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The  Military Vacations for Families from Armed Forces Vacation Club®  (AFVC) is a "Space Available" program that offers military and other Department of Defense-affiliated personnel the opportunity to enjoy vacations at popular destinations around the world - for $349* USD per unit, per week.

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For leisure travel interests and needs that require commercial travel, consider CWTSatoTravel "SatoVacations Europe" as a first-choice option.

SatoVacations  Europe operates in-person service centers at several garrisons within IMCOM Europe Region. The Europe Vacations Fulfillment Center provides quick and professional service throughout Europe Region via phone-call and internet bookings. Their modern system ensures each caller is assigned to the next available agent as soon as possible.

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For more information on SatoVacations opportunities, please go to   SatoVacations .

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Another excellent source for reasonably priced vacations in Europe is the German Army's  " Bundeswehr Sozialwerk "  program.

Bundeswehr Sozialwerk  offers discounted bookings for hotels and campgrounds throughout western Europe.

" Eigene Häuser "  and  " Vertragshäuser "  refer to vacation resorts that are either owned by or contracted for use by Bundeswehr Sozialwerk e.V.  

For best use of this program, skills for reading and writing German language are recommended. 

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Explore the wonders of the Japan Alps and its local cultures with this iconically-Japan itinerary.

• Transit to and from the tours and accommodations are included, and listed in the day-to-day itinerary.
• Multiple fully guided tours are included, and many days have free time.
• Breakfasts are included every day except for your arrival day, and dinner and lunch occasionally are included as specified in the itinerary.
• Flights to and from Tokyo
• Meals and transportation not listed in the itinerary
• Items of a personal nature, such as phone calls

Accommodation

4 and 5 star hotel options available. Call for pricing.

Arrive in Tokyo at the Narita Airport, where you will be met by an assistant in the arrival lobby for private transportation to your hotel. The rest of day is spent at your leisure after checking in to your hotel.

After breakfast, your guide will meet you for an 8-hour tour of the best parts of the city. You will begin in Asakusa, Tokyo's old town. Here, you will visit Sensoji, the city's oldest temple, and Nakamise, a shopping street with souvenirs and local food. You will then move on to Tokyo's Water Bus, where you'll travel down the Sumidagawa River. This will bring you directly to Hamarikyu garden, an Edo period Japanese garden. When walking through the garden, you can stop in a tea house for a cup of matcha and some sweets. After lunch, the tour will move to Meiji Shrine, a shine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji. Finally, as the sun is setting, take a walk through the Omotesando shopping street, a broad tree lined avenue.

Breakfast and Lunch are provided.

In the morning, a private car will take you to the train station, where you'll take the bullet train to Matsumoto. You will have free time to visit the Matsumoto Castle and explore the town, including Nakamachi, a former merchant district. You can also visit the Japan Ukiyoe Museum, home to over 100,000 Japanese woodblock prints, making it one of the world's largest private art collections. You'll spend the night in Matsumoto.

Breakfast is provided.

Today, you'll visit the kitchen of a Matsumoto soba restaurant, boasting of a history of over 130 years, to learn the secrets of soba noodles. You will join a shared cooking class to try your hand at kneading and cutting them, then you will be able to taste your noodles cooked by the chef in a traditional Shinshu way. After lunch, you are free to continue exploring at your leisure. You'll spend the night in Matsumoto.

In the morning, you'll travel by private car to Takayama. You'll have the afternoon free, though it's recommended to visit one of the town's many breweries to have a taste of the local drop. That night, you'll stay in a Japanese style ryokan accommodation with a hot spring onsen bath. A dinner will be provided for you. You'll stay the night in Takayama.

Breakfast and Dinner are provided.

Today, you'll have a free day in Takayama. After breakfast, you can head up to the Miyagawa morning market, which has stalls selling fresh produce and local crafts. A short bus ride will take you to Hida No Sato Folk Village, and open air museum displaying over 30 typical farmhouses and other traditional buildings from the Hida region. In the afternoon, you may visit the Takayama Festival Floats Museum, displaying floats from the famous Takayama festival, or you can simply wander through the town. Another option is taking a half day trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Shirakawago village, famous for its traditional farmhouses, some of which are over 250 years old. Dinner is included in the evening, and you'll spend the night in Takayama.

In the morning, a private car will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the train station. From there, you'll take the bullet train to Kyoto. Upon reaching the train station, a private car will pick you up and take you to your hotel. This afternoon, you will try your hand at making Japanese cuisine. The course will consist of two parts. First, you will cook 2 or 3 dishes then enjoy them. Then you will return to kitchen and learn 2 or 3 more dishes before eating again. You'll spend the night in Kyoto once you're done.

