Making Friends with Death (Online - Closed Group)

The Making Friends with Death (MFWD) reading group is opening for new participants for a limited time. 

The MFWD group provides an opportunity for participants to explore their disposition towards death and the experience of dying and, in the process, to evaluate how to make the most of their life and the experience of living.  Our process is to select a book on death, dying or grief and then meet once a month over the course of a year or so to discuss the book and to share our experiences. Participants in this group take turns facilitating the group. In the past we have read Judy Lief – Making Friends with Death; Rodney Smith – Lessons from the Dying; Francis Weller – The Wild Edge of Sorrow; Stephen Levine's A Year to Live; and Joan Halifax – Being with Dying. 

We usually open to new participants for two months (in this case, December 2023 and January 2024) as we start a new book and then close the group until we finish it, in an effort to create an intimate, safe space for people to share experiences.  The book that we will be studying over the coming year is HOW WE LIVE IS HOW WE DIE by Pema Chödrön. In this book, Pema shares her teachings related to the six bardos listed in The Tibetan Book of the Dead; she also weaves other traditional Buddhist teachings, such as the five Buddha families and the six realms of samsara, into her everyday life stories. (A free sample of the book, which includes the Introduction and first several chapters, is available on Amazon through this link.)

This group is FREE and OPEN to ALL; we ask only that you make a strong commitment to finish the book, should you choose to join the group following the December and January meetings.

For our December 4th meeting, current participants will share their previous experiences and new participants can ask questions about the group; we will also discuss the Introduction section of the book.  You may also email Peng Zhang (behappyzp at gmail.com) with any questions before registering for the group.

We meet on Zoom on the first Monday of the month from 5:00-6:30 p.m., with the exception of the January and February meetings, which will take place on Monday, January 8th and February 12th, respectively.

A Zoom link will be sent out before the meeting to all program registrants.

► This group is currently closed. It will re-open to new members in early 2025. ◄