longer teaching "Wisdom and Compassion", given in Macclesfield in March 2025. You can watch the full teaching here: https://youtu.be/jtjlM1CYuN4

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Qp3DnR4QY

Chapters
00:00 Phenomena arise and pass: we see light, not the wall
03:24 Hearing sound: we organize it through our templates

October 2001. James Low teaches on "The Integration of Stillness and Movement: the approach of different buddhist paths" at Kamalashila Institute in the Eifel region of Germany.

"Most of us who have been involved with buddhism for some time will have reflected a lot on impermanence, but it is never something to treat lightly. It is the royal road to an understanding of stillness and movement." ~ James Low

Contents:
Stillness and movement
The Four Basic Reflections: back to basics
Precious human birth
Impermanence and death
Karma
Ice or water, depending on the conditions
Going it alone
Samsara: banging into things
Taking refuge

Resources:
Transcription on Dang-wa, Rol-Pa and Tsal
Transcription on the four basic reflections and refuge
Full transcript
Audio recording

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5IOUHAwWvw

Chapters
00:00 Observing the mind and its movements
10:34 Precious human birth
18:27 Fragmentation of self and the creation of karma
29:13 Death and the continuation of awareness
34:16 Samsara and fluidity: ice and water as metaphor
43:22 Purification as preparation for death
59:20 Balancing energy through diet and daily habits
1:10:55 Betraying the Buddha nature in ordinary experience
1:17:16 Phenomenology of existence versus the stories we tell
1:23:34 The need to relax in practice
1:31:30 Space as the ground of all elements
1:37:09 Relaxing into space versus wind
1:44:23 Machig Labdrön practice: structure and purpose
1:51:02 The necessity of devotion in tantra
1:56:56 Recognizing awareness free of subject and object
2:29:45 Questions and housekeeping
2:34:58 Articulating the process of becoming caught in thought
2:41:31 Thought as ornament: the dharmakaya to sambhogakaya
2:49:53 The ego eats thought
3:02:56 Using deity practice to transform samsaric identity
3:09:13 Samaya: the commitment to maintain practice
3:23:19 The meaning of great happiness (dewa) in tantra
3:30:15 Pure vision and the recognition of fault in Dzogchen
3:39:53 Recognizing one's own nature (ngo rang drol)
3:49:09 The mind is not conditioned by human existence
3:55:45 Investigating how we create our own entanglement
4:09:25 Commitment in tantra versus flexibility in Dzogchen
4:15:30 Distinguishing sacred practice from superstition
4:20:10 The three statements of Garab Dorje
4:35:19 Chöd: the practice of cutting attachment
4:43:23 Cutting attachment to the body in meditation
4:49:37 The visualization of offering the body
4:55:44 The dharmakaya visualization in Chöd
5:01:58 Clarifying the view: beyond thought and expression
5:16:26 Working with fear in meditation
5:22:15 Walking meditation: mindfulness and presence
5:35:51 The Eight Consciousnesses and the Root of Ignorance
5:42:30 Practicing Purification Without Judging What Arises
5:51:46 Lhundrup and rangdrol: instant arising and self-liberation
5:59:47 Receiving Compliments and Insults Without Losing Awareness
6:04:48 Dang, Rolpa and Tsal: The Three Modes of Energy
6:11:52 Tsal: particularities of manifestation and the crystal
6:18:33 Spontaneous activity and leaving no trace
6:30:20 Practicing when tired as preparation for death

Teachings by James Low in Granada, Spain, on "Emptiness and Dzogchen," based on Vairocana's text "The Song of the Cuckoo" (31 October - 02 November 2014).

Original audio in English with consecutive Spanish translation by Juan B. García Lázaro.

"Dzogchen is concerned with knowing your own nature. There are many different paths in Buddhism and gradually they became organised into different styles or families. Some are gradual, others less so, but generally it is a matter of knowing what suits you best." ~ James Low

Full audio recordings available at: https://simplybeing.co.uk/audio-recordings/year/audio2014/emptiness-and-dzogchen-granada-2014/

Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts of some teachings: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Learn more about future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

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

Chapters
00:00 Session 1 • October 31, 2014
1:25:00 Session 2 • October 31, 2014
2:23:40 Session 3 • November 1st, 2014
3:45:11 Session 4 • November 1st, 2014
5:14:35 Session 5 • November 1st, 2014
6:39:05 Session 6 • November 1nd, 2014
7:48:49 Session 7 • November 2nd, 2014
8:30:12 Session 8 • November 2nd, 2014
9:05:35 Session 9 • November 2nd, 2014

In this teaching from May 9th, 2026, James Low explores patience and non-duality as a means to avoid reactivity to provocations. This session was delivered via Zoom with Romanian translation by Viorica Constantinescu.

Note: The cuts in this video result from the removal of periods of silence during consecutive translation from German.