Today you will explore Kyoto with a local guide by private car, and will visit some of Kyoto's World Heritage Sites. You will start by visiting the Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. It is a Buddhist Temple, and one of Kyoto's most famous temples. After, you will take a walk down Nishiki Market, a narrow, five block long street of over a hundred shops and restaurants. Known as “Kyoto's Kitchen,” this lively market specializes in all things food related. To end the day, you get to decide where to visit. You may wish to visit Kiyomizu Temple, which has amazing views of Kyoto, and is one of their landmarks. Or you can visit Sanjusangendo, Kyoto's longest wooden structure, being 120 meters, or about 394 feet. It's famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. At the end of the day, you will be dropped off at your hotel, where you'll spend the night in Kyoto.

This morning, a car will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Tokyo Station, where you will take the world-famous bullet train using your Japan Rail Pass. Upon arriving at Odawara, a car will pick you up and take you to your hotel for the night. The rest of the day is free to spend at your leisure. You will have the Hakone Free Pass, and so will be able to use the extensive transport network. You can explore the cable cars, ropeways, and even a pirate ship that will take you across Lake Ashi with a view of Mt. Fuji. This evening, dinner is included, and you will stay overnight in Hakone.

In the morning, a private transfer will take you to Hakone Station. Take the Romance Car train back to Tokyo, before another private car picks you up from the station. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure, then you'll spend the night in Tokyo.

Allow 60-90 minutes travel time to Tokyo Narita Airport. International check-in requires a minimum of two hours, however, check-in time may vary by airline so be sure and check with your airline directly. Private transfer (included) to Narita Airport.

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Dog That Inspired 'Doge' Meme, Became Face of Dogecoin, Dies at 18

Kabosu was a shiba inu breed and lived in japan.

(Photo : TMX) Kabosu, the shiba inu dog that starred in countless memes and inspired the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, has died, according to her owner.

Kabosu, the shiba inu dog that starred in countless memes and inspired the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, has died, according to her owner.

Kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato, 62, posted a poem on her blog Friday confirming the news and thanking "everyone who loved her."

"At 7:50 a.m., she fell into a deep sleep," she wrote. "She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her." Kabosu was adopted, but Sato, who is from the city of Sakura in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, believes she was around 18 years old.

In 2010, Sato posted a photo of Kabosu giving a quizzical, side-eye expression, on her blog, and by 2013 it spread across the internet, spawning "Doge" memes. The memes used Kabosu's image overlaid with words of amazement and wonder meant to be the dog's inner monologue, often in broken English, such as "much wow" and "such freeze, much frosty."

In December 2013, two software engineers created the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, inspired by Kabosu, but what began as a joke became the first "meme coin" is now one of the top 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world, with fans including billionaire Elon Musk.

"The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable. She was a being who knew only happiness and limitless love," the official Dogecoin account posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Please keep her spirit and her family in your heart, and most importantly carry her with you as your story continues - we are all fortunate for hers to have touched and shaped ours."

In 2021, non-fungible token, or NFT, of Kabosu's image sold for $4 million. She became famous in her hometown of Sakura, with a bronze statue unveiled earlier this year.

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Vietnam working to avoid power shortage 'bottleneck' this year: deputy PM

New grid infrastructure to be completed in June, Le Minh Khai says

TOKYO -- Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on Thursday expressed confidence that power grid improvements will help avoid a repeat of the electricity shortages that hurt the economy in last year's peak season.

A grid project in the northern part of the country will be completed in June, Khai told Nikkei's Future of Asia forum, saying "I think that will function quite well."

Vietnam rocked by political upheaval: 5 things to know

Malaysia's anwar to push asean as 'cohesive force' against regional tensions, top danish jeweler pandora breaks ground on factory in vietnam, chinese evs give vinfast a run for its money in vietnam, vietnam turns to rooftop solar as blackouts hit country, vietnam power crunch fears darken business outlook, latest on the future of asia 2024, mahathir says beijing 'can claim' south china sea, no need for war, indonesia to apply for cptpp membership this year: minister, india seeks to extend influence in middle east, africa: jaishankar, sponsored content, about sponsored content this content was commissioned by nikkei's global business bureau..

Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century.

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25 American Buddhist Chaplaincy Supervision

Jitsujo T. Gauthier is an Associate Professor and Co-chair of Buddhist Chaplaincy at the University of the West. Her practice and pedagogy invite more tenderness and breath into meditation and the classroom. She teaches Buddhist Homiletics, Spiritual Care and Counseling, Spiritual Leadership, and Engaged Zen Buddhism. Her research focuses on the practical application of Buddhism within the fields of contemplative education, ministry, and peacemaking work. Her dissertation, “An On-the-Job Mindfulness Intervention for Pediatric ICU Nurses,” was published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (2015). Other publications include “Hope in the Midst of Suffering” in the Journal of Pastoral Theology (2016); “Formation and Supervision in Buddhist Chaplaincy” in Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry (2017); and “Buddhist Chaplaincy in the U.S.” in The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice (2023).

