Foreword by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa ix
Preface: What's the Use? xi
Introduction xiv

PART ONE The Greater Scheme of Things
1. Being Fully Human 3
2. Freedom through Recognizing 19
3. Dreams and the Path 33
4. The Process of Dying: Outer and Inner 52
5. Dying Skillfully 73
6. Now We Are Dead 88
7. The Six Psychological Orientations 106

PART TWO Making Friends with Our Mind
8. Mindfulness 119
9. Breaking the Cycle of Illusion 126
10. Fear 146
11. Impulse Arising and the Furies 165

PART THREE Helping the Dying and the Dead
12. Helping the Dying 183
13. Helping the Dead 193

PART FOUR Training for the Moment
14. Stripping Away Masks 205
15. Reflecting 211
16. Compassion: The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel 223

Conclusion 243
Afterword 245
Acknowledgments 249
Appendix A: A Perspective on Living and Dying by Ringu Tulku 251
Appendix B : About Buddhism 259
Appendix C: "Aunt Palo" by Ringu Tulku 263
Appendix D: "Contemplation On No-Coming, No-Going" by Thich Nhat Hanh 265
Notes 267
Recommended Reading 273
About the Author's Teachers and Their Organizations 275
Credits 279
Index 281