Practice Inspiration - Death Meditation
Hi everyone!
Over the past month, I have been deeply exploring death meditation, and I would like to invite you to join me on this journey.
There are many different ways to meditate on death, so I’ve put together an overview of various approaches and how they work: Death Meditation.
My approach has been to focus on one type of meditation for one to two weeks, truly immersing myself in the practice—exploring its variations, going deeper with each session, and gaining new insights along the way. For example, I spent about 10 days meditating on the dissolution of the body at death, then moved on to The Nine Contemplations of Atisha.
I recommend doing the same: choose one practice, commit to it for one to two weeks, and then move on to the next.
Suggested Practice Schedule
Weeks 1-2: Wise Reflections on Death
Practices focusing on the fact that death is real, that death can come anytime, and allowing this recognition to shift our priorities:
- Wise Reflection on Death | Guided Meditation
- The Nine Contemplations of Atisha
- Guided meditation by Lama Chongyi
- Written instructions by me (Ivo) (based on Joan Halifax Roshi's text but with less text and more space for reflection)
- Written instructions by Joan Halifax Roshi
Weeks 3-4: Meditating on the Dissolution of the Body at Death
Practices:
- Guided meditation by Joan Halifax Roshi (requires signing up for the newsletter).
- Written instructions by Joan Halifax Roshi
My own exploration of death meditation continues. Stay tuned!