• Published: 22 May 2024
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Buddhist chaplaincy is calling people into an identity to confront suffering as it is in the world today. Supervision is a term that has been studied significantly within theistic traditions, predominately Christianity. It has not been written about specifically in terms of Buddhist chaplaincy or Buddhist chaplaincy education. This chapter will explore supervision in Buddhist chaplaincy education by outlining what Buddhist chaplains do, their location within the North American landscape, how they are educated, directions in which chaplaincy is headed, and will end by presenting a theory of Buddhist supervision for chaplaincy education. Questions like who supervises and what is being supervised will be examined by utilizing the Buddha’s conversation with Ānanda in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra as a framework to support the work of Buddhist chaplains.

Introduction

Chaplains hold space for care-seekers to express and explore their religious and spiritual views. A person who is sick, incarcerated, dying, or who is in emotional, psychological, or spiritual distress, is in a vulnerable position. Therefore, chaplains are educated and trained to stay grounded in their own worldview or theology without proselytizing. A traditional chaplain is employed by a secular institution (e.g., in the military, government, law enforcement, colleges/universities, hospitals, healthcare systems, prisons/jails, etc.) to serve clients, employees, and families of these institutions. The Work of the Chaplain (2006) states: “from a Christian perspective, their role is pastoral, prophetic, and priestly, even while being nonreligious to those who profess no religion. They enter the ministry situation with no personal agenda and the attitude of a servant.” 1

Buddhist chaplaincy in North America emerges within the historical context of Protestant theism. Many Buddhist chaplains are being educated in Buddhist universities, while others attend Interfaith MA/MDiv programs at Christian founded universities, or non-degree Buddhist chaplaincy programs. Educators in Buddhist chaplaincy programs prepare Buddhist chaplains to enter the non-Buddhist context of clinical pastoral education (CPE) to complete their clinical training. University programs combine standards of religious studies, psychology, organizational management, and chaplaincy. 2 The legacy of supervision, spiritual formation, pastoral authority, and spiritual leadership is taught within its theistic context. Programs then weave Buddhist sources, methods, and praxis into the curricula. 3 It is challenging to teach and learn applied Buddhism using pedagogy based on Western academic and/or interfaith frameworks. 4 This results in Buddhists spending time and energy learning Western academic frameworks, how to build bridges, and how to explain their worldview to non-Buddhist faith systems, rather than developing Buddhist frameworks for applying Buddhist scriptures to real-life issues.

Buddhist chaplains train in CPE chaplain internship/residency programs to minister without proselytizing their own beliefs onto care-seekers. Their supervisors are certified CPE educators, who are most often Christian, know very little about Buddhism, its main traditions, tenets, teachings, and values. 5 At the same time, CPE educators train to approach supervision as pluralistic, meeting in mutuality, shared experience, and partnership. CPE educators make time to create a safe environment for learning in the form of contracts of care with their chaplaincy students. 6 There is transparency around educational models, stages of development within the role of chaplain, and encouragement to experiment with ways to connect intimately with care-seekers.

From a Christian perspective, supervision can be defined as a relationship between educator and student that is developed over time to meet in partnership, reflect upon the practice of spiritual care, and focus all available resources on each supervisee’s personal growth within their role as chaplain. 7 Pastoral authority guides a chaplain’s actions and decisions. A chaplain’s inner authority comes from faith in and relationship to God, and their outer authority is provided through endorsement from a religious tradition and community.

Buddhist hermeneutics and worldviews, in general, are different from theistic chaplains. They most likely do not begin with or share the same perspectives on power dynamics, faith development, authority, and responsibility, even among themselves. Supervision has not been written about in Buddhist chaplaincy. Articulating supervision within Buddhist chaplaincy education can support the work of Buddhist chaplains. A definition of Buddhist supervision may be an engaged relationship with the refuges of Buddha, Dharma, and sangha; where both educator and student together embark on the path to awakening, caring for self and others with an open flexible heart-mind to understand suffering, compassionate action, and spiritual caregiving. A Buddhist chaplain’s inner authority comes from confidence in Dhamma and practice of the Threefold Training: (1) ethical virtue ( sila ), (2) mental concentration ( samadhi ), and (3) wisdom/insight ( prajna ). This confidence and practice guide a chaplain’s actions and decisions.

This chapter will use the Buddha’s final advice to Ānanda as a framework to address and understand supervision in Buddhist chaplaincy education to support the work of Buddhist chaplains. The first section will locate Buddhist chaplains in North America by describing how and when Buddhist chaplains gain entry into the field embedded within Christian contexts. The second section will explain where Buddhist chaplains are educated, some directions they are headed, and challenges they face. The last section will provide a model for supervision, power, and authority from a Buddhist perspective based on a section of the Buddhist scripture Mahāparinirvāna .

Locating Buddhist Chaplains in North American

The word “chaplain” has Christian roots, and the role symbolizes the one who guards the sacred and shares the cloak of compassion. In defining Buddhist chaplaincy in North America, Jennifer Block notes that for over 2,500 years Buddhists have been contemplating old age, sickness, and death to realize suffering and freedom from suffering. 8 The Buddha left the comforts of his palace home in search of refuge within. After many years of practicing with various teachers, he entered a period of retreat, and attained enlightenment. Out of compassion, he went back into the world to share his enlightenment experience and help others attain this realization for themselves. 9 Buddhist chaplaincy connects with the wider tradition of Buddhism as a form of applied, engaged, or humanistic Buddhism. 10 The “way of the chaplain” is a way of serving and attending to suffering outside traditional temple gates, which may take forms of social, political, environmental, charitable, peacemaking, and compassionate action.

