Description
This workshop is intended for those who are interested in pursuing hospice training and/or who want to gain more awareness of being with people who are facing life-limiting illnesses.
We will explore hospice teachings and exercises that may add richness to being with those dealing with terminal illness — both the ones who are ill and the loved ones surrounding them. Although this is not a hospice training program for a specific hospice, we will investigate important issues that arise in working with the dying and their families based on hospice teaching and how correlated these teachings are to the teachings of the Buddha.
Some topics will include readings, discussions, and exercises that will help facilitate being present to those dealing with terminal and other serious illnesses. Also, we will look at our own way of being with ourselves at such a time.
Areas we will explore include:
- The Dying Process: What you might see, what to expect, and ways to sit with the actively dying.
- Listening and Communication: What is the difference between reacting and responding? How might our views, judgments, and fears separate us from being as present as possible to those who are dying? How can we hold our reactions with kindness?
- Creating a Safe Space: How can we be fully present while maintaining a safe boundary for ourselves and for those we are being present to? How do we navigate community at this time?
Attending an in-person workshop
- CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products like lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.
- Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
- Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
- All phones, pagers, beeping watches, and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off while you are at the Center.
- Please leave your shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you.
- Lunch will not be provided. Participants are invited to bring a vegetarian meal to the Center or may buy lunch in the neighborhood. A list of local restaurants and food stores will be available.
- No food or beverages, including water, are allowed in the meditation halls.
- We strongly recommend that you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall varies throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, we recommend you give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
- Masks are optional. Some masks are available at the entrance of the Center.
- CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs. At the end of the program, we request that you brush off your zabutons and plump up your zafus. All other items should be returned neatly to where they belong.