LIVESTREAMED FROM PURE LAND FARMS CALIFORNIA

The Art of Conscious Dying: Tibetan Buddhist and Medical Teachings on Death and Liberation

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang
October 17-21, 2026

Death is the most profound transition a human being will make — and, according to both Sowa Rigpa and Vajrayana Buddhism, one for which we can and should consciously prepare. This five-day retreat brings together the medical and spiritual dimensions of the Tibetan tradition to address one of the most neglected areas of modern life: how to die well, how to support those who are dying, and how to move through grief with clarity and compassion.

Drawing on classical medical and Buddhist teachings on the dying process — including the dissolution of the five elements, the withdrawal of the subtle winds and channels, and the signs that accompany death — as well as the traditional instructions on how to traverse the bardo (the "in between" states), Dr. Nida Chenagtsang will guide practitioners through a comprehensive study of death as both a physiological and a spiritual event.

According to both the medical and Buddhist understanding, learning to die well is an extension of learning to live well. Death, if properly understood and prepared for, can become not an ending to be feared but an opportunity for liberation. The inquiry into death does not diminish life. It opens it and becomes a source of genuine joy and freedom. 

Dr. Nida will offer teachings that are practical, grounded in lineage, and applicable immediately. The retreat will include practical guided meditations and time for questions and discussion.
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Schedule of Livestreamed Sessions

All times in Pacific/ California Time Zone
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SATURDAY  OCTOBER 17 - TUESDAY OCTOBER 20
- 9am - 12pm: Practice and Teachings with Dr. Nida
- 3 - 6pm: Guided practice sessions & Discussion
- 8 - 9pm: Evening Meditation

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21
9am - 12pm: Concluding Practice and Teachings 
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The retreat is designed both for practitioners who wish to prepare for their own death through bardo practice and meditation, as well as those who are caring for, or have lost, a loved one, and who wish to understand how to offer genuine support at the threshold of life and beyond.

Topics Explored

  • The Sowa Rigpa and Buddhist understanding of the dying process: elemental dissolution, signs and stages of death
  • Introduction to the six bardo states: birth, dream, meditation, death, dharmata, and becoming
  • Preparing for the bardo of death through Buddhist meditationsHow to support a dying person: presence, speech, touch, and spiritual support according to the Tibetan tradition
  • The medical and contemplative understanding of grief: how it manifests in the body-mind and how the tradition addresses it
  • Rituals for the dead: prayers, offerings, and practices that benefit those who have passed
  • How daily life practice lays the ground for a conscious death

Enrollment Information

Tuition: Sliding scale, $490 suggested
Includes livestream of all sessions, supporting course materials, plus one year access to video recordings for review or self-paced learning.
Register with Pure Land Farms (select online option for livestream or view in-person retreat information):

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang

Born in Amdo, in North Eastern Tibet Dr. Nida began his early studies Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine) at the local Tibetan Medicine hospital. Later he was awarded scholarship to enter the Lhasa Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his medical education in 1996 with practical training at the Tibetan Medicine hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka.

Alongside his medical education, Dr. Nida trained in Vajrayana with teachers from every school of Tibetan Buddhism, especially in the Longchen Nyingthig of the Nyingma school from his root teacher Ani Ngawang Gyaltsen and in the Dudjom Tersar lineage from Chönyid Rinpoche and Sremo Dechen Yudron. He received complete teachings in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, from his teachers Khenpo Tsultrim Gyaltsen and Khenchen Troru Tsenam, and was requested to continue the lineage by Jamyang Rinpoche of the Rebkong ngakpa/ma (non-monastic yogi and yogini) tradition.

 A well-known poet in his youth, Dr. Nida later published many articles and books on Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine) and the Yuthok Nyingthig tradition both in Tibetan and English which have been translated into several languages.