When were the seeds of Buddhist chaplaincy first planted? Asian Buddhist leaders and movements inspired many pathways for Buddhist chaplaincy to sprout in North America. Service work outside temple gates is rooted in Asian Buddhisms. Sri Lankan monastics have historically served and supported local communities in times of hardship. 11 A trend in Song dynasty China occurred when Buddhist monastics came down from the mountain monasteries and “out of the cloister” to engage with Confucian diplomats, scholars, and society. 12 In the twentieth century, Indian Buddhists organized along with B. R. Ambedkar to provide literacy to women, medical services, jobs, and housing, and to give Buddhist precepts to hundreds of thousands in the untouchable castes. Similarly, Sulak Sivaraksa advocates for Buddhist principles (i.e., right livelihood) and for Buddhist sanghas to have a voice in contemporary social, economic, and environmental issues in Thailand. Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne’s Sarvodaya Shramadana movement empowers and reconnects villages in Sri Lanka. The self-immolation of Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc in 1963 caused the world to contemplate true love and engaged compassion. More recently, Zen monastics have come to the aid of many in the most recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami. 13 His Holiness the Dalai Lama continues working for sustainable and nonviolent structural changes globally and within Tibet.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Asian Buddhists immigrated to the United States to live and work in community. Some ministers built temples, published books, and transmitted the Buddha-Dharma to many, while others transmitted Buddhist teachings in subtler ways by beginning families, serving small temples, and supporting one another in community. Through much discrimination and strict immigration laws, Asian Americans remained steadfast in major US metropolitan areas, and by the late nineteenth century an intellectual interest in Buddhist cultures found its way to universities like Harvard, the University of Wisconsin, and Columbia. After World War II, many Buddhist-curious non-Asian Americans traveled to Asian countries to study, train, and take refuge in Buddhist monasteries. Around the same time, immigration laws in the United States became more open, which allowed a variety of Asian Buddhist traditions to become established (e.g., Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara Society, Taiwanese Dharma Drum, Tzu Chi, Foguanshan, Tibetan Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya, Chinese Humanistic, Taintai, Pure Land, Chan traditions, Korean Son and Jogye Orders, Theravada Thai, Vietnamese Mahayana, Japanese Nichiren, Shingon, Zen).

Military service also has provided a means of cross-pollination between Asia and North America. Doors for Buddhist chaplains began to open as Asian American Buddhists began serving in the US military and non-Buddhist American soldiers were introduced to Buddhism while serving abroad. The first Buddhist chaplain within the Department of Defense was Lieutenant Junior Grade Jeanette Gracie Shin, who was commissioned in 2004. 14 Buddhists have accompanied soldiers into battle, attended to the sick and dying, and served as minsters to kings and government officials for thousands of years in Asian Buddhist countries, although recent discussions raise ethical questions regarding devoted Buddhist monastics disrobing to enlist as US military personnel in order to serve as Buddhist chaplains. 15 Sybil Thornton writes that Buddhists have served the military since 1331 in the Japanese civil war by performing prayer rituals, caring for the wounded, and attending to the dead. 16 Christopher Ives notes that Buddhist priests enlisted as military chaplains during the Japanese Meiji period (late 1800s). 17 Shinsho Hanayama writes about his experience as a Buddhist chaplain in Sugamo Prison in the mid-1940s, 18 and a Vietnamese pamphlet shows Buddhist chaplains serving Vietnamese communities during the Vietnamese War. 19

Other influences for chaplaincy have arisen out of global peace movements inspired by the social, political, and environmental work of well-known Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama, Sulak Sivaraksa, and Thich Nhat Hanh, who coined the term “Engaged Buddhism.” North American organizations like the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, East Bay Meditation Center, Against the Stream, Zen Peacemakers, Prison Mindfulness Institute, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Mindful Schools formed to express Buddhist responses to systemic inequality and institutional racism. The first “Buddhism in America” conference (1997) intended to bring Buddhist practitioners together to reflect varied and experiential ways that Buddhism is transmitted in daily life. 20 However, Charles Prebish notes that few Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, or People of Color were in attendance. Prebish writes about being “extremely disappointed to learn not only that scholar-practitioners had been almost completely excluded from this conference, but also that the various and important ethnic Buddhist communities in America had not been included, nor had practitioners of the Soka Gakkai tradition.” 21 The history where many European Americans gather, share, and discuss Buddhist practices without including Asian American Theravāda, Mahāyāna, or Vajrayāna needs to be enlightened.

