Within the ancient writings of the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead) and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) are depictions of the ever-changing journey of the soul from birth to death, into the world beyond and reincarnation. This workshop shall explore these teachings as archetypal, mythic maps of consciousness, providing wisdom in encountering the enigmatic mysteries of living and dying, bereavement and healing. Through exploration of sacred texts, group processes, and meditation practices, participants shall be guided to explore the human encounter with death in their own lives, and ways these two wisdom traditions provide practical approaches to companioning the dying and the bereaved.

What you will Receive:

• 4 Live Webinar Sessions with Q & A
• 4 Links to the Recordings
• 4 CECs

This Course is ideal for:

• Students in the helping professions, chaplaincy, social work, nursing.
• Practitioners working in hospice, pastoral care, funeral care and other areas of end-of-life care.
• Individuals wrestling with their own grief journey issues.

Course Overview:

Week1—Introduction/In-Womb and pre-birth Experience

• Overview of webinar content and goals
• Nature of the Soul in Kabbalah and Tibetan Buddhism
• Afterlife Myths as a Map of Consciousness
• The In-Womb/Pre-birth Experience
• MEDITATION – Sensing the Destiny of Our Life in the Womb

Week 2—Dying and the death-moment

• Language of Death and Dying in Contemporary Culture and Hasidism
• Bardo Thodol in Tibetan Culture (From The Tibetan Book of the Dead A Way of Life (1994)
• TRANSIT STAGE #1 Chikai Bardo/Hibbut HaKever —“Pangs of the Grave” Deathbed Visions in Tibetan Buddhism and Kabbalah
• Eschatology equals Psychology – From Philosophy to Mythology
• MEDITATION – Encountering Our Own Images of Death

Week 3—Afterlife and the post-mortem journey

• Contemporary Context of Death Care Today
• TRANSIT STAGE #2 Chonyi Bardo/Deathbed Visions in Kabbalah
• Peaceful/Wrathful Deities Gehenna/Gan Eden as Mythic States of Mind
• MEDITATION – Encounter with Loved Ones in the World Beyond

Week 4—Gilgul and reincarnation

• TRANSIT STAGE #3 Sipai Bardo of Seeking ReBirth
• Gilgul in Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah
• From the What to the So What?
• Pastoral Application of Afterlife Teachings

Learning Objectives (for CECs):

• Investigate and compare teachings on the journey of the soul—birth, death, afterlife and reincarnation—in two separate and distinct religious traditions—Vajrayana Buddhism and Kabbalah.
• Demonstrate how these two traditions can be used as mythic maps of consciousness that explain inner dimensions of psyche, both in life and death.
• Utilize these teachings to explore personal issues and experiences around death and grief prepare participants to deal with bereavement issues that emerge in personal, family and professional life.
• Apply these teachings of afterlife and the journey of consciousness as an agent of transformation in the emerging death-positive culture.

Resources:

Baron, J. H., & Paasche-Orlow, S. (Eds. & Trans.). (2016). Deathbed wisdom of the Hasidic masters: The book of departure and caring for people at the end of life. Jewish Lights.

Blackman, S. (Ed.). (1997). Graceful exits: Death stories of Tibetan, Hindu and Zen masters. Weatherhill.

Raphael, S. P. (2015). Afterlife and the grief journey: Jewish pastoral care for bereavement. Albion-Andalus Books.

Raphael, S. P. (2019). Jewish views of the afterlife (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Raphael, S. P. (2016). May the angels carry you: Jewish prayers and meditations for the deathbed. Albion-Andalus Books.

Rinpoche, S. (1992). The Tibetan book of living and dying. HarperCollins.

Thurman, R. A. F. (Ed. & Trans.). (1973). The Tibetan book of the dead: The great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between. Bantam Books.

Trungpa, C., & Fremantle, F. (2010). The Tibetan book of the dead: The great liberation through hearing in the bardo. Shambhala Books.