Description

The Introduction to Buddhist Chaplaincy Training combines workshops & classes with activities that students complete in their communities. This combination  makes it easier for students to participate while balancing work and family commitments.

Our educational method is one of action and reflection, wherein students not only learn in class, but also apply their learnings in real life situations and then reflect on these.  This is a tried and true method for the training and development of chaplains, ministers, therapists, and the like. Click here for an explanation of this method.

These are graduate-level trainings that includes several self-directed learning components. Participants commit to attending workshops, reading and writing, and completing 100 hours of service.

At the end of the 11 months, certificates are presented as follows:
– A ‘Certificate of Completion‘ is given to students who have:
– – – – attended 10 out of 11 monthly workshops;
– – – – completed all writing assignments
– A ‘Certificate of Participation‘ is given to students who have:
– – – – attended less than 10 daylong classes; 
– – – – not completed all writing assignments.

Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Learning Diagram

Faculty: 

In-Person Training: Paul Haller, Gil Fronsdal, and Jennifer Block co-created this training together in 2003, and have been co-leading it since then. For bios, click Faculty tab below.

Online Training: Vanessa Able will be leading the online training program with Trent Thornley and Dawn Neal as core faculty. Jennifer Block, Gil Fronsdal and Paul Haller may be visiting teachers. For bios, click Faculty tab below.

Learning Outcomes: Chaplaincy necessitates special skills and diverse knowledge. It entails academic engagement and rigorous spiritual development. In completing this training participants will have been introduced to the field of chaplaincy/spiritual care. This includes having a basic knowledge in some of the important skills and understandings needed for chaplaincy. Graduates will also understand important practices, teachings, and virtues that provide the foundation of Buddhist compassion-based forms of spiritual care.

Participants interested in becoming professional chaplain will become well-prepared to enroll in professional chaplaincy training. Most commonly these are year-long, full-time programs called Clinical Pastoral Education that are offered in some hospitals. Completion of the Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Program is a big support for being accepted in these CPE programs (especially in SF Bay Area hospitals which know our program). Those not interested in professional chaplaincy (a majority of our participants), will finish the program with a clear understanding of the skills, understandings, and options for both volunteer chaplaincy and providing spiritual care in various areas of their life.

In completing the program, participants will have been introduced and practiced with these and other basic chaplaincy skills:
– Articulating their own understanding and approach to Buddhist spiritual care
– Establishing and deepening spiritual-care relationships.
– Providing spiritual care to people experiencing grief and loss.
– Reflecting on one’s own experiences in offering spiritual care.
– Understand the role of their own spiritual, religious, or non-religious history in being able to offer spiritual care.
– Understand effective “uses of self” in offering spiritual care. This includes practices of presence and non-judgmental awareness, emotional availability, cultural humility, appropriate self-disclosure, positive use of power and authority, self-care, and clear sense of appropriate boundaries.
– Uses and types of ritual, prayer, and guided meditation.

Participants will also have a basic understanding of how key Buddhist practices relate to spiritual care. These include:
– Compassion
– The Paramis/ten perfections (generosity, ethics, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truthfulness, resolve, loving-kindness, and equanimity
– Mindfulness, embodiment, emptiness, letting go
– The Four Noble Truths
– Refuges and ritual
– Sangha

These trainings are designed for and welcoming to a diverse population.
It is our sincere intention that faculty and participants in the Sati Center’s Introduction to Buddhist Chaplaincy Training all contribute to co-creating a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment in which to learn.
We acknowledge that in our culture not all populations share the same levels of privilege, access, opportunity, and visibility, whether this is due to age, gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, economic class, religious affiliation or physical ability. We take seriously the importance of attending with care to this imbalance.
An integral part of the ongoing inner and outer work of a chaplain is addressing the ways in which difference can lead to the harm of discrimination and oppression. In teaching and learning chaplaincy, we are committing to discover, connect, and uphold our shared humanity.
As the faculty of the Sati Center, we are dedicated to a careful examination of all the input we receive from our program participants, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion. We acknowledge the importance of our own continuing education in cultural competence and humility.
We also recognize the specialized training in diversity, equity and inclusion presented by other institutions that we are not qualified to offer. We encourage and support involvement in these trainings as a way to enrich and build upon the chaplaincy skills we put forward.

