Life and Death Transitions

Where have we learned what death is, how to face it unafraid, and assist others nearing the end of this lifetime?

                  - Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche – Knowledge of Freedom

Life and Death Transitions is a twenty-four session, video, self-study program of more than 24 hours of theory and practice.

To prepare ourselves and help others who are in the process of aging, with sickness, possibly dementia, we need to understand the process of dissolution, of dying. The Tibetan teachings and Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche’s writings speak of a monumental transition. In studying and practicing the insights and suggestions from this tradition, we can prepare ourselves for death’s changes, and we can learn how to be intimately available to others. We will be able to look back on life and face with fortitude what we have done with our time. It is never too late to heal and feel complete within.

This webinar will present ways of “Responding to Time.”  To begin to understand and appreciate our potential, we need to know the context of our lives.  If we avoid the implications of time, with its inherent change and certainty of death, we cannot know the full context of human life. We know we will die, but we do not know death itself, nor what lies beyond its boundaries. We can, however, “wake up to time” and make the most of life while we are living on “borrowed” time. This webinar will allow us to have both theoretical and experiential glimpses of this dynamic of time, and of our place in it.

Moreover, we can learn to confront the inevitability of death, acknowledging our fears and uncertainties. This opening awareness might give us the key to unlock the mysteries of time and reveal a passage to greater knowledge. By learning the process of dying, we may discover what really matters to us, and what we can rely on when facing death, or when assisting others.

With time, our physical vitality begins to wane, and the senses dim, even while the voice of our heart may still be loud and clear. Contact with others, being to being, may dramatically change.  We may feel and, at some level, we may be able to hear.  Desiring to experience love and wisdom may remain through all stages of the transition toward death.  Yet, unfamiliar with the process, we may feel vulnerable, naked, without anything to hold onto.

This seminar is practical and will also nourish our spiritual ideals.  We will learn:

• Ancient and modern approaches to “Responding to Time.”
• To recognize the stages of dissolution
• The transitions of living and dying
• How to establish what matters at the time of death’s transitions
• Reflections, Kum Nye, meditations, visualizations, and mantras in preparation for helping others and eventually guiding ourselves
• Simple, practical support points for internal balance, extra-sensitivity, openness and compassion
• How to share with others in the light of the certainty of death
• How to heal the past
• How to establish our own guidelines for uncertain times to come

 This program utilizes the following materials:

• Tarthang Tulku’s Knowledge of Freedom
• Tarthang Tulku's Kum Nye Dancing
• Tarthang Tulku's The Joy of Being
• Padmasambhava’s Tibetan Book of the Dead – 
  Liberation through Hearing
• Arnaud Maitland’s Living without Regret
• The Wheel of Life - Thanka art

Seminar leader:
Arnaud Maitland, JD, and MA in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy and Psychology is a senior student of Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche for more than forty years. He has led seminars and retreats on the transitions of Life and Death since 1977 and has presented nine-month-long programs for Life and Death Transition counselors and as a training for staff in Hospices. He has counseled many people on how to deal with their own and others' certainty of dying.