Over the past twenty years I have engaged with dharma practice and teachings which have profoundly changed my view of the world, of my self, and the relationship to what I took to be as completely separate from me, as truly ‘other’.

This new relationship is not really new but is pre-existing, a given, the astonishing ignored truth of us all without exception.

Usually we look at the world through eyes which are clouded by conditioned beliefs… so to have the opportunity to look through a pair of eyes which are clear, is a rare and liberating privilege.

I borrowed those of James Low who has been offering this unclouded view for many decades, teaching dzogchen around the world. Back in 2010 he gave me encouragement to teach ‘as much as you can’. I took this to mean ‘teach a lot’ but it could equally well have meant ‘teach as much as you are able to, just now’…which is rather different!!

But either way I have learned that it’s through engaging with the process that learning takes place… and that as we apply these teachings in our everyday lives our own eyes open wider. Freedom and the complexities and constraints of life are not in opposition and an on-going freshness is the flowering of the freedom of our natural condition.

If you are interested in dzogchen, the great completion teachings, then I invite you to explore the vast array of teachings on the web-site simplybeing.co.uk with which this site is linked. 

The  ‘Macclesfield Talks’ are a set of teachings which James has given, either annually or twice a year since 2003 in Macclesfield, England and form part of this…

They offer an exposition of the dzogchen view, indicating and explaining the depth and breadth of dharma teachings to us…we who did not have a traditional background or scholarship…in a way with which we could readily engage.
These talks cover many different approaches within dharma teachings; James explains both how they relate to each other, to us, and their application in everyday life.

For quick reference here is an Index to all the audios and videos currently available in the series.

You can also access them via ‘Macclesfield Talks’  for further details, including which talks have been transcribed and translated…                

You will surely find your own unique way into engagement with the dharma but I recommend them most highly.
For me they provided an education in the truest sense of the word; a ladder and springboard …

Here is another link to follow if you would like –  Audio recordings of the Dhammapada – James Low’s translation and commentary…comprising the first section of the book Finding Freedom.
Some may wonder how this ‘hinayana’ teaching fits with the view of dzogchen … If so I invite you to listen to James’ translation, with his introduction and commentary on this text … which forms the first part of the book … and discover for yourself how wisdom shines through every facet of the jewel : )

Other James Low book recordings are being added under the audio/video tab.

If queries arise as you engage with this material you are welcome to get in touch and we can explore… or you can contact James via the simplybeing.co.uk website.

You’d also be very welcome to join a little online group for practice and study, which I facilitate… just use ‘Contact me’ in the header to get in touch.