The Integration of Stillness and Movement: the approach of different buddhist paths. Eifel 10.2001

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