Customer Reviews

Lessons from the Dying

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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.

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.

-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.

I read this book about five times. The whole way through. And read parts of it countless other times. It was such a comfort to me as I processed the difficult deaths of my sister, then my brother, and then the news of the imminent death of another sister, all within a year's time. The difficulties of the situation - one losing her body, one losing her mind, and a brother losing access to both through two simultaneous fatal brain diseases - raised a spiritual crisis of huge proportions for me, as you might imagine. And I count this book as one of the anchors that not only got me through that period, but helped to guide me to a stronger place. I needed guidance, I needed to know that this somehow made sense in some context. This book helped me find that context, where I could "relax into" the space of grieving and learning and growing. [And the excellent listening of a great grief counselor helped too, of course).

As a matter of fact, as I look through the Table of Contents, I think... it's time to pick it up and read through it yet another time. It's always a good time to practice dying, right?

Rodney has articulated a way for all of us to live. Through the lives of the dying we gain insight into our own fears. Are we willing to learn these lessons or continue to fear every ending we face?

How should I live now? That is the question which Rodney Smith seems to answer for all through the stories of the dying.

This was a second copy of the book because I had loaned out my other copy. This is the best book and has been recommended many times. I am eagerly waiting the author's next book coming out in July 2010. The author provides many examples of how people from different walks of life have prepared for and entered death. I wish more people would be open to talking about this very sensitive subject; the book can be an encouragement to all of us in how to make death as positive a experience for all concerned.

Rodney has chronicled a wealth of compassionate stories and tied them to spiritual insghts making this book both readable and fascinating.

A manual on growing into death and dying, change and trasition

Should be titled, "Lessons from someone who attends to the Dying."

Mr. Smith is up to something important. I was expecting, and left hoping for more reportage style writing. Most of the writing is editorial which makes its value to the reader dependent on how the reader likes the authors style. It is too preachy for my taste, however others may like it.

I am hoping Mr. Smith writes a sequel and focuses on the stories and insights of his clients. With his background and his exposure to hospice clients, it is enough simple to report back from the field.