"Everyone dies, but no one is dead.-----Tibetan Saying"Whether you live a day, a week, a month, a year, make that time meaningful. Involve your thoughts in what is beneficial in the long run.The longer you live, the more beneficial it will be."------His Holiness The Dalai LamaADVICE ON DYING is a powerful and uplifting book that urges us all to adjust our attitudes and internalize virtuous thoughts so that we will be ready for death when the time comes. In this ground-breaking book, the Dalai Lama advises us to gain familiarity with the process and practices of death so that when we are physically weak and mentally depressed, our minds can still be focussed in a virtuous direction.ADVICE ON DYING cautions us not to fall under the influence of the mistaken belief of permanence. We should not think that we have a lot of time in this life, because there is a great danger of wasting our lives in procrastination. We must all meditate on impermanence, and on the indefiniteness of the time of death. The time of our death is uncertain, but death itself is certain. ADVICE ON DYING is structured as follows: PrefacePART I: A POEM OF PROFUNDITYIntroduction1. Preparing to Die2. Removing Obstacles Interfering with a Favorable Death3. Gaining Favorable Conditions for the Time of Death4. Meditating While Dying5. Reacting to the Intermediate State6. Taking a Positive RebirthPART II: SUMMATION AND EXPANSION7. Progression to Death and Back to Rebirth8. Advice to PracticePostscript: The Panchen Lama