Buddhist Education for Chaplains

Buddhist education sprouted from spiritual movements within the 1960s, and Buddhist chaplaincy developed in this context. There are a few Buddhist universities that employ Buddhist pedagogy in education and offer state-accredited degrees in fields like Buddhist chaplaincy. The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) in Berkeley is the pioneer of Buddhist-based education in North America. IBS was founded by Japanese Master Shinran Shonin in 1949. Its mission is to provide graduate-level education in the entirety of the Buddhist tradition, with specialization in Jōdo Shinshū ministry and Buddhist chaplains. After twenty years of developing ministerial training and educational programs, Revs. Haruyosi Kusada and Hozan Hardiman stewarded IBS to incorporate as a seminary graduate school in the state of California. In 1985, IBS affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley under the leadership of Bishop Seigen Yamaoka and Dr. Richard Payne. The Buddhist chaplain program began in 2008 and was granted Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation in 2020. IBS currently partners with the Buddhist Churches of America, Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Dharma Drum Institute in Taiwan, Graduate Theological Union, and Sati Institute for Theravada Studies.

Naropa University launched the first Buddhist-based MDiv degree in North America, integrating textual/historical study, meditation practice, pastoral training, ritual, and homiletics. Founded in June 1974 by Tibetan Master Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, its mission is to cultivate compassionate, creative, and critical engagement with an ever-changing world through the discipline of contemplative education. Naropa began as a summer institute that developed into a master’s degree in Buddhist studies with twelve students, full-time faculty Reginald Ray and Judith Simmer-Brown, and an array of adjunct faculty. The curriculum was redesigned to incorporate contemplative education and received accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1988. Students began to push for a more practical, socially engaged education, which led to the master’s degree in Engaged Buddhism in 1995. Coursework consisted of mediation, conflict resolution, contemporary Buddhist theology, sociopolitical issues, organizing skills, and a 100-hour chaplaincy internship CPE. The Engaged Buddhism program brought new students who wanted a recognizable professional degree for future employment. In 2001 the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program opened, and eventually replaced the Engaged Buddhism MA in 2005.

University of the West was born within Hsi Lai Temple of Hacienda Heights, California, in 1988. Hsi Lai Temple, founded by Tawainese Master Hsing Yun, consists of the Foguanshan Taiwanese Mahāyāna monastic order and Buddha’s Light International Association lay order. Foguanshan is one of the largest Humanistic Buddhist organizations in the world. Hsi Lai University (西來大學), translated as “Coming to the West,” first emerged to offer courses in Humanistic Buddhism in 1991. After years of development, the university moved outside the temple gates to Rosemead, California, and was renamed University of the West (UWest) in 2008. The MDiv degree in Buddhist chaplaincy was WASC accredited in 2010 through the efforts of Naropa MDiv graduate Rev. Danny Fisher and the late UWest Religious Studies Chair Dr. Kenneth Locke. UWest offers several accredited degrees for domestic and international students. Its mission provides a whole-person education in a context informed by Buddhist wisdom and values, and facilitates cultural understanding and appreciation between East and West.

Maitripa College came next to the scene of Buddhist-based education in North America. It was founded in Portland, Oregon, upon three pillars of scholarship, meditation, and service by Yangsi Rinpoche. Maitripa College curriculum combines Western academic and Tibetan Buddhist disciplines rooted within the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahāyāna Tradition (FPMT). FPMT began in 1975 to teach Buddhism to Western students living in Nepal and has since grown into an international network of Dharma training centers, projects, and educational programs. In 2006 Yangsi Rinpoche began a four-year Advanced Buddhist Studies Program, and in July 2008 Maitripa received accreditation and legal authority to offer graduate degrees by the state of Oregon.

Directions of Buddhist Chaplaincy

There are several pathways to enter Buddhist chaplaincy. One pathway is to enter an MDiv/MA degree program at an accredited Buddhist-based university such as Naropa, Institute of Buddhist Studies, University of the West, and Maitrepa College. Another pathway is to enter an interfaith and/or theistic MDiv/MA program that welcomes Buddhists, such as Harvard School of Divinity, New York Theological Seminary, University of Chicago, Claremont School of Theology, Boston University, and Emmanuel College in Toronto, among others. A non-degree pathway is a chaplaincy program with a Dharma center that may offer a partial MDiv degree, certificate in Buddhist chaplaincy, Buddhist-based clinical training, or that partners with a theistic seminary, (e.g., Sati Center, Upaya Zen Center, New York Center for Contemplative Care, and Rigpa International). New pathways that are developing include non-accredited Buddhist seminaries like Jewel Heart Chaplaincy Program and Shogaku Zen Institute.

Curricula for accredited Buddhist-based MDiv/MA chaplaincy programs need to align with academic, clinical, and professional standards of the field. University programs draw from three North American organizations to create curricula: (1) the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), which holds the highest standard for seminary education; (2) the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), which holds the highest standard for clinical interfaith chaplaincy formation and supervision within internship/residency programs; and (3) the Association for Professional Chaplaincy (APC), which holds the highest standard for board certification.

