Lessons from the Dying [Paperback]

Rodney Smith (Author), Joseph Goldstein (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1997

Through the words and circumstances of the terminally ill, Lessons from the Dying immerses the reader in the wisdom of the dying and in our own mortality. The dying speak to us in direct and personal ways, pointing toward a wise and sane way to live. In language we can all understand, Rodney Smith extends the conversation about death to people of all ages and states of health. Through exercises and guided meditative reflections at the end of each chapter, these lessons of the dying become a blueprint for our own growth.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A patient is told she has only six months to live, and the priorities in her life suddenly shift. Death can be one of our greatest teachers, if we are willing to open ourselves to the shadows of the unknown. Rodney Smith has been confronting death on a daily basis as a hospice social worker. To this experience he brings his time as a Buddhist monk, delving into the workings of the mind. This alchemical combination has produced a book that, page for page, word for word, is one of the best "meaning of life" books around, rivaling Victor Frankl's classic Man's Search for Meaning in power and insight and surpassing it in depth. Complementing his many anecdotes of personal confrontations with death, Smith analyzes why and how we often short-change ourselves emotionally, and at the end of each chapter, he offers exercises for cultivating human wholeness. There are books about death and grieving. This is a book about transforming life. --Brian Bruya

Review

"...full of gems...one of the best books on death and dying...since Stephen Levine's Who Dies?" -- The Great Adventure

"Filled with his wise and rich experience, this is a valuable book of practice, stories and meditations." -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

"In Lessons from the Dying, Rodney Smith shares with clarity and compassion 15 years of insights and skillful means learned from working with the dying. Schooled in Buddhist meditation, Rodney brings clarity and a straightforward approach to these 'lessons' which makes them quite practical for the deepening of the mind as well as the broadening of the heart. He offers to the dying first, and the rest of us by association, an increase in loving presence." -- Stephen Levine, author of Meetings on the Edge and Who Dies?

"In this book, the richness of Rodney's years of meditation practice combine with his years of working with those dying and those left behind. It is a clear, practical and compassionate combination. The book rests on Rodney's profound dedication to the truth, which shines through in the text, the stories, the reflections and the exercises." -- Sharon Salzberg, cofounder, Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA and author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

"Lessons From the Dying could also be called 'lessons for the living' because of the courageous honesty revealed in so many of the stories told here....Rodney skillfully guides us through the subtleties and nuances of our own assumptions, hopes, and fears, and shows the possibility of living and dying with an open heart. [This book] is a wise and gentle reminder of what faces us all, a reminder that death is the great mystery that illuminates life." -- Joseph Goldstein, author of Insight Meditation

"Lessons from the Dying is a personal and heartfelt exploration of the human spirit and our inevitable encounter with death." -- Joan Halifax, co-author of The Human Encounter with Death

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (September 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711408
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711406
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rodney Smith is a great teacher, February 28, 2004

By 

Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lessons from the Dying (Paperback)

Rodney Smith has such a calming voice, there is a peaceful reflective tone contained within it. He spent a total of 8 years in monastic life, both at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and several years as a monk in Asia. He was ordained a monk in Burma, then practiced for 3 more years in Thailand. In 1983 he left life as a monk to come back to the world and, after coming back to the West, started working in hospice and teaching vipassana meditation. He is currently the head teacher of The Seattle Insight Meditation Society, whom you can find on the web and listen to a plethora of online dharma talks he has given. Truly magnificent site.

Rodney has dedicated much of his life to helping those who are dying, a point made clear considering his work in hospice management for the last 16 years. This book is wonderful in it's presentation. As another reviewer points out, this is a book about living above all else. Rodney has pulled together here several eye opening accounts about the diverse ways folks have handled their last moments. Here Smith relates us all to death with reflection on becoming unguarded and vulnerable. On learning from our experiences while living so that we can overcome this fear of the unknown. So that we can listen to others more clearly, more succinctly and perceive their suffering as well as our own. Purchase this book, it's a Dharma Gem.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is about living - not dying, June 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lessons from the Dying (Paperback)

This book is a compelling and inspiring read for anyone willing to be introspective about the way they live their lives. Rodney Smith writes a very readable book that guides us into appreciating the very profound yet simple concept of being alive. Once we truly face the fact that our lives will come to an end and we will die - then we become free to experience the joy of life.
And he gives us some case studies of people facing imminent death in hospices. In the final days and moments of life many of those people come to recognize what life is really about - and it's not about the stuff they've accumulated, nor about the power and prestige they used to enjoy. It's about the quality of life itself and the love they've shared with people, animals and nature.
He shows us that life is a journey, not a series of destinations. Reading this book has made a profound impact on my life.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and powerful, February 23, 1999

By 

Oana (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lessons from the Dying (Paperback)

-this book is written with the heart. Every word is necessary and chapter by chapter it all falls into place. Each sentence can be the subject of hours of meditation. Read it and practice it every day.