Death and the Art of Dying: A Journey into the Bardos of Life and Beyond

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Menla Online: Death and the Art of Dying, a Journey into the Bardos of Life and Beyond - Full Two Weekend Stream

May 29 - June 05, 2020

Join us for this two weekend live stream event exploring the Buddhist approach to end of life. Led by Andrew Holecek, with Robert Thurman as guest lecturer, this seven-day program is the first in a series of four retreats designed to give you a complete preparation for death. Each retreat is a stand-alone program but also develops the material from the previous retreat. This means that if you are interested in doing the entire series, you can enter any program at any time. If you are interested in just one of the four retreats, each one is crafted as an independent program all its own.These programs are an in-depth exploration of the teachings and practices of the three death bardos: The Painful Bardo of Dying; The Luminous Bardo of Dharmata; and The Karmic Bardo of Becoming – perhaps the most sophisticated contemplative map describing the journey of the mind before, during, and after death. The final retreat will explore the sutra and tantra pure lands. This Eastern body of wisdom will be augmented with Western medical, legal, and logistical approaches to the end of life. The uniqueness of these retreats is their comprehensive nature – no stone is left unturned.Learn what to do before, during, and after death – for yourself and for others – from a spiritual and practical perspective. By the end of this program, you will discover the death of death, and how to step back into this world – and eventually the next – with unshakeable confidence for what lies ahead.This first retreat covers the Painful Bardo of Dying, and will show you how the bardo teachings apply not just to the end of life, but to all the small deaths that occur within life. You will learn all the meditations that prepare for every phase of this bardo, including shamatha, formless meditations, reverse meditations, nocturnal meditations, tonglen, and an introduction to sutra-level dark retreat. Guided contemplations, discussion groups, videos, and printed material will supplement the lectures.Some Topics We Will Cover in the First Program

Outer, inner, and secret signs of the eight stages of death

Understanding and transcending fear

Preparation for sudden death

Dream yoga and the inner yogas

Phowa – transference of consciousness

Voluntary vs involuntary rebirth

The trikaya – three bodies

Death as the discovery of emptiness

Involution/Evolution as a map

Medical and legal advance directives

Role of hospice and palliative care

Suicide, euthanasia, abortion, organ donation

Who Should Attend?This program is for anyone seriously wanting to prepare for the end of life. It is a no-nonsense deep dive into the profound teachings of the bardos. While it describes the spiritual preparation from a Buddhist perspective, the material is tailored for anyone interested in a non-material approach to death. This retreat is for those interested in exploring meditations that are designed to prepare you for death, and to “die before you die” — to discover states of mind that do not dissolve at the end of life. This program is also for those wishing to help others during the dying process, either personally or professionally, from both a spiritual and practical perspective.

* Every dollar lends crucial support to Tibet House/Menla during this financial crisis. Anyone whose financial circumstances are dire can appeal for scholarship assistance. To request a need-based scholarship, please email registration@menla.org.We encourage those who are still financially comfortable to contribute any amount of donation above the normal class fees to support scholarships specifically or Tibet House/Menla generally. Sarvamangalam! May all be well and happy!We ask for your patience as we develop further courses that we can offer for free, as well as on a sliding scale. Thank you for your support, and be well.

This program is a two weekend virtual event. If you are unable to attend the full two weekend program we are offering a free Thursday night introduction please use this link to register!

Schedule Weekend OneThursday, May 28th (Free Stream)

7:30pm Welcome & Introductory Class

Friday, May 29th (Paid Content)

10 - 1pm Morning Session