This product is the course materials alone, in PDF format, of the Heart Advice for Death and Dying program for implementation in centers and study groups. It does not include the bookHeart Advice for Death and Dyingby Lama Zopa Rinpoche or the MP3 CD of audio teachings on this topic by Ven. Sangye Khadro. On the other hand, the hardcopy version of the Heart Advice for Death and Dying program for implementation in centers and study groups includes all these materials.

Overview

Heart Advice for Death and Dying is an FPMT education program included in Foundational Buddhism Programs. This program is designed to provide practical instructions for the time of death to students who are interested in learning about death and dying from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective. It is recommended that students have some prior knowledge of Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition, in particular the topics of the lamrim, by having completed an introductory course, such as Buddhism in a Nutshell,andat least some of the lamrim modules of Discovering Buddhism.

This program for centers was developed from a series of teachings given by Ven. Sangye Khadro. The program materials contain detailed talking points and explanations based on the transcripts of these audio teachings. They are offered as a suggested way to teach the program. Teachers may use them in whatever manner they find helpful and are free to explain the points in their own way, using their own examples and stories.

For a detailed presentation of the program see the FPMT Affiliates Area.

Course Topics

The course covers the following topics:

• Death according to Buddhism
• Developing healthy, realistic attitudes about death
• An explanation of samsara, the state of enlightenment, and the need to remember death
• Introduction to the nine-point meditation on death
• The inevitability of death
• The uncertainty of the time of death
• What helps at the time of death

• Methods for dealing with disturbing emotions regarding death
• Things we can do to prepare for death
• The practice of tonglen
• The eight stages of the death process
• Helping others who are dying

Course Structure

The program is presented as a series of five sessions of approximately two hours each. Each session includes lecture time, one or two guided meditations, and question & answer or discussion time. Classes can be organized as two weekend intensives comprised of the equivalent of 2½ classes each weekend, as one intensive weekend, or as five once-a-week classes.

Course Teacher

Heart Advice for Death and Dying must be taught by an FPMT registered teacher with a good knowledge of the subject of death and dying from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, familiarity and confidence with the prayers and rituals that are to be done prior to and after death, and ideally some experience accompanying the dying. In the absence of a registered teacher, the course can be studied by an FPMT center or study group using the course materials for the Heart Advice for Death and Dying online program available on the Online Learning Center.

Course Materials

The course materials consist of the following resources:

• descriptions of the topics to be covered in each of the five sessions
• lesson plans for the five sessions
• suggested discussion questions for the five sessions
• ten meditation handouts for students (see below)
• a recommended reading list (Handout 11)
• advice for assembling a death box (Handout 12)

The handouts for meditation sessions consist of:

1. Meditation on Impermanence
2. Meditation on the Inevitability of Death
3. Meditation on the Uncertainty of the Time of Death
4. Meditation on the Four Opponent Powers
5. Meditation on What Helps at the Time of Death
6. OM AH HUM Purification Meditation
7. Tonglen Using One’s Own Problem
8. Meditation on the Eight Stages of the Death Process
9. Tonglen for Another Person’s Problem
10. Medicine Buddha Meditation

These handouts are meant to be provided to course participants and should enable teachers/facilitators to lead this course without having to prepare additional teaching materials.

Recommended Readings

1. The recommended reading for this program is Heart Advice for Death and Dying, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

2. The companion bookHeart Practices for Death and Dying contains Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice on preparing for death and assisting others through that time. It also includes practices for the time of death, such as the Medicine Buddha Puja and the traditional eight prayers recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to help others at the time of death. The book also contains mantras to say for those who are dying or who have died, teachings on their benefits, and a sheet of mantras to place upon the body of one who has died.

Note:The advice, teachings, and practices contained inHeart Advice for Death and Dying(published in 2008), as well as those contained in Heart Practices for Death and Dying, are included in a new book by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge without Fear (Wisdom Publications, 2016), which is also available as an eBook. However, this book does not come with the MP3 CD of audio teachings on this topic by Ven. Sangye Khadro.