Joan Halifax: On Grief and Buddhism

                              This dewdrop world Is but a dewdrop world. And yet, and yet— —Issa, Eighteenth-century Japanese poet

Roshi Joan Halifax gave a beautiful talk on grieving last week, which is available as a podcast at the Upaya Institute and Zen Center’s website. One of the sources she uses for articulating the experience of grief is the stunning poem above, which she says “opens the hand of grief.” Joan is intimate with grief. It’s plain that she’s made an effort to come to know grief personally through experience, and she encourages others to open up to that experience as well. After listening to the podcast you might want to check out her Tricycle article “The Lucky Dark,” where she guides readers in how to allow a gentle and meaningful death for our loved ones and ourselves.