FRANK OSTASESKI

Author of The Five Invitations

Frank Ostaseski is an internationally respected Buddhist teacher and visionary cofounder 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 1000 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.

BIOGRAPHY

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FRANK OSTASESKI is a pioneer in end of life care. In 1987, he cofounded the Zen Hospice Project, the first Buddhist hospice in America. He guided that groundbreaking work for almost 20 years establishing a longstanding model for mindful and compassionate care. In 2005, he founded the Metta Institute training countless healthcare clinicians and caregivers and building a national network of educators, advocates and guides for those facing life-threatening illness.

Frank has dedicated his life to service. It has been fusion of spiritual insight and practical social action. It manifests in caring for the homeless, serving on the early front lines AIDS epidemic, lobbying congress, teaching meditation and most daunting raising four teenagers at the same time.

He has distilled hard-won lessons from his own life journey and synthesized 30 years of being with dying into his personal brand of wisdom. He inspires and engages diverse audiences from Harvard Medical School students, to Mayo Clinic clinicians, and Wisdom 2.0 seekers. He is the 2018 recipient of the prestigious Humanities Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. His work has been highlighted on The Oprah Winfrey Show featured by Bill Moyers on his PBS television series On Our Own Terms 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 is a frequent keynote speaker at universities, healthcare organizations and spiritual communities including:

  • Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MI
  • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
  • Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, CA
  • University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg Germany
  • Wisdom 2.0 Conference, San Francisco, CA
  • Sloan Kettering Medical Center, New York, NY
  • National Hospice & Palliative Care Association, Alexandria, VA
  • Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, MI
  • National Congress of the Italian Society of Palliative Care, Trieste, Italy
  • Naropa Institute, Boulder, CO
  • Long Now Seminars, San Francisco, CA
  • Upaya Zen Center, Being with Dying Program, Santa Fe, NM
  • RIGPA International, Germany, England, France, Switzerland
  • National Hospice Association, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Numerous State and Local Hospice organizations

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ACCOLADES

Jon Kabat-Zinn
Founder of MBSR and author of Full Catastrophe Living and Coming to Our Senses
“magical and compelling”

"This book is a loving, compassionate reminder that the best Frank embodies the wisdom and compassion he shares in these magical and compelling pages. You feel it instantly, because it is real, and it is really about you and your life."

Dean Ornish, M.D.
New York Times bestselling author of The Spectrum
“eloquent, and powerful”

“Frank Ostaseski reveals how we can transform this darkness into a bright light (brilliant in every way), a return to the source, the ultimate in intimacy, healing, and meaning the essence of love. What could be better than that."

Bill MoyerS
American journalist and social commentator
“you will never forget this”

“I have never forgotten Frank’s incredible compassion and comfort, as you, dear reader, will never forget this book."

Tara Brach
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
“teachings reveal mystery”

“Frank Ostaseski guides us in this opening with a luminous wisdom derived from his own full immersion in the journey. Please give yourself to The Five Invitations; these teachings reveal the mystery and beauty of our essential Being.”

Jack Kornfield
International Buddhist teacher and author of A Path With Heart
“Open Your Heart”

These moving teachings can open your heart and change your life. Frank has been a compassionate guide to thousands of people facing death. In The Five Invitations, he shares his timeless wisdom, beautifully, as a blessing to all."

RAM DASS
International spiritual teacher and author of Be Here Now  and Still Here
“COMPASSIONATE REMINDER”

“Frank shows us that if you are to die consciously, there’s no time like the present to prepare. This book is a loving, compassionate reminder that the best preparation for death is a life fully lived."

JOAN HALIFAX ROSHI, PH.D.
Founder and abbot at the Upaya Zen Center, and author of Being with Dying
“A POWERFUL BOOK”

"A powerful book by my good friend who has brought together wisdom and compassion in his life and his long years of work with the dying. We will all be enriched, inspired, and edified by his extraordinary book on how facing death can enrich our life."

James R. Doty, M.D.
Professor of Neurosurgery and New York Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop
“COMPASSIONATE REMINDER”

“In Frank Ostaseski’s profound book, he shares this reality, giving us insights and wisdom on the nature of dying but more importantly on how to truly live.”

Robert A. F. Thurman
Professor of Religion, Columbia University, and author of Infinite Life
“a powerful elixir”

“Frank has found the space where awareness of death is revealed as a powerful elixir for living more abundantly, and he shares that secret brilliantly in this landmark book.”

IRA BYOCK M.D.
Author and International leader in palliative care
“SOULFUL PERSPECTIVES”

"Through The Five Invitations a broader audience can benefit from Frank's insights, soulful perspectives, and practical guidance. What a gift!"

SARK
Coauthor and artist of Succulent Wild Love
“DEEP, RIGHT AND RARE”

“Whether facing your own imminent death or that of a loved one, navigating a crisis, or looking to embrace and enjoy living your life more fully, you will find the wisdom lovingly offered in these pages inspiring and enlightening.”

Hosho Peter CoyotE
Actor, writer and Zen priest
“illuminate your existence”

“If this simple, straightforward book does not illuminate your existence, well, you may have to wait until your dying does it for you—in which case, you may be lucky enough to meet Frank Ostaseski again."

Purchase the book

THE FIVE INVITATIONS

Discovering What Death
Can Teach Us About Living Fully

Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most.

Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves.

BARNES + NOBLE Indiebound Books a Million IBooks Hudson Amazon (UK) Foyles (UK) Waterstones (UK)

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