Joan Halifax: Compassion and the true meaning of empathy

Buddhist roshi Joan Halifax works with people at the last stage of life (in hospice and on death row). She shares what she’s learned about compassion in the face of death and dying, and a deep insight into the nature of empathy.

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ABOUT Joan Halifax

“Known for her compassionate work with the terminally ill, Joan Halifax is a driving force of socially engaged Buddhism. Activist, anthropologist, author, caregiver, ecologist, LSD researcher, teacher, and Zen Buddhism priest — Joan Halifax is many things to many people.

Yet they all seem to agree that no matter what role she plays, Halifax is consistently courageous and compassionate. Halifax runs the Upaya Zen Centre in New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community she opened in 1990 after founding and leading the Ojai Foundation in California for ten years.

Her practice focuses on socially engaged Buddhism, which aims to alleviate suffering through meditation, interfaith cooperation, and social service. As director of the Project on Being With Dying, Joan has helped caregivers cope with death and dying for more than three decades.

Her book ‘Being With Dying’ helps clergy, community activists, medical professionals, social workers and spiritual seekers remove fear from the end of life. Joan is a distinguished invited scholar of the U.S. Library of Congress and the only woman and Buddhist on the Tony Blair Foundation’s Advisory Council.”

The VIDEO