Versions in other languages:
English: https://youtu.be/DlLVFctvy4Y
English without silence cuts: https://youtu.be/mwy3vxTHU58
German: https://youtu.be/L0MxibNpB3o
Russian: https://youtu.be/99o7s9XPxUc
Spanish: https://youtu.be/-eAMBC9c_Ok
Portuguese: https://youtu.be/w9-JGF6xmuE

Amazonian World Sanctuary - Compassionate Call:
Help save a sacred Amazon territory of native rainforest and animals from imminent destruction. Learn more and donate: https://hky.com.br/campanhasamauma

Learn more about this ancestral people, native to pre-colonial Brazil:
Eskawata Kayawai - The Spirit of Transformation: https://youtu.be/muIExL2Qly0

We support Indigenous shaman and spiritual leader Mapu Huni Kuin: https://www.instagram.com/mapuhunikuin/

Resources:
Instagram excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z7L6-L-ZGI

James Low teaches on patience and non-duality as a means to avoid reactivity to provocations. Recorded on Zoom, May 9th 2026.

This recording has been edited to remove periods of silence during consecutive translation from German. Portuguese translation by Madalena Pedroza.

Other language versions:
English: https://youtu.be/DlLVFctvy4Y
English (unedited): https://youtu.be/mwy3vxTHU58
German: https://youtu.be/L0MxibNpB3o
Russian: https://youtu.be/99o7s9XPxUc
Spanish: https://youtu.be/-eAMBC9c_Ok
Romanian: https://youtu.be/8Z7L6-L-ZGI

Resources:
Instagram excerpts: @SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9-JGF6xmuE

Chapters
00:00 Manifesting peaceful presence in a turbulent world
04:12 How ego creates enemies and friends
08:08 Living in our own world of projections
12:08 The fundamental prejudice of a separate self
17:56 The structure of duality: subject and object
22:59 The eight worldly concerns
27:51 Form is emptiness: applying the Heart Sutra
32:05 Relative truth and the power of beliefs
36:32 Belief as a poor substitute for seeing
39:11 Emptiness as corrective to delusion
43:17 We are not things but streams of experience
54:15 James as a mode of participation
1:05:01 All sound is sound emptiness
1:10:56 Co-emergence: born together with the situation
1:17:43 Working with circumstances through non-dual awareness

May 9th 2026. James Low's teachings on Zoom about "Patience and non-duality as a means to avoid reactivity to provocations".

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.

Spanish translation: Juan B. García Lázaro

Other language versions:
English: https://youtu.be/DlLVFctvy4Y
English without silence cuts: https://youtu.be/mwy3vxTHU58
German: https://youtu.be/L0MxibNpB3o
Russian: https://youtu.be/99o7s9XPxUc
Portuguese: https://youtu.be/w9-JGF6xmuE
Romanian: https://youtu.be/8Z7L6-L-ZGI

Resources:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Watch the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eAMBC9c_Ok

May 9th 2026. James Low's teachings on Zoom about "Patience and non-duality as a means to avoid reactivity to provocations".

Russian translation: Marina Samarina

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.

Other language versions:
English: https://youtu.be/DlLVFctvy4Y
English without silence cuts: https://youtu.be/mwy3vxTHU58
German: https://youtu.be/L0MxibNpB3o
Spanish: https://youtu.be/-eAMBC9c_Ok
Portuguese: https://youtu.be/w9-JGF6xmuE
Romanian: https://youtu.be/8Z7L6-L-ZGI

Amazonian World Sanctuary - Compassionate Call:
Help save a sacred territory of native Amazon rainforest and animals from imminent destruction.
Learn more and donate: https://hky.com.br/campanhasamauma
Eskawata Kayawai - The Spirit of Transformation: https://youtu.be/muIExL2Qly0
Support Indigenous shaman and spiritual leader Mapu Huni Kuin: https://www.instagram.com/mapuhunikuin/

Instagram of excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Original YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99o7s9XPxUc

James Low teaching on Zoom about patience and non-duality as a means to avoid reactivity to provocations, given on May 9th, 2026.

This recording is the German translation version. The constant cuts in this video result from the removal of James Low's periods of silence while waiting for consecutive translation from the German translator, Robert Jaroslawski.

Other language versions:
English: https://youtu.be/DlLVFctvy4Y
English without silence cuts: https://youtu.be/mwy3vxTHU58
Russian: https://youtu.be/99o7s9XPxUc
Spanish: https://youtu.be/-eAMBC9c_Ok
Portuguese: https://youtu.be/w9-JGF6xmuE
Romanian: https://youtu.be/8Z7L6-L-ZGI

Support the Amazonian World Sanctuary:
Help save a sacred territory of native Amazon rainforest and animals from imminent destruction. Learn more and donate: https://hky.com.br/campanhasamauma
Learn about the Eskawata Kayawai indigenous people: https://youtu.be/muIExL2Qly0
We support Indigenous shaman and spiritual leader Mapu Huni Kuin: https://www.instagram.com/mapuhunikuin/

More resources:
Instagram excerpts: https://instagram.com/SBSangha_JamesLow
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Future events: https://simplybeing.co.uk/events/

Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MxibNpB3o

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: https://instagram.com/simplybeingsangha
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Events: https://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: https://instagram.com/simplybeingsangha
Podcasts: https://simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/
Events: https://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

Approaching Non-Duality. [EN-DE] Todtmoos 04.2026

23rd - 26th April 2026. Approaching non-duality. James Low's Dzogchen retreat in Todtmoos, Germany.

