ABOUT THIS GUIDE
Buddhism views awareness of death not as something morbid, but as a powerful support for living wisely. Reflecting on our mortality helps clarify our priorities, deepen meditation, and prepare us for death with greater peace and confidence. In this way, remembering death becomes a way of fully valuing life.
REFLECTION
“This life is as impermanent as a water bubble;
Remember how quickly it decays and death comes.”
– Lama Tsong Khapa, The Foundation of All Good Qualities
BOOKS
1) Advice on Dying by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
2) Dying With Confidence: A Tibetan Buddhist Guide for Preparing for Death by Anyen Rinpoche
3) How You Live is How You Die by Pema Chodron
For kids
A Peaceful Piggy’s Guide to Sickness and Death, Sadness and Love by Kerry Lee MacLean
TALKS & TEACHINGS
1) No Regrets: Dalai Lama’s Advice for Living and Dying, at Karuna Hospice 2007 Free on YouTube
2) Buddhist Tools for Facing Death: Living with the Imminence of Death, at Maitripa College 2025 with Ven. Yönten Free on YouTube
PRACTICE
1) Wholesome Fear: Transforming Your Anxiety About Impermanence and Death by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
2) Guided Meditation 8 ‘Stages of death’ Meditation led by Venerable Yönten Free on YouTube
3) Guided Meditation on Impermanence and Death led by Ven. Yönten Video Free on YouTube
For kids
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst (Free video available of Ven. Yönten reading)
I Wish You Happiness by Michael Wong (Free video with short teaching by Ven.Yönten)