An accredited MDiv/MA is a requirement for APC Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI). For those who complete certificates or partial MDiv training programs, it is possible to apply for an equivalency, though this is becoming more of an exception. Three areas of education and training ensure a chaplain’s spiritual maturity, professional competency, and healthy boundaries. The first is academic education. Courses are required in Buddhist texts, scriptures, tenets, history, and ethical frameworks within one or more Buddhist traditions, as well as courses in spiritual care, leadership, authority, ritual, homiletics, and so on. The second is clinical training. CPE chaplain internship/residency (1–4 units) is required, working within a hospital, university setting, nonprofit, or interfaith chaplaincy peer group, and under the supervision of the certified CPE educator. The third is Dharma training and connection to Buddhist sangha to receive guidance from a teacher(s), ethical development, refuge, and endorsement.

Not everyone interested in Buddhist chaplaincy education wants to become a full-time board-certified professional chaplain. Those coming from Asian countries may stay to serve in the US military, healthcare, and university system, while others may return to serve communities and individuals in their home country. Some chaplains only want to work part-time, integrating chaplaincy skills within their temple community or current profession, or serving as a volunteer. Some are spiritual teachers, leaders, ministers, or mentors within Dharma centers. Others aspire to start a humanistic/engaged Buddhist nonprofit, or to work in human resources, administration, or some other helping/caregiving profession. In other words, Buddhist chaplaincy is not a cookie-cutter path.

Ongoing complexity and social suffering are calling a diversity of monastics and lay practitioners to enter Buddhist chaplaincy education today. Buddhist practitioners of different ages, cultures, and walks of life enter chaplaincy education to serve in interfaith settings within hospitals, hospices, police departments, prisons, universities, nonprofit organizations, and the military. Many have had a spiritual opening or awakening experience, a brush with sickness or death within themselves, a close friend, or a loved one. Some identify as Buddhist (i.e., monastic, lay practitioner, ordained priest/minister, scholar-practitioner), while others identify with another religion in addition to Buddhism. All feel drawn to be in right livelihood to benefit all beings. Scott Mitchell notes, “chaplaincy work can be seen as a type of engagement that takes seriously the call to end suffering without necessarily engaging in large scale public protest of activism.” 22

There as many challenges for Buddhist chaplains given their location within the predominately Christian contexts of North America. While many are educated in Buddhist universities or programs, most of their care-seekers and co-workers will be non-Buddhists. They will need to build bridges to theism and may find few bridges being built back. The suffering and trauma they encounter will affect their body-mind and challenge their practice. They will most likely experience an identity crisis, feel alone in the field, face fears of rejection, have difficulty finding sangha, and burn out. All will most likely struggle to (1) take refuge in this very moment, (2) navigate a Middle Path through suffering (trauma, anxiety, stress, etc.) and transmit this practice, however imperfect, and (3) reconcile a relationship to an inner/outer supervisor—all of which will hopefully deepen their understanding of Dhamma . The next section will present a depiction of chaplains as “islands unto yourselves” as a model of Buddhist supervision.

Find the Refuge Within: Buddhist Supervision

Supervision has not been written about in terms of Buddhist chaplaincy. Educators have written about methods of spiritual caregiving in the university and clinical settings. Cheryl Giles and Willa Miller compiled a book of pioneering Buddhist voices who use Buddhist frameworks, rituals, and texts to address serving, contemplative care, being with living and dying, prison ministry, and the pastoral role. 23 Ayo Yetunde, Judith Simmer-Brown, Victor Gabriel, Monica Sanford, Guan Zhen, and Duane Bidwell offer ways to bridge gaps in interfaith chaplaincy, and to cultivate right use of power, pastoral authority, and transformation through meeting in mutuality and spiritual friendship. 24 Several Buddhist educators offer methods for being with dying from various perspectives, 25 and some articulate ways that spiritual formation may facilitate and challenge Buddhist identity and chaplaincy functioning. 26 There are myriads of recitations, rituals, invocations, prostrations, koans, visualizations, and so on, in the Buddhist canons that provide frameworks for formation and supervision yet to be expounded and applied to Buddhist chaplaincy. The next section will provide one such framework.

Be Islands unto Yourselves

As the Buddha was in his final days, his discipline Venerable Ānanda felt despondent, and his mind unclear as the Buddha was dying. He told the Buddha that he found great comfort in the thought of the Tathāgata giving final instructions to the sangha before passing away. The Buddha questioned Venerable Ānanda’s motive, and said that anyone who harbors the thought, “I should lead the sangha,” or “this sangha is dependent upon me,” needs to set down all matters concerning the sangha. The Buddha, or Tathāgata , is the embodiment of thusness, founder of Buddhism, leader of the Buddha Way, the one who understands supervision, going beyond this body and mind, and thus rejected Ānanda’s request.

