Philosophy

People who work with the dying have the opportunity to learn an enormous amount about living and come close to the innermost essence of their being. The dying and those with life threatening illness may offer us this opportunity, but in our technocratic culture there is often no chance to acknowledge this offering, to deepen insights given, or make sense of a truth revealed. Sometimes our fear makes us shut down, other times we are just too busy to give time to the dying person or to ourselves.

Our caring roles can keep us at a safe distance and there is an ever-present danger that end-of-life care becomes a process of us giving whilst we fail to realize how much there is to receive. Receiving openly from people at the end of their lives means that we too must look deeply into our own mortality, the meaning of our lives and our unfinished business. The Spiritual Care Program offers a framework for people to explore more deeply what it means to be present with the dying by offering tools and skilful means grounded in the wisdom of the ancient Buddhist tradition of Tibet.