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Looking at death and dealing with loss

Looking at death and dealing with loss

A series of talks based on Don’t Believe Everything You Think given at Sravasti Abbey’s monthly Sharing the Dharma Day starting in March 2013. The book is a commentary on The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas.

Loved ones who have long kept company will part.
Wealth created with difficulty will be left behind.
Consciousness, the guest, will leave the guest-house of the body.
Let go of this life—
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

  • Contemplating death to make life meaningful
  • Thinking about death helps to think about choices and stop acting on automatic
  • Reflecting on death is not morbid but wakes us up to what is important and motivates us to practice
  • What is important at the time of death and how to prepare for death

SDD 04: Looking at death and dealing with loss (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.