Alex Wilding

Those of us who are old enough to recall the relatively early days of the Incredible String Band may remember the words of Thomas Traherne. We might or might not want to go along with his Christian framework of thinking, but the sentiment, I think, is something we can appreciate. When he said,

Those of us who are old enough to recall the relatively early days of the Incredible String Band may remember the words of Thomas Traherne. We might or might not want to go along with his Christian framework of thinking, but the sentiment, I think, is something we can appreciate. When he said,

You never enjoy the world aright, till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars. That's the frame of mind to understand darkenies. Well, gosh, that was a bit of a flight, wasn't it? I hope it did make sense. Please remember, once again, to like, subscribe and so on, and whatever you do, keep an eye open for the darkenies. Bye.

You never enjoy the world aright, till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars. That's the frame of mind to understand darkenies. Well, gosh, that was a bit of a flight, wasn't it? I hope it did make sense. Please remember, once again, to like, subscribe and so on, and whatever you do, keep an eye open for the darkenies. Bye.

Hello everybody, including those who are listening regularly and those who've just stumbled across this podcast. Please feel truly welcome to the Double Doge. I'm Alex Wilding and in this episode I'm going to talk a little bit about death and what Buddhists do about it.

Hello everybody, including those who are listening regularly and those who've just stumbled across this podcast. Please feel truly welcome to the Double Doge. I'm Alex Wilding and in this episode I'm going to talk a little bit about death and what Buddhists do about it.

But to follow the motto of first take care of business, it'd really be great if you would take a moment to press the like button, the subscribe button, or whatever it is that you have on your listening platform. It really will help to grow and maintain the podcast. And tell your friends too. And there's one more thing that I say every time.

But to follow the motto of first take care of business, it'd really be great if you would take a moment to press the like button, the subscribe button, or whatever it is that you have on your listening platform. It really will help to grow and maintain the podcast. And tell your friends too. And there's one more thing that I say every time.

At the time of first publishing, the podcast is hosted on Podbean, but it's very likely that you're listening somewhere else. If you do want to see the brief comments, or indeed the transcript or the other document that I'm going to include in the notes, and they don't appear on your channel, or if you want to see a bit more about the episode in any way, you'll find that information on Podbean.

At the time of first publishing, the podcast is hosted on Podbean, but it's very likely that you're listening somewhere else. If you do want to see the brief comments, or indeed the transcript or the other document that I'm going to include in the notes, and they don't appear on your channel, or if you want to see a bit more about the episode in any way, you'll find that information on Podbean.

Now, first things first. There are two obvious sides to teachings about death. Firstly, there is the question of how we should think about, prepare for and ultimately handle our own death. Secondly, the question of what we do when somebody close to us dies. Preparing for our own death is a major issue in Buddhist teaching.

Now, first things first. There are two obvious sides to teachings about death. Firstly, there is the question of how we should think about, prepare for and ultimately handle our own death. Secondly, the question of what we do when somebody close to us dies. Preparing for our own death is a major issue in Buddhist teaching.

In Christian thinking, and I believe in other Abrahamic religions, once one is dead, there is nothing left to do but to hope for some kind of resurrection in the future. What happens then will have been determined by things in our life, but death is the ultimate bottom line.

In Christian thinking, and I believe in other Abrahamic religions, once one is dead, there is nothing left to do but to hope for some kind of resurrection in the future. What happens then will have been determined by things in our life, but death is the ultimate bottom line.

The Buddhist view is rather different and suggests that the way we think about death, the way we react to it, our motivation and intention continue to operate and influence where we go next. Of course, the thoughts that we've habitually cultivated in this life will have a very strong effect, forming our mental states after we've left our bodies.

The Buddhist view is rather different and suggests that the way we think about death, the way we react to it, our motivation and intention continue to operate and influence where we go next. Of course, the thoughts that we've habitually cultivated in this life will have a very strong effect, forming our mental states after we've left our bodies.

And there are many teachings and practices designed to help during that drastic phase. But as I like to emphasise, I'm not here to be your Buddhist teacher, but rather just to be a fellow traveller with a little bit of experience. So I shan't be looking at those things very much. When somebody close to us dies, it is, of course, a time of considerable sadness and grief.

And there are many teachings and practices designed to help during that drastic phase. But as I like to emphasise, I'm not here to be your Buddhist teacher, but rather just to be a fellow traveller with a little bit of experience. So I shan't be looking at those things very much. When somebody close to us dies, it is, of course, a time of considerable sadness and grief.

It's not my intention in this episode to touch on any of the themes that you might call grief-cancelling. I just want to look at some practical things that might make your dealings with this in the Tibetan Buddhist context go a bit more smoothly. You may, for example, hear of a practice known as Powa, meaning transference.

It's not my intention in this episode to touch on any of the themes that you might call grief-cancelling. I just want to look at some practical things that might make your dealings with this in the Tibetan Buddhist context go a bit more smoothly. You may, for example, hear of a practice known as Powa, meaning transference.