Owning Your Own Death: A Buddhist Approach
With Ven Mary Reavey: 23rd-26th June 2018
How do you deal with the inevitability of death? Many ignore, suppress or develop a flippant unrealistic attitude towards death. In this way, we push our awareness of death to that of some distant event. How we deal with death is an expression of our wisdom, courage and compassion.
This retreat explored the buddhist approach to death, highlighting wisdom and the methods which lead to embracing and owning our own death through a combination of teaching, discussion, Q&A and meditations.
About Ven Mary

Born in Dundee, Scotland, Mary was a staff nurse when she first encountered Buddhism at the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s mother monastery – Kopan – in Nepal in 1978. It was her love of adventure and trekking that led her to Kopan. Mary attended a month long course taught by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa who emphasised the importance of meditation and taking complete responsibility for your own actions and their effects.
In 2001 Mary took ordination as a nun with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, then until 2012 taught meditation and Buddhist philosophy at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Buddhist centres in Preston, Liverpool, and at Armley Prison, Dumfries Prison, Leeds General Infirmary, St. James’ Hospital and Wheatfields Hospice where she held regular meditation sessions.
Over the years Ven Mary has undertaken and led many meditation retreats. She completed a one year solitary retreat in 2014 and another 3 month retreat in 2015. She continues to regularly teach at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds, Jamyang Liverpool and in York. Moreover, Ven Mary has recently moved to Jedburgh in order to live nearer to Land of Joy
If you have a good internet connection you can listen to them here by pressing the play symbol next to the teaching or you can download them to listen offline. To download a recording, RIGHT CLICK over the download button to right hand side of the recording and choose ‘download linked file’. The download should then begin.
Introduction
Impermanence & Death
Impermanence & Reincarnation
The Certainty of Death
Meditation
The Stages of Death
Death & The Bardo
The Five Powers
Meditation
Meditation & Discussion
Conclusions
A Way to Say Thank You
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