Death and Dying from a Buddhist Perspective
Explore treasures from the Buddhist Tradition related to Death and Dying
Please join Susan Shannon to explore treasures from the Buddhist Tradition related to Death and Dying. Of all the schools of Buddhism, the Tibetan tradition goes into this area the deepest. We will start with identifying the many little deaths we’ve already had in our life, as well as the many bardos, or in-between states which are a part of our daily lives. Becoming familiar with those will lead us into how to be more present with the death process at the end of our lives.
From there, we’ll orbit around the teaching of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, otherwise known as the Bardo Thodal, which translates into “The Great Liberation in the Intermediate State through Hearing.” The Tibetan Book of the Dead has often been called a roadmap to the death and dying process. The whole point of this text is that if we become familiar with this roadmap during life, when we pass, we know the way and can proceed directly to liberation.
We will also come to understand how Buddhist meditation allows us to work within our psychological framework with the idea and intention that our meditation practice can lay the groundwork for a good death.
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Your Instructor
Susan Shannon, M. Div. is a seeker, teacher, earth and animal steward, and devotee of the heart. She has worked in the fields of Emotional Literacy and Restorative Justice for over 20 years, incorporating over 45 years of Buddhist practice and study from the Tibetan tradition. She’s worked with various diverse populations all her life including inmates, Tibetan refugees, the homeless, the differently-abled, at-risk youth, and has served as the Buddhist Chaplain to the men in San Quentin State Prison and Death Row. She currently resides in the San Juan Islands where she writes, provides spiritual coaching and tends her land.