Wisdom for Aging, Illness, and Mortality, with Rick Hanson

Aging, illness, loss, and mortality can quietly haunt us — especially when they touch the people we love or our own bodies. In this talk, I explore how to meet these realities with compassion and wisdom, and how to rest in something deeper than what inevitably changes.

00:00–01:57 — The Four Messengers: Aging, illness, death — and the possibility of peace in the midst of them.
03:31–06:15 — Compassion Comes First: Turning toward our own vulnerability and the suffering of others with kindness.
07:28–16:34 — Wisdom Without Bypassing: What Buddhist wisdom offers — and why it can feel unbearable without compassion.
18:33–21:35 — “Be an Island Unto Yourself”: What it really means to rest in yourself as refuge — trusting practice, not permanence.
22:32–27:21 — From Doing Practice to Being Practiced: Dōgen’s radical shift: allowing life and the universe to practice through us.
28:41–33:16 — The Dewdrop and the Moon: Holding individuality and universality together — fragile and vast at the same time.
34:08–End — Knowing Who You Are: Facing death, loss, and change while resting in what does not come or go.

You can see the meditation that went along with this talk at: https://rickhanson.com/talk-meditation-wisdom-for-aging-illness-and-mortality/

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