O Ānanda, what more does the Sangha expect of me? I have taught the Dhamma without making distinction between esoteric and exoteric doctrine. 27 In respect of the truths, there is nothing the Tathāgata has held back with a closed fist. Whoever thinks: “it is I who will lead the Sangha,” or “the Sangha is dependent upon me,” is the person to give final instructions. The Tathāgata, has no such idea, so what instructions should be given concerning matters of the Sangha? Ānanda, I am now old, decrepit, advanced in years, and coming to the end of my life. I am in my eightieth year. Just as a worn-out cart is rigged to move by being bond with straps, so is the Tathāgata’s body, being held together with difficulty. It is only when the Tathāgata dwells in a signless mental concentration, ceasing to attend to outward things, certain feelings, and unmindful of all objects, that the body of the Tathāgata at ease. 28 Therefore, Ānanda, be islands unto yourselves. Be your own refuge. Seek no external refuge. Live with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as your refuge, and with no other as your refuge. How, Ānanda, do you be an island unto yourself, dwell with yourself as a refuge, seeking no external other as your refuge, making the Dhamma your island, dwelling with the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other as your refuge? Herein, Ānanda, you live strenuous, reflective, watchful, abandoning covetousness in this world, contemplating body as body, constantly developing mindfulness with respect to feelings, consciousness (mind), and Dhamma (mind-objects). 29 Whoever lives in this way, either now or after my death, will become the foremost amongst those intent on discipline and learning. 30

On his deathbed, the Buddha did not think he should lead, or want the sangha to be dependent upon him; rather, the Buddha exhorted Ānanda, the sangha, and all practitioners to live yourselves as your island. “Island” can also be translated as “haven” or “lamp,” which may represent this body-mind as a vessel, container, or refuge. Understanding the Dhamma , developing confidence and maturing in one’s spiritual practice, takes time. Ripening to one’s full potential relies on inner and outer processes. How can one supervise this process? What type of environment is conducive? What are the responsibilities of supervisor and supervisee? How does one develop a supervisor within? This conversation between Buddha and Ānanda provides a model for Buddhist supervision; the metaphor of being an island unto yourselves provides a framework for developing confidence, authority, and the supervisor from within.

Like the historical Buddha, a Buddhist chaplain needs to master techniques, practices, and skills to develop this refuge of body and mind when encountering suffering. They need to be grounded in the Threefold Training of sila , samadhi , and prajna , which is a framework for the Eightfold Noble Path to the liberation of suffering. The historical Buddha spent many years studying with various teachers, and after at a certain point had to reconcile their inner/outer teacher(s), take refuge in this very moment of suffering, and utilize satipatthāna to navigate the Middle Path through the suffering. To follow the Buddhist Path is to undertake this same process of looking within. To develop inner authority, or supervision, is to invoke awakened nature, no-self, and Buddha within. This takes an ardent commitment to signless mental concentration, devout meditation, and patience.

Refuge in Satipatthāna s

The Buddha’s instructions for how to live with yourselves as your island and to be your own refuge are to develop mindfulness with respect to the body, feelings, consciousness, and Dhamma . These are four kinds of satipatthāna s found in Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta. 31 Buddhist scholar-practitioners Jotika and Dhamminda explain sati as having mindfulness or awareness of patthāna s, or that which plunges continuously. Satipatthāna is a method for developing concentration, devotion, embodied ethics, and confidence by attending with mindful awareness to body, feelings, consciousness, and Dhamma to see reality as it is occurring. Cultivating satipatthāna is slowly cultivating prajna over time, which eventually leads to discerning right intention, view, and actions. This contrasts with a scattered mind that skips over such phenomena. 32

In the Buddha’s conversation with Ānanda, he says that his body is at ease and his mind is free only when he ceases to attend to outward things, enters signless concentration, and devout meditation. This is satipatthāna , which is no other than contemplating body, feelings, consciousness, and Dhamma . Contemplating body includes concentration on breathing, awareness of sensations, death, and impermanence. Contemplating feelings is noticing and building awareness of the mind’s discernment of sensations as hot, cool, sharp, tingling, pulsating, dull, and so on, and feelings as pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Contemplating consciousness is building awareness of when the mind is attached, averse, constricted, enlarged, scattered, concentrated, released, and so on. A practitioner contemplates internal and external phenomena arising and ceasing within the mind, seeing such phenomena as mind-objects or Dhamma . Wisdom is knowing that sensations are happening in the body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities of the mind, which are all in and of themselves.

Buddhist chaplains will most likely struggle to reconcile their inner/outer supervisor(s) amidst the most difficult circumstances. There may be difficulty feeling confident and empowered to lead from within. This is part of their spiritual formation. Cultivating this island, lamp, or refuge involves turning inward, being reflexive, exploring the nature of one’s suffering, propensities, and conditioning. Each Buddhist chaplain needs to discern how actions of the ego, little self, realized Self, and multifaceted selves affect interbeing or collective wisdom; thus wisdom is discerning when spiritual leadership is controlling, over-directing, promoting self-interest, unhealthy dependence, and when spiritual leadership is fostering connection, inclusivity, community, or realization of interdependence. Leadership can stimulate experiences to share, as well as skills and insights on how to supervise self and others.

