This program will be held online via Zoom. All registrants will receive the link to join the program in their Order Confirmation email.
The Buddha said: “Of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme.”
This day-long retreat will be dedicated to contemplating and exploring how, as practitioners, we can face death – our own and the deaths of those dear to us – with grace and with peacefulness. Rather than focusing on idealized and contrived approaches that reify the sense of self, we will look authentically and honestly at our conditioning, concerns, and questions.
Refining our attitudes and perspectives helps us to open to the ways we live now, in reference to our beliefs regarding death. We will explore this theme together, in sangha, with the assistance of the steadying practices of sitting and walking meditation. Turning towards the reality of death allows us to live more fully and with greater joy.
“Teaching in a community meditation center, and connecting with practitioners over the decades, naturally has included the privilege of accompanying a number of people through the dying process. I was also with both my parents as they died, and have contemplated death as a practice myself, relying on the Buddha’s teachings and beloved teachers as my guide. I am teaching this daylong not as any sort of expert but as a humble and intimate offering. Join me for a day in which I will share some of the teachings that have helped me and what I have learned about this mysterious thing we call death.” ~ Narayan Helen Liebenson
This retreat is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced meditators. Our time together will include guided mediation periods, talks and time for discussion and questions. There will also be optional breakout rooms to foster peer support. Undertaking an online retreat in our home environment encourages us to integrate these teachings into our lives more directly, even as we cultivate a sense of connection with others through our shared experiences.
Everyone is welcome. Full and partial scholarships are available.