Frank Ostaseski
Guest Teacher
Frank Ostaseski is an internationally-respected Buddhist teacher and visionary co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project, and founder of the Metta Institute. He has lectured at Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, leading corporations like Google and Apple Inc., and teaches at major spiritual centers around the globe. Frank is the 2018 recipient of the prestigious Humanities Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
He has accompanied over 1,000 people through the dying process and trained thousands of healthcare clinicians and family caregivers around the world. His groundbreaking work has been featured on the Bill Moyers PBS series On Our Own Terms, highlighted on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and honored by H.H. the Dalai Lama. He is the author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully.
Frank Ostaseski's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land | Hybrid
October 26 - October 31, 2026 | Monday - Saturday | 5 nights
Befriending Mortality: Mindfulness of Death (Maraṇasati) Practices to Cultivate Insight, Presence, Compassion, and Meaning
15 CE Credits. Spaces Still Available! We all “know” we will die, yet we tend to ignore this fact and put our collective head in the sand. Rather than running away from our mortality, we can harness its power to stay aligned with our deepest values and to live and love more fully. Fully embracing life’s impermanence can engender a deep freedom and letting go. Through mindfulness of death maraṇasati practice, we become more present for this miraculous, passing show called life with gladness and gratitude.
Retreat | Online | Hybrid
October 26 - October 31, 2026 | Monday - Saturday
Befriending Mortality: Living an Awakened Life through Mindfulness of Death (Maraṇasati)
Spaces Still Available! We all “know” we will die, yet we tend to ignore this fact and put our collective head in the sand. Rather than running away from our mortality, we can harness its power to stay aligned with our deepest values and to live and love more fully. Fully embracing life’s impermanence can engender a deep freedom and letting go. Through mindfulness of death maraṇasati practice, we become more present for this miraculous, passing show called life with gladness and gratitude.
Short Program | On-Land
Saturday, October 31 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Love, Loss, and Letting Go
There is no getting through a human life without loss. The question is not whether we will be asked to let go, but how we will meet what must be let go. In this half-day, we’ll explore how practice can help us meet grief, love, and impermanence without turning away. Together we’ll reflect on how to meet both the suffering of the world and the more intimate losses of our own lives with honesty, care, and courage.
Short Program | Online
Saturday, October 31 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Love, Loss, and Letting Go
There is no getting through a human life without loss. The question is not whether we will be asked to let go, but how we will meet what must be let go. In this half-day, we’ll explore how practice can help us meet grief, love, and impermanence without turning away. Together we’ll reflect on how to meet both the suffering of the world and the more intimate losses of our own lives with honesty, care, and courage.
Short Program | On-Land
Saturday, December 19 | 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Chanting, Meditation, and Winter Solstice Ritual
Join us for an uplifting evening of chanting, meditation, and prayer as we journey from the frenzy of “holiday mind” into the ocean of the awakened heart. Together, we’ll experience the joy and nourishment of singing in community, opening to the love and sacred light already within us. Chant, meditate, dance if you feel moved, and pray together for the healing of our world. We’ll close with a beautiful candlelight ritual honoring the winter solstice and the returning light.
Training | Online | Dharma Institute
January 30 - December 11, 2027 | 12 Sessions, plus Graduation in January 2028 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
A Year to Live
Registration Now Open. This yearlong journey, inspired by Stephen Levine’s A Year to Live, is an exploration of forgiveness, gratitude, and letting go. The Buddha encouraged us to reflect on death not out of fear, but as a way to awaken to the fleeting beauty of our lives. By embracing this practice, we come to appreciate the fragility and impermanence of our existence. Through meditation, inquiry, and group discussion, together we’ll discover what death has to teach us about life and vice versa.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Frank Ostaseski through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.