In acupuncture school, a teacher (Ted Kaptchuk) recommended (ca. 1989) reading a chapter in Levine's book Who Dies?, on pain and/vs suffering. Pretty interesting. I read the whole book, and then again; and a companion book of guided meditations: Healing into Life and Death. Very useful stuff, clinically. In the 1990's then I went on to read a lot more, went to several weekend workshops with Stephen and Ondrea, and got, listened to all their cassette tape talks and guided meditations. Years after that, I realized that the roots of his teaching was heavily Thervada Buddhism, though heavily watered-down with Bhakti sentiments; and, more recently, that it was also very mushroomy, and Romanticist.
In addition to death and dying, Stephen and Ondrea also later, on the basis of their own experience, specialized on the topic of relationship, as in the impressive and rather poetic book Embracing the Beloved: Relationship as a Path of Awakening. (Back in the 1950's he was a beatnik poet in San Francisco and Santa Cruz; after a colorful youth back in New York, including stints in drug addiction and general delinquiency. Another of his books -- Turning Toward the Mystery: A Seeker's Journey -- was an autobiography.)
I discovered Theravadan teaching only about 8 years ago, but recognize that the earlier deep study of Stephen Levine's teaching substantially paved the way for that.
He was very skilful in working with people.
