James Low - Dzogchen and Buddhist Teachings 652 Berghof 2024 Retreat - Session 8 of 8
Dec 10, 2024
Teachings on Mahamudra practice and how to recognize and respond to obstacles in meditation. Guidance on resting in presence, letting thoughts dissolve, and trusting fresh appearances. Discussions of emptiness paired with compassion, pitfalls of clinging to experiences, and practices to open awareness amid habitual patterns. Reflections on community, memory, and making the teachings accessible.
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Ground First Then Rest In Spacious Awareness
- Noticing and then relaxing into the spontaneous display quietens the mind's compulsion to interpret experience.
- James Low recommends simple grounding (nine-round breathing, movement, breath focus) before resting in spacious awareness when agitated.
Avoid Analysing Transient Arisings
- Avoid chasing conceptual analysis of immediate experiences because arising phenomena self-vanish.
- James Low advises letting objects "speak" by trusting their fresh arising and vanishing rather than examining or holding them.
Three Kāyas Are Simultaneous Aspects Of Experience
- The three kāyas appear together: emptiness (ground), luminous display (dharmakaya), and participatory manifestation (nirmanakaya).
- Seeing their inseparability prevents reifying experiences as solid independent things.