In the opening session (part 1) of Love and Death, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski welcomed more than 1,300 participants into a shared inquiry of love and mortality. Framed by Rainer Maria Rilke’s insight that “Love and death are the great gifts that are given to us. Mostly they are passed on unopened,” the dialogue explores how dying strips away pretense, dissolves stories, and reveals uncontrived tenderness. Participants spoke of distilled, luminous moments at the edge of life and the essential questions that arise: Am I loved? Did I love? Roshi Joan’s candid reflections on her recent surgeries and near-death experience embody the vulnerability at the heart of this teaching. This session set a foundation for the weekend’s continued unwrapping of these gifts through practice and community dialogue.out history. Ultimately, Dear calls for an uncompromising commitment: “There is no cause ever again… for which you and I will ever support the taking of a single human life.”
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