Sam speaks with James Low, a modern meditation master whose teachings bring nonduality to life with spontaneity, wit, and everyday examples (in this conversation alone: riding a bike, peeling a banana, eating with chopsticks). Here, we meet the teacher behind the teachings.

Sam and James discuss James’s Protestant upbringing and his disillusionment with Western spirituality, his early exposure to Hinduism, his transition to Dzogchen, his work translating Tibetan texts, his approach to pointing-out instructions, Advaita vs. Advaya, academic intellectualism vs. embodied insight, language vs. perception, acting practically vs. letting things be, the central importance of ethics, the utility of contemplating mortality, successful teacher-student relationships, and other topics.

James Low highlights traditional Buddhist and Dzogchen teachings that sparkle with fresh and colorful examples from Western culture, literature, psychotherapy, and philosophy. Having left Edinburgh University, he lived in India for twelve years, first with a Hindu guru, later with many great Tibetan masters, until finally settling in the family home of his guru, the late Chimed Rigdzin Lama. CR Lama (as he was known) asked James to teach in 1976 giving him the transmissions necessary to do this, together with full lineage authority. 

On his return from India to Europe, James trained in psychotherapy. As Consultant Psychotherapist he headed a UK National Health Service Clinic until his retirement. He also had a private psychotherapy practice.

James has been traveling and teaching throughout Europe for over thirty years, and is the author of Being Right Here, among many other books. You can find out more at his website.