Questions & Answers 28. Zoom 04.2023

26 April 2023. James Low had invited questions from people watching his Zooms, which he began to answer.

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.

Index

"(00:00) What are the eight qualities of pure water?"

"(03:18) Can you tell us something about the sambhogakaya ornament?"

"(03:57 What are the different meanings of torma?"

"(06:18) With the covid-19 restriction, I got used to saying no to many activities. And with a dharma view, I have a sense I don't need to engage in many activities, but, whether I say yes or no it seems to be me who's saying yes and no and have a egoic base. How not to get trapped in this?"

"(08:57) Most dzogchen teachers insist on the necessity of absolute certainty about the view before starting this general dzogchen practices. Then you should be clear about the difference between recognizing or not recognizing, finding or not finding. To me you seem to have a different approach."

"(10:39) I often treat the time of meditation as more important, more sacred than the time of my daily activities. How to change this while avoiding making the time after meditation less meaningful?"

"(13:39) Outer, inner and secret: what do they mean?"

"(14:25) I'm trying to understand where the distinction lies between dzogchen dharma teaching and that of certain Tibetan buddhist practices. But then I encountered the patriarchy and hierarchy in many Tibetan monasteries and so on. Is Tibetan buddhism missing compassion towards women? How can the so-called high lamas be enlightened, if they don't see good in the nature of women?"

"(17:37) The function of the guru is to help you see your own light. Does this mean the guru in the flesh person or Padmasambhava or our own mind?"

"(18:48) Being in a state of openness, when I'm everywhere and nowhere at the same time, it's as if I'm experiencing the feeling of freefall. It captures me so much that it interrupts my breathing and many thoughts appear."

"(21:27) Do you recommend the rushen and lojong dzogchen preliminaries? Are they usually practiced in retreat?"

"(22:35) How can my awareness be the red dakini?"

"(27:29) How do the three doors of liberation relate to mahamudra and dzogchen?"

"(30:49) Can retreat make me sad? Is it important to check where I am on the path?"

"(32:23) In your book "Radiant aspiration", I read for the first time about the four meditative absorptions. Can you explain this a bit?"

"(35:09) Question concerned with ecological issues."

"(39:02) I have recently been told of the possibility of having cancer, but, although I have to wait for the biopsy to be 100% sure in a few days, at times there is a torrent of thoughts circulating. How was your experience when told about your body's condition with cancer and how to work with this change in our bodies?"

"(42:05) Question concerning the Ganges mahamudra instruction. Tilopa says to Marpa "if you are free of all desire and do not abide in the extremes you will see all the dharma teachings of the three baskets. What are these three baskets?"

"(43:55) A quote from Padmasambhava, where he says 'even though intrinsic awareness, which is self-originated primal awareness, appears to you, it is but a manifestation of mind'"

Video at https://youtu.be/Pm7x9LWUH-E?si=zWNa3hVuV46JWufY