Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
232Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
232Paperback
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Overview
Everyone who lives must inevitably face death. Inspired by traditional Buddhist teachings and decades of work with the dying and their caregivers, this landmark work on death and dying by beloved Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax is a source of wisdom for all those who are charged with a dying person’s care, facing their own death, or wishing to explore and contemplate the transformative power of the dying process. Relevant and powerful for people of all backgrounds, her teachings affirm that all of us can open and contact our inner strength even in the face of death, and that we can help others who are suffering to do the same.
Halifax observes that millions will have to deal with the loss of parents and loved ones and that we are largely unprepared emotionally for their deaths. She presents the notion that the process of dying is a rite of passage. Halifax offers stories from her personal experience as well as guided exercises and contemplations to help readers contemplate death without fear, develop a commitment to helping others, and transform suffering and resistance into courage. Topics and exercises include:
- Learning to see death as a rite of passage
- The guiding principles of bearing witness and how self-awareness can help us to relate more fully with others
- How to take care of ourselves when we’re taking care of others
- Contemplation on the universality of death
- How to transform pain and fear with lovingkindness
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781645472872 |
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Publisher: | Shambhala |
Publication date: | 07/09/2024 |
Pages: | 232 |
Product dimensions: | 5.98(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Introduction: Healing the Divide xv
Part 1 Uncharted Territory 1
1 A Path of Discovery: The Lucky Dark 3
Meditation: How Do You Want to Die? 6
2 The Heart of Meditation: Language and Silence 9
Meditation: Strong Back, Soft Front 14
3 Overcoming the Porcupine Effect: Moving Past Fear into Tenderness 17
Meditation: Mercy-Exchanging Self with Other 23
4 The Wooden Puppet and Iron Man: Selfless Compassion, Radical Optimism 25
Meditation: Contemplating Our Priorities 33
5 At Home in the Infinite: Dwelling in the Boundless Abodes 37
Meditation: Boundless Abodes for Living and Dying 45
6 You Are Already Dying: Realizing Impermanence, Selflessness, and Freedom 47
Meditation: The Nine Contemplations 54
Part 2 Giving No Fear 61
7 Fictions that Hinder and Heal: Facing Truth and Finding Meaning 63
Meditation: Bearing Witness to Two Truths 67
8 The Two Arrows: I Am in Pain and I Am Not Suffering 71
Meditation: Encountering Pain 78
9 Giving No Fear: Transforming Poison into Medicine 81
Meditation: Giving and Receiving through Tonglen 88
10 Take Care of Your Life, Take Care of the "World: Seeing My Own Limits with Compassion 93
Meditation: Boundless Caring 99
11 The Jeweled Net: Communities of Care 101
Meditation: The Circle of Truth 107
12 Wounded Healers: The Shadow Side of Caregiving 113
Meditation: Four Profound Reminders 122
Part 3 Making a Whole Cloth 125
13 Doorways to Truth: From Fear to Liberation 127
Meditation: Walking Meditation 133
14 Embracing the Road: How We Remember, Assess, Express, and Find Meaning137
Meditation: Letting Go through the Breath 142
15 Between Life, Between People: How We Forgive, Reconcile, Express Gratitude, and Love 145
Meditation: Boundless Abodes for Transforming Relationships 149
16 The Great Matter: There is Mo One Right Way 151
Meditation: Encountering Death 159
17 The Broken Pine Branch: Deaths of Acceptance and Liberation 163
Meditation: Dissolution of the Elements after Death 172
18 Gratitude for the Vessel: Care of the Body after Death 179
Meditation: Charnel Ground Meditation 185
19 River of Loss: The Plunge of Sorrow 189
Meditation: Encountering Grief 195
Afterword: Being One with Dying 197
Acknowledgments 203