How should we prepare to die? Many of us don’t know where to begin when it comes to death. It scares us. We understand so many things and death remains a great mystery. In some ways, of course, death will always be a mystery—how could anybody ever really know? However, it should also be said that, due to our steadfast refusal to talk about it, death is more mysterious than it has to be. At the Tricycle office we sometimes make jokes about how our readers’ least favorite tweets and blog posts are those that mention death. Why can’t we talk about this? Even though we joke, this is quite serious. Without a deep awareness of death how can one be truly confident about living?  

Next week at the Tricycle Book Club we will start discussing death. The conversation will be framed by Anyen Rinpoche’s new book Dying with Confidence (Wisdom Publications, 2010, pp. 176, $16.95), a how-to guide for death from within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Bring your questions, insights, and come get ready to die (not imminently, we hope)!



You can purchase the book from Wisdom Publications here. See you next week!

Anyen Rinpoche
was born in Amdo, Tibet. After more than fourteen years of intensive study and solitary retreat, he earned the degree of khenpo (master scholar) and became the head scholar of his monastic university in Kham, Tibet. He currently lives in Colorado, where he teaches at Naropa University.

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