"Our existence is inseparable from a flow of pulsation with the coming in and going out (of breath). The castle of the self, the fortress of the self, is built on the wind. This is very strange... how can it be that all that I think I am, I know that I am, is resting simply on the movement of life through me. Similarly our heartbeat is life, the heartbeat is impermanence. This dynamic, without that pulsation, we would not be alive. When we just stay present with our life as it is then we can see that there is no fixed entity there, the phenomena is always moving. Impermanence is life itself." - James Low
0:00 Approaches to Dharma 2:35 Impermanence as life 4:40 Mental dullness 22:32 Presence & distraction 26:49 Practice with instruments or result 32:59 Hopes & fears 39:07 Impermanent Dharma-self 49:12 Always somewhere 53:45 Ignorance 1:02:57 Psychotherapy: “What should I do?” 1:09:44 Absence of inherent existence 1:12:00 Five skandhas 1:33:09 Karma & emptiness 1:39:28 Approaches to Dharma: in & out 1:45:05 Non-duality & conceptualization
Our main point of study is our own mind, this is not something narrow or limited or narcissistic because it is only by being with your own mind that you realise that your mind is not yours. As long as we merge with the thoughts and memories and plans that arise in our mind we maintain the ego sense of mastery, of being in charge and out of the vastness of the field of potential we make our selection, the kind of selection which confirms who we are. In this way we never find out the true basis of our presence - James Low
The more you interfere with your mind, the more you try to make it according to some template or recipe, you find yourself stuck in the same neurotic formation. But if you just relax and don't interfere, don't do anything, your just there like the mirror, simply showing or displaying whatever is arising, you become aware the mind is vast, it has enough space for everything just as it is and when you see directly the impermanence of each thing which is arising it is what it is and then it's gone. This is it's great completion. Each moment is complete and whole in itself. So there is no need to do anything with it. Nothing needs to be improved - James Low
So here here we see this tension between the fact of impermanence, the fact of dependent origination, the fact that we emerge or arise in situations in dialogue with whatever else is going on and yet I feel like someone. I am me but I am changed by events, I am permanent but impermanent. So this is very helpful to look at. OK so what is impermanent about me; we have already looked, sensations, thoughts memories arising and passing and so on and on the other side what is permanent about me; this is the idea that I exist, that's all, everything else is moving. If I start to say anything about how I exist I find it's not accurate. So may be I exist as someone who is thirsty and then I am not thirsty. Then I am full of energy and then I am very tired. So my qualities of being me are impermanent, the only thing is I am me. That's all I have. Then if I look who is the one who is me it can't be my qualities, it can't be my age, it can't be what I eat or what I know as these all change according to the years. So when we take this question who am I and we stay with it in the flow of experience all kinds of indications or answers arise. I am a buddhist that doesn't last very long because now I am a coffee drinker. Perhaps there is a specific buddhist way of drinking coffee but I didn't get that initiation yet. So I drink coffee as a coffee drinker. So moment by moment our identity system is emptying out and filling up, emptying out, filling up. Who am I, I am whoever is arising at this moment, but it won't be true necessarily in the next moment. So who am I- this. What is the content of this, there is this before content and there is this with content. This is like the mirror, the mirror itself has nothing but due to causes and conditions it shows a reflection. So this or I can't find anything, it has no fixed content but at the same time it always seems to have some content. It's content is unreliable but actual. So here we are at the central poimt; I am empty and full. But I am not full of me. So what am I full of, what is arising and at the moment its arising for me this is me. So if I say I am tired this true and not true. Its true because I am a little bit tired and it's not true in that it's not a universal definition of who I am. It is part of the portfolio or the potential of aspects - James Low
In this world you cannot even find one thing which is separate from the mind. This not a dogma, this is not something you should believe, this is something to investigate. You can look at it everywhere you go; birds, trees, dogs, bread, cheese, you look and you see qualities. Some people like a strong cheese, some people like a soft cheese and of course sometimes you like a soft cheese and sometimes you like a strong cheese. The world is revealed with the mind - James Low
Here is a question: If the body and all its gadgets are not real... who created the body or how was the body created and why? That is: what is all this for... a hid and seek game?
I'm intrigued by James's dropping of the Scottish and the adoption of an Italian accent. It seems to have happened quite suddenly. I find it distracting, but I'm sure there's a simple explanation ...
