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The Art of Dying
Death with Dignity, Conscious Dying and End of Life Issues




Paramahansa Yogananda—"The Last Smile"

A photograph taken an hour before his mahasamadhi (a yogi's final conscious exit from the body); at a banquet held in honor of Ambassador Binay R. Sen of India, March 7, 1952, in Los Angeles, California.

The photographer has here caught a loving smile that appears to be a farewell benediction for each one of the master's millions of friends, students, and disciples. The eyes that already were gazing into Eternity are yet full of human warmth and understanding.

Death had no power of disintegration over this incomparable devotee of God; his body manifested a phenomenal state of immutability.


Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, first paperback edition,
Self Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, California, 1973, p.571


Tapes




A Gentle
Revolution in
How We Die

Being with Dying
by Roshi Joan Halifax

On his deathbed, Plato was asked to summarize his life's work. He replied: "Practice dying." In the 2,000 years since Plato offered this wise admonition, we have developed many practices associated with living. But what of the practices associated with dying? Being with Dying is a response to this question: an approach to death that is kind, open, and dignified, and which allows us to explore the meaning of death in the experience of our own lives and through the lives of others.

Founded by Joan Halifax, Being with Dying began as a project to help healthcare professionals and their patients learn to "see death and know life in terms of compassion and awakening." Distilled from this influential program, the Being with Dying audio learning course combines Eastern and Western psychology, philosophy, and contemplative practices from many spiritual traditions. This innovative, hands-on approach has taught medical professionals, social workers, clergy, community activists, and spiritual seekers an elegant path for taking the fear out of the dying experience. In gently caring for the dying, we also learn to care more wisely for the living - and for life itself.

Often in our culture, life is equated with success and death with failure. Being with Dying honestly examines death and dying - not in terms of medical success or failure, but as a possibility for awakening. Join Joan Halifax and learn key practices for creating a calm, mindful, sacred space where life and death are brought into the full light of awareness.

Learn More About:

  • The treasure of compassion
  • Mindfulness meditation for caregivers and dying people
  • Unlived lives and our fear of dying
  • How to work together with friends and family members touched by a death in the family
  • Key Buddhist mindfulness practices for death and dying
  • Bodhicitta: awakening our hearts
  • The "Six Perfections" in being with dying
  • Tibetan phowa practice and the transfer of consciousness
  • Dissolution of the Body after Death practice
  • A new vision of death, and much more.

For ordering information about this 9 hour audio learning course,
please visit the Sounds True online catalogue.





From Tibet:
Teachings
on Life and
Death




Tibetan Wisdom for Living and Dying
by Sogyal Rinpoche

Voyage to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism with this definitive audio workshop – taught by Sogyal Rinpoche, author of the international bestseller The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Born into a spiritual community relatively untouched by Western traditions, and later educated at Cambridge, Sogyal Rinpoche is uniquely qualified to bring these ancient Buddhist teachings into our lives today. He writes: "Enlightenment is real. It is something not exotic, not fantastic, not for an elite, but for all of humanity."

"Only two things in life are certain," he begins, "that each of us will die, and that no one knows how or when. This impermanence is the very essence of existence. Yet in the West, we live life as if it will go on forever. We talk about the need to "take care of ourselves." But, Rinpoche asks, "which self: the one that is going to die, or the one that will survive?" Guiding us with meticulous scholarship, Sogyal Rinpoche addresses this question with lively humor and an uncommon knowledge of religious scriptures. Tibetan Wisdom for Living and Dying is a landmark recording: over nine hours of direct teachings from this incarnate lama and master of dzogchen (literally "great perfection," the esoteric heart of Tibetan Buddhism).

Learn More About:

  • What survives death and how to cultivate it
  • The meditation that leads to "spacious mind"
  • The mystery of life's last moment - and how to be fully present for it
  • The ancient bardo teachings – and how to apply them to everyday challenges
  • The best way to communicate with someone who is dying
  • Keys to the art of greiving
  • A powerful prayer for freedom from suffering.

For ordering information about this 9 hour audio learning course,
please visit the Sounds True online catalogue.


Videos and DVDs




The Tibetan
Book
of
the
Dead



The Tibetan Book of the Dead Canada 1994
Narrated by Leonard Cohen

Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to Tibetan philosophy. Tibetan Buddhists believe that after a person dies, they enter a state of "bardo" for 49 days until a rebirth.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life
Program 1, The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life documents the history of The Tibetan Bookof the Dead, tracing the book's acceptance and use in Europe and North America. Included is remarkable footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder as well as the views of the Dalai Lama on life and death (45 min. 35 sec.).

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation
Program 2, The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation observes an old Buddhist lama and a 13-year-old novice monk as they guide a deceased person into the afterlife. The passage of the soul is visualized with animation blended into actual location shooting (45 min. 3 sec.).

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Death
by Alex Grey





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