You don’t have to subscribe to Buddhist notions of the bardo to get a lot out of this compassionate, wise, and eminently clear book on preparing for death. Chödrön, a teacher and author of Zen classics such as Start Where You Are, explains how to see death as half of a natural, ongoing cycle of transitions and, as such, something we experience moment by moment: with each change in our activities or thoughts—say, finishing a meal with friends and then walking the dog—we pass through the ending of one thing and into the beginning of another. Given this continuous series, we don’t have to fear the ending we call death, but rather should embrace it as an opening to another experience—and meet it with curiosity. Becoming aware that “rebirth takes place every moment” helps us recognize and modify our own proclivities, understand and connect with others, and navigate the inevitable ephemerality of the things of daily life—along with our own mortality.