• In-person training varies each year, from 12-24 people.  Participants come primarily from the west coast, with 75% from the Bay Area.
• Online training will be from 12-16 people.  Participants will come from all over the US, Europe, and beyond.
• During the year, we become a sangha and benefit from friendship, mutual learning, and shared practice.

Buddhist Chaplaincy Speaker Series

Each month, our Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program invites individuals working in the field of Spiritual Care to share their experiences and inspirations, and to address the most relevant and emerging topics in Chaplaincy and Buddhist Chaplaincy today. This series is open to the public. Scroll down to view and listen to past talks.

Students enrolled in the Buddhist Chaplaincy program automatically receive notifications for the Buddhist Chaplaincy Speaker Series (BCSS). Non-students interested in attending all upcoming talks without individually registering for each can sign up using the link below.

Upcoming Talks

Components

Friday Workshops: These are the main teaching events each month. Each workshop includes:
– Meditation
– Dharma talk on the parami of the month
– Lectures, group discussion, and experiential learning exercises
– Lunch break with sangha of participants and faculty
– Brief concluding ritual for use in chaplaincy

Topics covered:
– September:  Karuna (compassion); defining ‘chaplaincy’; community formation
– October:  Dana (generosity); active listening; extemporaneous prayer
– November:  Sila (virtue); spiritual care ethics; guided meditation
– December:  Nekkamma (renunciation); bereavement; end-of-life care
– January:  Panna (wisdom); spiritual assessment; mutually beneficial service
– February:  Virya (strength); religious identities & beliefs; religious heritage
– March:  Khanti (patience); self-care & personal resilience; attending to suffering
– April:  Sacca (truth); the role of truth-telling; case studies
– May:  Aditthana (resolve): applied dharmology; rituals & ceremonies
– June:  Metta (loving kindness): sexuality & transference; care for communities
– July:  Upekkha (equanimity): transitions; honorable closure

Assignments Each Month:
– Dharma practice with the assigned Paramita
– Approximately 50 pages of book reading and 10 pages of relevant articles
– One to two writing assignments
– Meet with your Small Group
– Meet with your Buddy
– Meet 1:1 with faculty for Mentor Meeting (every other month)

Communication: Between classes, we rely on technology to communicate. Students must have access to a computer and website and group chat skills.
– Group chat: Between the September class and the October class, a group chat will be established on Slack. This allows direct communication with the entire group quickly and easily.
– Course handouts: After each month’s class, relevant handouts are posted to a password-protected course website.

Service Work (typically volunteer): This is one of the most important components of the training. It allows students to put into practice what they learn in class and to bring to class their experiences in doing chaplaincy work. The requirement for the program is approximately 10 hours of service work every month for ten months. Students serve at hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, workplaces, etc. and are responsible for obtaining a position as such.  It is important that students engage in service work early in the program. Once accepted to this training, students should begin considering their options. Each student will need to declare his or her own placement of service by October. For a list of volunteer service possibilities based on previous student experiences, click here.   We do not place participants at certain locations, per se.  That is the responsibility of the participants.

Reading:  The book list for the course is here.  Approximately 50 pages of book reading are assigned each month. In addition, approximately 10 pages of relevant articles are posted on the course website after each Friday class.

Writing Assignments: Students write 4 types of papers over the course of the year, as described below. Each student is assigned a faculty person who reads all of their writings assignments for the entire year.  For a sampling of students writings, click here.
– Eight Dharma Reflection papers (1-2 pages each)
– Four Action Reflection papers (4-6 pages each) based on service work and the like.
– One Religious Heritage paper (3-5 pages) about one’s religious upbringing.
– One Applied Dharmology paper (4-6 pages) that articulates one’s core spiritual beliefs

Mentor Interviews: Every other month you will have an interview with one of the faculty. Over the course of the program you will have the chance to interview with each of them. These are times to check in about the program, report about your experiences and challenges in offering spiritual care, and to explore your Dharma practice in relation to the work you are doing.

Small Groups: Students meet with 3-4 peers on a monthly basis.  Each group decides when to meet, based on their schedules. The purpose of small group meetings is to integrate one’s experiences into learning through peer discussion and exploration.

