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In our busy modern lives, we may not give much thought to death. We fear that thinking about death will take the joy out of living. But in reality, when we actively think about death and prepare for it, we find peace, fulfillment, and happiness in our current lives and our fear of death disappears.

Over the course of many years, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has given profound and accessible teachings on death and dying. Heart Advice for Death and Dying contains Rinpoche’s essential advice for preparing for the time of death and leading a fulfilling life. It includes:

- An introduction by Kathleen McDonald (Ven. Sangye Khadro) to Buddhist ideas about life, death, and what happens after death
- Teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on:

• The fragility and impermanent nature of life
• By not contemplating death we will be swayed by the attachment clinging to the happiness of this life
• By contemplating death we will be inspired to begin, continue, and complete our Dharma practice
• The nine-point meditation on death based on reflecting on how death is definite, how the time of death is indefinite, and how at the time of death only our Dharma practice will be of help to us
• The dying process—what actually happens to us as we are dying
• Preparing for death by practicing the five powers
• Meditation on tonglen—in order to develop bodhichitta we visualize taking suffering upon our selfishness out of on compassion and giving our happiness away out of love
• How to help and care for the dying and the dead
• Practices to do before, during, and after someone’s death
• The benefits of Medicine Buddha practice

- The Medicine Buddha Sadhana
- Mantras to benefit the dying and dead
- Helpful Resources
- Glossary

Included with this eBook is complimentary access to the online version of Heart Advice for Death and Dying, which is available on the FPMT Online Learning Center. This FPMT introductory course consists of 11 hours of teachings and guided meditations by Ven. Sangye Khadro, a senior American teacher of Tibetan Buddhism well known for her gentle yet profound teaching style. It is presented as a series of five sessions. Each session consists of teachings by Ven. Sangye Khadro (available in both MP3 and written formats) supplemented by two guided meditations on related topics and two mindfulness practices. Each session concludes with some points for reflection intended to encourage a personal reflection and analysis of the topics taught. Additional supplementary materials are provided to help prepare for one’s own and others' death.

Also included with this eBook is the companion book Heart Practices for Death and Dying in PDF format. This book contains advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on preparing for death and assisting others through this time, together with practices to do at the time of death, including the Medicine Buddha Puja and the traditional eight prayers done in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. This book also contains the most powerful mantras to say for those who are dying or who have died, teachings on their precise benefits, as well as a sheet of mantras to place upon the body of one who has died. It contains precious sutra texts to benefit the minds of those who are dying, to relieve pain, and to purify negative karma.

In addition, since one of the five powers to be practiced in preparation for death is giving away one's possessions, click here to download the PDF file entitled How to Make your Possessions Most Beneficial by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

173 pages, 2008 edition.

Notes: The teachings and practices contained in the books Heart Advice for Death and Dying and Heart Practices for Death and Dying are complemented by the teachings and practices found in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s more recent book How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge without Fear (Wisdom Publications, 2016). How to Enjoy Death focuses, in particular, on how to help others before, during, and after their death, whereas Heart Advice for Death and Dying focuses, in particular, on how to prepare for one’s own death.

When the books Heart Advice for Death and Dying and Heart Practices for Death and Dying along with Ven. Sangye Khadro’s teachings and meditations are combined with the book How to Enjoy Death, you will have all the information and practices you need to be able to face your own and others’ deaths with confidence and serenity.

Note: An email will be sent after purchasing this product which allows you to download the title in the two formats of mobi and epub. For an explanation of eBook formats and how they work, click here.

This title is also available as an eBook on the Kindle Store.
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