logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
1h 8m

About Life, Death, and the Bridge Betwee...

BUDDHIST SOCIETY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
About this episode

Every year, the monastic community (Monks and nuns) go on a three month retreat called the “Rains Retreat” from mid July to mid October. During this period, they do not visit our centres for teachings as it’s a time for deepening their own practice.

While the monks and nuns are away, we will have some interesting guest speakers coming in to give the Friday Night talk.

TURNING POINTS 2023

What happens when we die? A very moving and uplifting talk about life and death and life again.

Len Warren has volunteered in palliative care for 15 years. He is a long-time student at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre. He founded The Pure Land Centre for those who wish to focus on the spiritual aspects at the end of life. He tells a deeply personal story about the loss of his son and the blessings that led him on the Buddhist path.

Sue Lee is a retired physiotherapist whose work entailed both working with patients and managing a large department. As a member of the Buddhist Society of WA for 28 years, the teachings of Ajahn Brahm and other senior sangha members have informed her spiritual path and provided an inspiring guide for living. Sue talks about the ways that these teachings can help the dying.

In helping with the development of the Pure Land Centre, both Sue and Len hope to help spread the Buddha’s teachings where they are needed, and lighten the load for those at the end of their lives.

For more information, please visit

https://purelandcentre.org.au/
https://bswa.org/event/friday-night-speaker-rains-2023/


To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

Up next
Aug 11
Stilling The Hindrances With Jhana Factors | Dennis Sheppard | The Armadale Meditation Group
29 July 2025 Dennis Sheppard joins the Armadale Meditation Group online live. Armadale Meditation Group (AMG) teaches you about meditation. The classes generally begin with chanting the Metta Sutta, meditation instructions, meditating together, asking questions, and, if time allo ... Show More
1h 9m
Aug 7
Wise Attention Empowering Our Spiritual Path (Yonisomanasikara) | Ayya Karunika | 3 October 2025
Ayya Karunika explains the importance of wise attention and why and how to develop it based on the teachings of the Buddha. Talk given on 3 October 2024. Bhikkhuni Ayya Kārunikā is currently the Abbot at Santi Forest Monastery, NSW, Australia and the spiritual director for New Ze ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 4
Sakyadhita Pilgrims: Dusty and Divine in Dharamshala | Sandra Henville | 1 August 2025
Sandra is a long-time BSWA member who enjoys holding space for group meditations. She has led the Spiritual Education Group at BSWA and Mindfulness Meditation sessions at her workplace. She also enjoys bringing people together for a good yarn and has suppported the Kalyana Friend ... Show More
1h 33m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
Ep. 459 – An Invitation to Darkness w/ Deborah Eden Tull
Raghu Markus is joined by Deborah Eden Tull for a thoughtful discussion about the potential presented by the darkness inside and outside of ourselves.Deborah Eden Tull is a zen meditation and engaged dharma teacher, public speaker, author, and sustainability educator. She is also ... Show More
55m 52s
May 2023
Living in Not-Knowing with Jenny Beal and Billy Doyle - Yoga in the Kashmir Tradition
Billy starts by describing the path he took through a variety of spiritual teachers and spiritual books to arrive at the teaching of Jean Klein. He goes on to talk about his relationship with Jean Klein. Jenny and Billy discussCan recognition of our true nature happen just throug ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2023
Awakening the Body (with Willa Baker)
Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with Willa Blythe Baker, a writer, translator, and teacher of meditation based on Himalayan Buddhist tradition. We talk about Willa’s early discovery of Buddhism with her mother, her time living as a nun, and our shared experience in graduate school a ... Show More
1 h
Feb 2022
Being the Change We Want to See in the World: A Conversation with Christiana Figueres (Episode #21)
Welcome to episode 21 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives ... Show More
1h 45m
Sep 2022
Summer Stories of Love, Joy, and Grief (Episode #38)
Welcome to episode 38 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives ... Show More
1h 24m
Jan 2022
A Spiritual Approach To Death, Abundance & Purpose w/Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar EP 1216
Today’s guest is Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar! He is recognized globally as a humanitarian, spiritual leader and peacemaker. He has touched the lives of more than 450 million people around the world, resolving conflicts through dialogue and self-awareness, teaching positive appro ... Show More
1h 23m
Sep 2023
Healing Body and Mind (Episode #58)
Welcome to episode 58 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives ... Show More
1h 11m
Jul 2023
BONUS EPISODE: GOOSEBUMPS! Teenager DIED in Horrific Crash; Came Back with Message for Humanity with Ishtar Howell
Ishtar Howell is a meditation teacher, monk, gardener, intuitive, and writer. His childhood was filled with weird and mystical experiences. Then, at age 13, he experienced an NDE, which, shortly thereafter, propelled him on a spiritual path. At 18, he learned a meditation practic ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 2023
Gelong Thubten - How A Retreat Can Help You Find Yourself
My guest today is one of my favourite people on the planet, Gelong Thubten. I never met Thubten before - we met on a Zoom call two and a half years ago during the times of covid where he truly changed my life. He doesn’t know that but I’ll talk about that in a minute. At that tim ... Show More
53m 28s
Dec 2023
Living in Not-Knowing with Jenny Beal and Joost Vanhove: A Holistic Path to Happiness
In her final episode for the Awareness Podcast, Jenny talks with Joost Vanhove about his spiritual journey which involved exploration of a very wide range of ideas, methods and teachings. His keen interest in spirituality was initiated by repeated childhood experiences of expansi ... Show More
1h 16m