Each of us has a unique journey through life, and each of our lives is marked by unpredictability. "Don't know" mind provides refuge.

After first naming some of the challenging bodily, emotional, and mental experiences that arise in a human life, and particularly in the context of aging and dying, we explore the different “tools” for responding skillfully to these challenges, including clarity of intention, assessing the intensity of the experience and coming back to balance after overwhelm, mindfulness, body practices, heart practices, and wisdom perspectives.

Mindfulness of death is both personal and impersonal. Eugene gave a picture of his experience of death and it’s relationship to his personal practice that included his time as a hospice volunteer/trainer, as a son caring for his dying parents, and, his near death experience. He also outlined Buddhist teachings about death in the Theravada and Zen lineages.

Aging brings many surprises. We can develop a ‘big picture’ that includes the wisdom of equanimity and relaxation. This wisdom of not clinging or letting go is fundamental to the Buddhist goal of awakening. It also can arise as we age, let go of everything, as we see that we can’t actually hold on to anything. The freedom of letting go is part of the fruit of practice and aging.