Living Unto Death: Dying Into Life With Mark Epstein & Robert Thurman
Event Details
- Who
- Mark Epstein & Robert Thurman
- What
- Weekend Retreat
- Where
- Menla Mountain Retreat--Phoenicia, NY (Catskills)
- When
- Friday, August 24, 2012 At 05:00 PM
- How
- Please follow the link below to register online. If you cannot attend the entire program or have an unusual registration request, please email menla@menla.org or call 845.688.6897 ext.0
- Details
- Tibet House members receive a 10% discount on program tuition.
About the Event
Mark Epstein & Robert Thurman
August 24 - 26, 2012
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Death was one of the Buddha's most prominent preoccupations. He saw death everywhere and never flinched from talking about it. His teachings were full of stories of people coming to him for one reason or another only to have him shake them from their complacency by telling them they had but a short time to live so they had better hurry up and use their precious human births to get enlightened before it was too late. In one Sutra, the Buddha asked a local ruler how he would feel if a huge mountain were to come bearing down on him from the East, crushing all living beings in its path. He conjured the mountain expertly, making the King imagine a gigantic mass moving inexorably toward him, rolling over all things. Then he repeated the question but had the mountain coming from the North, then the South and finally the West. By the time he was finished the poor King, ostensibly secure behind his four-fold fortifications of elephants, chariots, cavalry and infantry, was being crushed from all sides. “This is what death is like,” the Buddha trumpeted. It's coming, you don't know from which direction, and you are powerless to stop it. He seemed almost gleeful.
Why was this such a profound teaching? Even now the words retain their threatening power. Don't we know all this already? Is death really such a surprise? The Buddha suggested that we do not really know it, even though we may mouth the words. The tendency toward denial runs very deep. We don't actually think it can happen to us. Or, rather, we can't actually imagine it happening to us. And yet the Buddha thought it was critical to wake up to the reality of death, not to treat it as a trauma to be avoided.
This weekend's workshop will make the Buddha's teachings on death its centerpiece. Through both meditation and discussion we will explore how the Buddha viewed death and why he was not depressed about it. Whether contemplating our own deaths or those of people we are close to, the Buddha's teachings offer a startling--and refreshing-- alternative to our usual relationship with death.
Note: 12 CE hours are available for Psychologists, LCSWs, MFTs, and Nurses through the co-sponsorship of the Spiritual Competency Resource Center. SCRC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists, by the California BBS and BRN. Spiritual Competency Resource Center maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Visit www.spiritualcompetency.com for complete CE information or contact David Lukoff, Ph.D. at (707) 763-3576. CE credit will cost an additional $25 for people attending the entire retreat and $15 for those attending only one day. This fee is payable to SCRC.
Mark Epstein, M.D. is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including Thoughts Without a Thinker, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire and Psychotherapy Without the Self. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University.
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University, President of Tibet House U.S., a popular lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, the translator of many philosophical treatises and sutras, and author of numerous books including the national bestseller, Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness; Anger, the fifth book from a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, offered by The New York Public Library and Oxford University Press. His most recent book is titled Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World, published by Atria Books/Beyond Words.
Tuition: $290 (per person); $261 (Tibet House members)
Accommodations: Rates vary depending on what kind of accommodations you prefer. Please refer to the tab below for options and pricing.
Cancellation Policy
- If you cancel two weeks prior to the program, you will receive a 100% refund, minus a $35 processing fee.
- If you cancel one full day to two weeks prior to the program, you will not receive a refund but instead you will receive full course credit, minus a $35 processing fee, which can be applied to any other Tibet House sponsored program at Menla. This credit is valid for one year.
- If you cancel the day of the program or do not show up for any reason, no refund or credit will be given.
Tibet House US/Menla Mountain Retreat reserves the right to cancel any program at any time for low enrollment or circumstances beyond our control. Should this happen, a full refund will be offered.
Saturday, August 25
7 a.m. Early Morning Yoga
8 – 9 a.m. Breakfast
9:30 a.m. Morning Program
12 - 1 p.m. Lunch
1 p.m. Free Time
3:30 p.m. Afternoon Program
6 - 7 p.m. Dinner
7:30 p.m. Evening Program
Sunday, August 26
7 a.m. Early Morning Yoga
8 – 9 a.m. Breakfast and Check-out
9:30 a.m. Morning Program
12 - 1 p.m. Lunch and Departure
** Schedule subject to change at any time
Accommodations
Arrive Friday in time for dinner, depart Sunday after lunch. Accommodations fee includes housing and gourmet vegetarian meals and is in addition to the program tuition.
Room with Queen Bed and Private Bath - $450 single (per person); $550 couple ($275 per person)
Room with Queen Bed and Shared Bath - $380 single (per person); $500 couple ($250 per person)
Room with 2 Twin Beds and Private Bath - $320 (per person)
Room with 2 Twin Beds and Shared Bath - $296 (per person)
Room in Private House with Twin Beds or Bunks and Shared Bath - $270, 250, 230, or 220 (per person), depending on whether you book a single, double, triple, or quad, respectively. Please note that beds in Private Houses are on a first come first serve basis. We cannot assign specific beds on registration.
Cots- Occasionally, cots can be added to shared rooms - $200 (per person)
Campers- Includes facility use and all meals - $190 (per person)
Commuters - Includes facility use and all meals - $150 (per person)
Note: We will assign you a roommate if you do not register with one.
About the Presenter
See above.
