Death and Dying in Buddhism: A Buddhist Approach to Living and Dying

A Buddhist Approach to Living and Dying

Whether we are facing our own death or caring for someone who is dying, the end of life strips away comforting illusions and easy answers. Death and Dying in Buddhism approaches mortality not as a problem to be solved or softened, but as a reality to be met with honesty, steadiness, and care.

Drawing on Buddhist teachings on impermanence, non-self, intention, and attention, Ed Horner examines how the mind responds to dying: fear, grasping, regret, tenderness, and resistance. The focus is not on belief, transcendence, or consolation, but on reducing unnecessary suffering by learning to see clearly what is happening, moment by moment.

Written for the dying, for caregivers, and for anyone willing to look directly at life's end, this book offers no promises of comfort or escape. Instead, it invites a different kind of preparation: learning to remain present when reassurance fails, meeting death without panic or denial, and cultivating steadiness in the face of what cannot be avoided.

Death and Dying in Buddhism is part of The Buddhist View Series, which explores ordinary experiences through a Buddhist perspective.