"Our existence is inseparable from a flow of pulsation with the coming in and going out (of breath). The castle of the self, the fortress of the self, is built on the wind. This is very strange... how can it be that all that I think I am, I know that I am, is resting simply on the movement of life through me. Similarly our heartbeat is life, the heartbeat is impermanence. This dynamic, without that pulsation, we would not be alive. When we just stay present with our life as it is then we can see that there is no fixed entity there, the phenomena is always moving. Impermanence is life itself." - James Low
0:00 Approaches to Dharma
2:35 Impermanence as life
4:40 Mental dullness
22:32 Presence & distraction
26:49 Practice with instruments or result
32:59 Hopes & fears
39:07 Impermanent Dharma-self
49:12 Always somewhere
53:45 Ignorance
1:02:57 Psychotherapy: “What should I do?”
1:09:44 Absence of inherent existence
1:12:00 Five skandhas
1:33:09 Karma & emptiness
1:39:28 Approaches to Dharma: in & out
1:45:05 Non-duality & conceptualization
Thank you!
Thank you! Really clear explanations and pointing out!
So Lucky to have James...
Thank you
Our main point of study is our own mind, this is not something narrow or limited or narcissistic because it is only by being with your own mind that you realise that your mind is not yours. As long as we merge with the thoughts and memories and plans that arise in our mind we maintain the ego sense of mastery, of being in charge and out of the vastness of the field of potential we make our selection, the kind of selection which confirms who we are. In this way we never find out the true basis of our presence
- James Low
The more you interfere with your mind, the more you try to make it according to some template or recipe, you find yourself stuck in the same neurotic formation. But if you just relax and don't interfere, don't do anything, your just there like the mirror, simply showing or displaying whatever is arising, you become aware the mind is vast, it has enough space for everything just as it is and when you see directly the impermanence of each thing which is arising it is what it is and then it's gone. This is it's great completion. Each moment is complete and whole in itself. So there is no need to do anything with it. Nothing needs to be improved
- James Low
So here here we see this tension between the fact of impermanence, the fact of dependent origination, the fact that we emerge or arise in situations in dialogue with whatever else is going on and yet I feel like someone. I am me but I am changed by events, I am permanent but impermanent. So this is very helpful to look at. OK so what is impermanent about me; we have already looked, sensations, thoughts memories arising and passing and so on and on the other side what is permanent about me; this is the idea that I exist, that's all, everything else is moving. If I start to say anything about how I exist I find it's not accurate. So may be I exist as someone who is thirsty and then I am not thirsty. Then I am full of energy and then I am very tired. So my qualities of being me are impermanent, the only thing is I am me. That's all I have. Then if I look who is the one who is me it can't be my qualities, it can't be my age, it can't be what I eat or what I know as these all change according to the years. So when we take this question who am I and we stay with it in the flow of experience all kinds of indications or answers arise. I am a buddhist that doesn't last very long because now I am a coffee drinker. Perhaps there is a specific buddhist way of drinking coffee but I didn't get that initiation yet. So I drink coffee as a coffee drinker. So moment by moment our identity system is emptying out and filling up, emptying out, filling up. Who am I, I am whoever is arising at this moment, but it won't be true necessarily in the next moment. So who am I- this. What is the content of this, there is this before content and there is this with content. This is like the mirror, the mirror itself has nothing but due to causes and conditions it shows a reflection. So this or I can't find anything, it has no fixed content but at the same time it always seems to have some content. It's content is unreliable but actual. So here we are at the central poimt; I am empty and full. But I am not full of me. So what am I full of, what is arising and at the moment its arising for me this is me. So if I say I am tired this true and not true. Its true because I am a little bit tired and it's not true in that it's not a universal definition of who I am. It is part of the portfolio or the potential of aspects
- James Low
In this world you cannot even find one thing which is separate from the mind. This not a dogma, this is not something you should believe, this is something to investigate. You can look at it everywhere you go; birds, trees, dogs, bread, cheese, you look and you see qualities. Some people like a strong cheese, some people like a soft cheese and of course sometimes you like a soft cheese and sometimes you like a strong cheese. The world is revealed with the mind
- James Low
Here is a question: If the body and all its gadgets are not real... who created the body or how was the body created and why? That is: what is all this for... a hid and seek game?
I'm intrigued by James's dropping of the Scottish and the adoption of an Italian accent. It seems to have happened quite suddenly. I find it distracting, but I'm sure there's a simple explanation ...
😇😇🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