Simply Being

All times refer to UK time, unless otherwise stated.

 James Low, April 2026 writes: The traditional structure of Buddhist teachings is that each level or vehicle has its own View, Meditation, Activity and Result. Over the years I have focused on making the various views and meditations as clear as possible and you can access these through my many audio and video recordings, books and transcripts.

I feel that our retreats now need to have increasing emphasis on your activity and proactive learning.

We all have a lot of life experience and so how can we mobilise this experience to become an ally on our path instead of an obstacle? Rather than relying on our habitual assumptions and conclusions, our practice is to investigate how our subjectivity arises in different situations. We aim to locate the ground (or basis) for our subjective thoughts, feelings and actions in our simple presence within the ever-open here and now.

I will be teaching in the mornings. In the afternoons there will be small group activities led by experienced members of our sangha. They will offer a  range of activities and I am encouraging you all to try them out so that you can experience what you can make use of (or not) at each moment in time. The key point is for you to observe what arises for you as you engage with each activity in your ever-changing environment.

The aim in dzogchen is to see the self-vanishing of each moment. We do this by ripening our presence without engaging in dualistic reificatory judgement.

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The Heart of the matter: weekend teaching. Oxford, Dec 2018

01-12-18 – 02-12-18 UTC+0

James Low

The Heart of the Matter is the Open Mind

Although we rely on our mind in every aspect of our lives, the mind itself is rarely the focus of our interest and attention. Meditation is a simple yet profound way to get to know our mind. We might well find that our mind is not what we think it is. When the mind is disregarded there is always so much to do to maintain our sense of self in the world. However, when we attend to our mind as it is we find relaxation, warmth and relationship, the ground of freedom which allows the blossoming of compassion for ourselves and others.

Times
Evening talk on Friday. 7 to 9.
Saturday 9.30 to 1 (with break),  2.30 to 4,  4.30 to 6.
Sunday 9.30 to 1 (with break)
Cost and Offerings for Teaching: (Info from Gio, the organiser)

The prices below cover the costs only: venue hire, James’ travel costs, etc.

Evening Talk Only: £10

Teaching Sessions (a.m. or p.m): £15 per session (am or pm)

Whole Event: £50

In the Buddhist tradition teaching on meditation is offered without charge so there is no fee for the teaching offered this weekend. If you wish to offer a donation (dana) to support the work of the teacher and those who help him then please do so at any point during the event

Both payment for costs and dana are cash only at the door please!

Accommodation in Oxford:
Here are some useful links for places to stay in and around Oxford (N.B. there is often a map option and several search filters which are very helpful). For self-catering, B&B, camping, hotels etc, try these links:  Link 1   Link 2.  If you’re looking into backpackers etc, the YHA is much the best option To rent rooms in Oxford University Colleges For airbnb.com where you can rent apartments, cottages, houses, or even just a room in a house often at very good value, especially if a number of you are clubbing together For more cottages in the area For accommodation in the Cotswold area just north of Oxford (including hotels, B&B, cottages, Farmhouse stays, camping etc), you can also try these links: Link 1  Link 2

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  • Start: 01-12-18
  • End: 02-12-18
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