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

James Low, April 2026, 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 and you can access these through my many audio and video recordings, books and transcripts.

I feel that our retreats now need to have increasing emphasis on your activity and proactive learning.

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.

I will be teaching in the mornings. In the afternoons there will be small group activities led by experienced members of our sangha. They will offer a range of activities and I am encouraging you all to try them out so that you can experience what you can make use of (or not) at each moment in time. The key point is for you to observe what arises for you as you engage with each activity in your ever-changing environment.

The aim in dzogchen is to see the self-vanishing of each moment. We do this by ripening our presence without engaging in dualistic reificatory judgement."

Organiser and German translation: Robert Jaroslawski

Cover art: Jari Lobo (Pexels.com)

[James' current project support]

🌳 AMAZONIAN 🐆 WORLD SANCTUARY 🌎 COMPASSIONATE CALL 🙏

Help us return Indigenous lands in Brazil to their original protectors

🤲 Learn more about the project and how to help (money, time and skills etc.): https://simplybeing.co.uk/announcement/huni-kuin-indigenous-people-of-the-amazon 🌿

📱 Instagram of excerpts: instagram.com/simplybeingsangha

🎧 Podcasts of some teachinhgs: simplybeing.co.uk/news/podcasts/

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

Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vE2tZ5MsTI

May 31st 2026. James Low talked about compassion in action and supporting minority groups such as the Huni Kuin in the Amazon. Bellow you can read more about this group and how to support them here.

This event was taking place on the full moon day (Saga Dawa) of the 4th month in the Tibetan calendar. It commemorates such major events of Sakyamuni Buddha’s life as his birth, awakening, and parinirvāṇa. The Tibetans consider that any positive or negative karma we create during this month is multiplied 100,000 times.

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.

Transcript of the meeting (may contain minor errors): https://bit.ly/3RXr4nq

Audio of this meeting: https://bit.ly/49SMQyD

Other languages' links: [soon]

🌳 AMAZONIAN 🐆 WORLD 🌎 SANCTUARY

💎 Compassionate call 🙏

In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, the Huni Kuin indigenous people are experiencing a rebirth of their identity after decades of slavery and oppression, since the time when they were captured in the forests and forbidden from living their culture. It was only from the year 2000 onwards that the Huni Kuin of the Humaitá Indigenous Land began to remember who they were, coming together to recall their culture and their ancestral, spiritual way of life. After more than 20 years of strengthening, the communities of the Indigenous Land are today living through a cultural peak.

🛶 Learn more about this ancestral people, native to pre-colonial Brazil:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XeY6dhejg7NquTZth8X5ACc7e2Swo1waitMEkMOCXYM/edit?usp=sharing

🔆 James Low's call:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXvyV8AsRS6/

🐆 Indigenous Shaman (spiritual leader) Mapu Huni Kuin Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/mapuhunikuin/ and https://www.instagram.com/huwakaruyuxibu/

🎬 Eskawata Kayawai: The Spirit of Transformation: https://youtu.be/muIExL2Qly0

The product of a seven-year project in Brazil. The film tells the story of the Huni Kuin indigenous people, who live deep in the western Amazon of Acre, Brazil, as they return to their ancestral and spiritual way of life by reconnecting with their own culture and identity.

🌿 Help us save one of the hearts of Earth – Amazonia –, a sacred territory of native rainforest and animals from imminent destruction.

🤲 Ways to Offer Your Support (Dāna ≈ energy exchange)

🌐 International Bank Transfer via Wise

Account holder: Geraldo Serafim (who is the Financial Director of the Associação Centro Huwã Karu Yuxibu)

Direct payment link: https://wise.com/pay/me/geraldos484

🇺🇸 USD (United States)

Account holder: Geraldo Serafim

Routing (Wire/ACH): 084009519

Account Number: 186066937912307

SWIFT/BIC: TRWIUS35XXX

Bank address: Wise US Inc, 108 W 13th St, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA

🇬🇧 GBP (United Kingdom)

Account holder: Geraldo Serafim

Account Number: 62797102

Sort Code: 60-84-64

IBAN: GB80 TRWI 6084 6462 7971 02

SWIFT/BIC: TRWIGB2LXXX

🇪🇺 EUR (SEPA Zone)

Account holder: Geraldo Serafim

IBAN: BE57 9052 2877 7335

SWIFT/BIC: TRWIBEB1XXX

Bank and address: Wise — Rue du Trône 100, 3rd floor, Brussels, 1050, Belgium

🇧🇷 R$ (Brazil)

Pix code: adm.centro.hky@gmail.com

(Associação Huwã Karu Yuxibu)

₿ Crypto wallet address (EVM compatible networks)

0x57066552402E0a0142C9c61f9444e8c3Db677BbD

May this fundraising be successful and replicated all over the world, in benefit of all beings! 🌬️🤲❤️‍🔥

📱 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=GUoxHwmZxYE