Inception Point

James Low is a disciple and teacher in the Byangter and Khordong lineages of the late C R Lama, Chimed Rigdzin Lama, the Khordong Terchen Tulku.He began studying and practising Tibetan Buddhism in India in the 1960's and received teachings from Kalu Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Kanjur Rinpoche and Dudjom Rinpoche. Having met his main teacher, Chimed 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 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.CR 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 thirty years.James regularly teaches the principles of dzogchen in Europe and publishes translations and commentaries from time to time.Many of his seminars have been recorded, transcribed and made freely available on his website simplybeing.co.uk.James studied at Edinburgh University, at Visva Bharati University (West Bengal) and others. He has retired from his work in London as a Consultant Psychotherapist in the National Health Service. He maintains a small private psychotherapy and supervision practice. He has been a staff member for many psychotherapy trainings in Britain.

Inception Point: The Use of Learning and Development to Reform the Singapore Public Service fills a gap in current literature on Singapore's modernisation. While the political leadership of the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his People's Action Party (PAP) government were key to Singapore's modernisation, the role of policy implementation was one shouldered by the Singapore Public Service, a story thus far neglected in literature.Inception Point argues that the Singapore Public Service used executive development and training to introduce reforms across the bureaucracy. In so doing, the bureaucracy constantly adjusted itself to help modernise Singapore. In the 40 years between decolonisation in 1959 and 2001, when the training arm of the bureaucracy became a statutory board, training had been used firstly, to socialise the bureaucracy away from its colonial-era organisational culture to prepare it for the tasks of nation-building. Subsequently, civil servants were mobilised into an 'economic general staff' through training and development, to lead the Singapore developmental state in the 1970s and the 1980s. The Public Service for the 21st Century (PS21) reforms in the 1990s was the epitome in harnessing development and training for reforms across the bureaucracy.