Being Right Here: Open Presence as Immediate Intrinsic Awareness

The text is very fresh, radiant with the dew drops of its short lineage. Like a flower or a beautiful piece of art it will reveal itself to those who open to it with a quiet mind and a heart softened through tender attention. It consists of short verses which, with pithy clarity, show how the various aspects of dzogchen fit together. The text provides both an authentic account of the practice and instruction in how to apply it. Dzogchen, often considered the highest level of Tibetan Buddhism is an ancient system of realizing ones own authentic nature. The tradition of transmission is unbroken and this text provides a traditional consideration of the key points of the system. It speaks to the heart of the human condition, highlighting the need to integrate all the aspect of ones being, overcoming fear, anxiety and denial.

About the Author :
James Low is a disciple and teacher in the Byangter and Khordong lineages of the late Chhimed Rigdzin Lama. He began studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism in India in the 1960's and received teachings from Kalu Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Kanjur Rinpoche and Dudjom Rinpoche. Having met his root teacher, Chhimed Rigdzin Lama (also known as C R Lama), he lived in his home in West Bengal, India for many years, serving him as required and being taught many aspects of the tradition. During this period in India James did several retreats and pilgrimages in the Himalayas. In the 1970's and 1980's, on his return to Europe, he also had teachings and guidance from Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. James translated many tantric texts and sadhanas with CR Lama who wanted texts from his lineages, Byangter and Khordong, to be available in English. These are used as practice texts by CR Lama's disciples and have been translated into various European languages. C R Lama asked James to teach in 1976 and later gave him the transmissions necessary to do this, together with full lineage authority. In particular, James was encouraged to give the traditional instructions using methods that enable people in the west to get the point. James has been teaching in this way for over twenty years.

Victoria Ying Jin,

She has studied and practiced Dzogchen and Mahamudra with James Low, Dzogchen and Shamatha with B. Alan Wallace, Vipashyana Mindfulness with Shinzen Young and Julianna Raye, and Mahamudra Effortless Mindfulness with Loch Kelly, non-due meditation with Michael Taft. Her inner journey is also nourished by traditional masters of Advaita Vedanta, Zen, and the Dao De Jing, and inspired by the devotion of Rumi, the mystical clarity of Meister Eckhart, the philosophical precision of Kant, the confidence in truth itself of Krishnamurti, the eloquent presence of Alan Watts, the radiant colors of Cézanne, and the poetic stillness of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. These are not gathered as systems, but as living threads in a single tapestry--pointing, again and again, to the same ground of presence, beauty, and belonging a bridge of language, and a hand extended in friendship.