Preparing to Die

Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

By: Andrew Holecek, Tulku Thondup Rinpoche - foreword

Narrated by: Karen White, Neil Shah

We all face death, but how many of us are actually ready for it? Whether our own death or that of a loved one comes first, how prepared are we, spiritually or practically? In Preparing to Die, Andrew Holecek presents a wide array of resources to help the reader address this unfinished business. Part One shows how to prepare one’s mind and how to help others, before, during, and after death. The author explains how spiritual preparation for death can completely transform our relationship to the end of life, dissolving our fear and helping us to feel open and receptive to letting go in the dying process. Daily meditation practices, the stages of dying and how to work with them, and after-death experiences are all detailed in ways that will be particularly helpful for those with an interest in Tibetan Buddhism and in Tibetan approaches to conscious dying.

Part Two addresses the practical issues that surround death. Experts in grief, hospice, the funeral business, and the medical and legal issues of death contribute chapters to prepare the listener for every practical concern, including advance directives, green funerals, the signs of death, warnings about the funeral industry, the stages of grief, and practical care for the dying.

Part Three contains heart-advice from twenty of the best-known Tibetan Buddhist masters now teaching in the West. These brief interviews provide words of solace and wisdom to guide the dying and their caregivers during this challenging time. Preparing to Die is for anyone interested in learning how to prepare for death from a Buddhist perspective, both spiritually and practically. It is also for those who want to learn how to help someone else who is dying, both during the time of illness and death as well as after death.

Excerpts from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey. Copyright 1993 by Rigpa Fellowship. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Excerpts from Glimpse After Glimpse: Daily Reflections on Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. Copyright 1995 by Sogyal Rinpoche. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Excerpts from Facing Death and Finding Hope by Christine Longaker, copyright 1997 by Christine Longaker and Rigpa Fellowship. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2013 Andrew Holecek??Excerpts from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, translated with commentary by Francesca Fremantle and Chögyam Trungpa, 1975 by Francesca Fremantle and Chögyam Trungpa. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Essential reading for life

If you could sum up Preparing to Die in three words, what would they be?

Well-Rounded, Essential, Inspiring

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Learned how to pronounce Buddhist words before reading a text on Buddhism. The narrator mispronounces at least 70% of Tibetan Buddhist terms and 100% of names (and that might be generous). A simple google search would have clarified pronunciation. For people who have studied Buddhism it is an annoyance that detracts greatly from the listening experience of the book. Had he not tried to pronounce it in an accent, it wouldn't have been as annoying, but he says the words with an accent as if he knows how to pronounce it but doesn't.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The first part of the book was the most profound. Once they started getting into the legal portions and so forth it was tough to get through. But if you are in the process of dying and have some time then the legal portion might be more interesting.

Any additional comments?

Holecek has created what I feel is one of the essential works available in Buddhism ... top 5 I would say.

Wonderful book!

Wonderful book! I have enjoyed each moment, and have listened to this again and again. Thank you!

Esoteric, practical, and profound

A wonderful work. You don’t need to be Buddhist to get a lot out of this. Great practical advice as well as profound moments of striking, raw beauty.

Great book, pronunciation's a little off

Great book. Always wanted to learn more about the bardos. Pronunciation from the narrator is a little off. He needed consult more with the author.

So good

Very important information that everyone should hear! Very straight forward and easy to digest. I really enjoyed this