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