Friday, April 18, 7:00 – 8:30 pm, Saturday, April 19, 9:30am – 5:00pm, including lunch (chicken, beef, and vegetarian options available).

Co-sponsored by the Robert Morris University Department of Nursing, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, and the C.G. Jung Institute Pittsburgh.

8 continuing education credits for nurses, social workers, psychologists, and licensed professional counselors.

Robert Morris University, Sewall Conference Center
6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, PA 15108.

About the Workshop

For thousands of years, the Tibetan spiritual traditions have cultivated practices to offer spiritual support to the dying and to prepare for a peaceful and conscious death. Olmo Ling Tibetan Bon Center and Institute offers regular workshops on contemplative practices to support the dying and those who are working with the dying.

In this first Workshop in the Being with Dying series, we will explore the meaning of death in our lives and the art of conscious dying. We will learn about compassionate care for the dying and for ourselves. We will use meditation, exercises and dialogue to look deeply into the process of death and dying in our life and in the lives of people close to us. Using death itself as a basic practice to develop strength within ourselves will help us keep our heart and mind free from fear and judgment. We will explore teachings from the ancient Tibetan Bon tradition and its gifts in the field of conscious dying. In the Nine Successive Ways of Bon, the 4th Way deals with death, dying, and healing, and how to free ourselves from afflictive emotions that can cause sickness and make it difficult to live and die peacefully.

This retreat is for all who would like to look into the meaning of death and dying in their lives and learn more about letting go. The retreat is also for those who are ill or in the process of dying, for caregivers, health professionals, and people working closely with dying people or animals.

Educational Objectives

By the conclusion of the Workshop, participants should be able to integrate the following skills into their professional practice:

• Articulate a program offering psychological and spiritual care for the dying.
• Describe specific techniques to develop skillfulness and inner stability as a caregiver guided by wisdom and compassion.
• Describe techniques to direct this compassion toward the dying person and oneself.
• Articulate prayers and spiritual/psychological practices that can support the dying during the process of dying and the moment of death.
• Select appropriate spiritual or psychological practices to help the dying with attachments that are part of the death experience.

About Tempa Dukte Lama

Tempa Dukte Lama is an ordained Tibetan Bon lama. He studied in Menri Monastery, India, from the age of six under the close, personal guidance of His Holiness 33rd Menri Trizin, the spiritual head of Bon. Tempa Lama is the founder and spiritual director of Olmo Ling Bon Center in Pittsburgh, PA. He is an artist and poet and author of three books with Olmo Ling Publications, the first Bon publishing house which he founded in 2011. Tempa Lama is dedicated to making the ancient teachings of Bon available and accessible in the West, helping people bring a practice of compassion, healing and happiness into their lives.

Continuing Education Credits

This program is offered for 8 continuing education credits for nurses, social workers, psychologists, and licensed professional counselors.

Nurses: Continuing education credits are provided through co-sponsorship by the Robert Morris University Department of Nursing.

Psychologists and licensed professional counselors: Continuing educations credits are provided through co-sponsorship by the C.G. Institute of Pittsburgh. The C.G. Jung Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists and licensed professional counselors.

Social Workers: Continuing education credits are offered through co-sponsorship of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, a Council on Social Work Education-accredited school and, therefore, a PA pre-approved provider of social continuing education. These credit hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC, and LMFT biennial license renewal.

Olmo Ling Being with Dying Workshop Series

This workshop is the first in a series of workshops on being with death and dying that are offered by Olmo Ling Bon Center and Institute.

Workshop 1: Being with Death and Dying.
Workshop 2: Contemplative Practices to Help the Dying (fall 2014). This workshop will focus on contemplative practices to help the dying person develop openness and trust toward the process of dying and let go of fear and attachments.
Workshop 3: Being with Dying: The Bardo (spring 2015). This workshop will focus on the Tibetan teachings on the process of dying and the psychological, mental, emotional and physical shifts that take place during the dying process.
Workshop 4: Being with Dying: Phowa Practice (fall 2015) This workshop will focus on Phowa, a contemplative practice to help the dying at the moment of death and during the time after death.

About Olmo Ling Bon Center and Institute

Olmo Ling is a religious non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the ancient Tibetan Bon teachings on liberation through the practice of wisdom and compassion, and making these teachings available and accessible in the West. We offer a comprehensive program of Bon studies, including weekly teachings and meditation, meditation instruction and regular retreats and workshops to study specific topics more intensively. The Olmo Ling Project on Death and Dying offers training and practice in healing, compassionate care and spiritual support for the dying.

Registration and costs

Program cost (including lunch):
Olmo Ling members: $130 without CE credits, $150 with CE credits.
Non-members: $145 without CE credits, $170 with CE credits.

Register online at the bottom of this page or contact the Olmo Ling office with any questions or to register on the phone: 412-904-1112 or bon@olmoling.org.

Online registration will remain open until Friday April 18 afternoon – register until Fri 11:45am to receive lunch on Saturday. Registrations at the door on Friday evening will also be accepted.

Cancellations and refunds

For cancellations prior to 24 hours before the workshop begins, a $20 proces-sing fee will be charged. No refunds for cancel-lations within 24 hours before the workshop.

Venue and directions

Held at the Robert Morris University Sewall Conference Center at the RMU Moon campus. Click here for directions.