Self-Directed Study / Group Study: The diagram at the top of the page illustrates the various self-directed and group study components of the course.

Statement of Diversity and Inclusion

What is the participant commitment?

Participants commit to attending Friday workshops, completing 100 hours of volunteer chaplaincy, attending monthly support groups, completing 150-300 pages of reading each month, writing reflection papers each month, and consulting with faculty over the course of the training.  Please note that attendance at 10 of the 11 Friday workshops is required, and the first workshop is mandatory.  For a complete description of the program components, click the Curriculum tab above.

Where do I do my volunteer service work?

Participants may serve at hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, etc. and are responsible for obtaining a position as such.  A  list of possibilities based on previous student experiences is here, but we do not place participants at certain locations, per se.  That is the responsibility of the participants.

If I miss a workshop, how can I catch up?

Audio recordings are made of the lectures and presentations, which comprise at least 3-4 hours of each workshop.  The remaining workshop hours are small group discussions and personal reflection exercises, which are not recorded.  These audio recordings are available for download afterwards for those who miss a workshop, or wish to listen again. NOTE: the in-person and online workshops are not interchangeable. In-person participants cannot make up missed workshops by attending an online workshop, and vice versa. Each workshop will have its own set of recordings for catch up.

Do I need to have previous chaplaincy experience?

No.  This is an introductory training program.  Each of us has the capacity to embrace the suffering of another person and the ability to provide compassionate care to another.

Will this training qualify me for a full-time job as a chaplain?

No.  Professional chaplains are trained and credentialed by several organizations, and most employers require this credential.  This training, however, can serve as preparation and discernment for people considering a career in professional chaplaincy.

Will this training qualify me for ordination as a Buddhist minister or chaplain?

No.  Clergy are ordained by faith-based organizations/congregations, not educational institutions such as the Sati Center.  This training, however, can serve as preparation and discernment.  Some faith-based organizations require this training as a pre-requisite for ordination.  We recommend inquiring with the leadership of one’s faith community prior to application.

What if I am not a Buddhist?

In addition to practitioners from all streams of Buddhism, the Sati Center considers applications from individuals of various faiths who have a regular meditation practice and who share our commitment of bringing together spiritual insight and social action.  For seminary students, this course is appropriate for third year students who are called to ministries of pastoral care and chaplaincy.

What exactly is a chaplain?  How can I learn more about chaplaincy in general?

Read this article: Chaplaincy-A Brief Intro

Video about chaplaincy: Is God Calling You?

How can I learn more about Buddhist Chaplaincy?

The first book about Buddhist chaplaincy was published in 2012.  More info is here.

The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies has an affiliation program with the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), a Buddhist seminary and graduate school in Berkeley, CA. IBS offers a Master of Divinity degree, a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies, and a Certificate in Buddhist Chaplaincy. More information is available at www.shin-ibs.edu.

In-person students enrolled in the Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program (BCT) can receive 3 units of academic credit from IBS as a Special Student. If the student chooses to enroll at IBS in the future, these credits may be applied towards a graduate degree. Details are below.

We regret that due to IBS’ rules around online learning, our online training is not eligible for these particular credits.

Details

A. Current IBS students must:

• – Contact the IBS Field Education Director, Dr. Lilu Chen at lchen@shin-ibs.edu
  – Apply directly to Sati Center for acceptance into the BCT. The faculty will review IBS student applications as for any other applicant. Thus, being an IBS student does not guarantee admission to the BCT.
  – Pay the BCT application and tuition fees directly to the Sati Center.
  – Follow IBS procedures for registration and pay any relevant tuition or processing fees to IBS. See the IBS academic catalog and contact the Field Education Director for more information.

B. BCT students not currently enrolled at IBS must:

• – Apply to IBS as a Special Student by the spring application deadline (late December). Being a Sati Center BCT student does not guarantee admission to IBS.
• – Pay the processing fee to IBS for the awarding of academic credit. See the IBS website (www.shin-ibs.edu) for more information.
• – Contact the IBS Field Education Director, Dr. Lilu Chen at lchen@shin-ibs.edu.

C. Degree Program students from any other graduate level school/education institution should contact their institution.*

* The Sati Center is very interested in creating and strengthening ties with schools, educational institutions, and local organizations. Inquiries are welcome.