From the May 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine: Relief from “A Complicated Burden”

Illustration: Vivienne Flesher

For decades, Sandy Boucher struggled with the guilt she felt from her brother's suicide, even though she couldn't have prevented it. In "A Complicated Burden," published in the May 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine and now online in its entirety, she describes how an encounter with another suffering young man helped her feel some relief.

"I thought about all the brothers who have died throughout all time and all the siblings who have felt guilty or helpless at their brothers' death," she writes. "And I found myself breathing in regret and sorrow, not just for my own situation, but also in solidarity with everyone in the world who has lost a brother. I breathed in all our pain as I'd been taught to do in the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice of tonglen, and breathed out compassion for all of us." Click here to read all of "A Complicated Burden."

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