Embracing Identity

Buddhist chaplains may struggle taking refuge in this very moment of suffering and transmitting their practice, however imperfect, inadequate, or incompetent it may seem in that moment. Many non-Buddhists automatically assume that all chaplains are Christian; even monastics in Buddhist robes sometimes get called “Father.” This leaves Buddhist chaplains in a predicament to either deny, disclose, or safeguard their identity upon saying “hello.” Over time this comes at a cost. No matter what direction Buddhist chaplains go, they will each inevitably run up against the many orphaned aspects of themselves. They will face struggles common to all chaplains (e.g., impermanence, sickness, suffering, and death) daily, but they will also meet challenges particular to working at the margins of Christianity. They may experience an identity crisis. Some will easily return to taking refuge in satipatthāna , ritual, invocation, recitation, and other devotional practices. Others will find themselves feeling alone with no one close by, yearning for the support of like-minded Buddhist peers, a feeling of sangha to help enlighten their path.

There is a pain in disconnection, feeling invisible, unseen, or lost. Many Buddhist chaplains end up spending much of their time explaining themselves, educating their CPE supervisors and peers about the basics of being Buddhist (i.e., giving lessons in Buddhism 101). Repeatedly quashing, justifying, or explaining their basic Buddhist identity, teachings, tenets, and praxis to others becomes exhausting. Perhaps on some level, some hope the people surrounding them could understand Buddhism and their culture, so then they might not feel alone, separate, and might be seen for who they are. Embracing one’s Buddhist identity is living with yourselves as a refuge, with the Dhamma as your island, and no other as your refuge.

Functioning as an Island

Buddhist chaplains may struggle to navigate the Middle Path through the suffering (trauma, anxiety, stress, etc.) that arises within spiritual caregiving and receiving. The teaching of “being islands unto yourselves” offers a wonderful framework for supervision. Supervision in this way is learning how to supervise and inhabit this body and mind. An island is not a thing, rather it is an evolution of many things, or aspects of space and time all functioning together. An island is deeply connected to the earth, water, sky, reliant on a multitude of sentient beings that keep it alive and evolving. Buddhism teaches that what we call self or “I” is actually composed of five skanda s: form/matter (Skt : rupa ), feeling/sensation ( vedana ), perception ( samjna ), mental formation/volition ( samskara ), and consciousness ( vijnana ). 33 Each Buddhist chaplain will see the interplay of these skanda s with a different hermeneutic.

The functioning of Buddhist supervisor can model a parallel process where supervisees can learn how to accompany and supervise care-seekers in a similar manner that they were accompanied and supervised, or as the Buddha was for Ānanda and the sangha. In the Handbook of Chaplaincy Studies (2015), healthcare chaplain, psychotherapist, theological educator, and pastoral supervisor Michael Paterson writes: “Supervision moves beyond a tick box exercise to courageous conversations when it confronts chaplains with their own defenses against feeling useless and inadequate and empowers them to befriend their own vulnerability as a place of deep levelling and commonality with those they encounter.” 34 How do supervisors know what to do and how to act? Through the Buddha’s own practice of satipatthāna, understanding and manifestation of Dhamma , he knew how to respond to Ānanda, supervise him, and model a way for Ānanda to find his own answers.

Supervisors and supervisees are on the path, learning, maturing, and accompanying one another through suffering together. Their role is to accompany change. Their function is to be grounded in Buddhist Dhamma , refrain from proselytizing and advising, practice the Middle Path, and share the human experience. In time they will learn how to wear their many hats (e.g., spiritual leader, spiritual counselor, spiritual friend, steward, mentor, bodhisattva, teacher, student), explore many aspects of themselves, ask good questions, be curious, and become more flexible. They will find spiritual friendship ( kalyana-mitra ), mentors, stewards, to help them see the Dhamma more clearly, take refuge, and cultivate themselves as islands. In this way, Buddhist supervision is not a straight path, but in reality is rather tricky; methods for how to supervise one person may not work for another.

Supervising the spiritual formation of yourselves is a true ministry of presence. Taking refuge in the very moment when everything is chaotic is an inner plunge into the devout heart of meditation and thusness. Dhamma is continuously being transmitted, however imperfect things may appear. Chenxing Han’s book Be the Refuge gathers Asian American Buddhist voices to demonstrate a multitude of subtle and overt ways in which chaplaincy, spiritual care, and engaged Buddhism are manifesting in North America. 35 In a book presentation, Han spoke about the simple and profound experience of being here, “for this moment only” (一期一会), quiet, present, and intimate, as a pretty radical thing to do in this global network of technology, capitalism, and business. It is courageous to leave one’s comfort zone, embrace this Buddhist identity, and focus on a path that confronts suffering as it is today.

More important than having a good Buddhist teacher or guide is sangha. Surrounding oneself with spiritual friendships will help uncover the many facets of this island unto yourselves and cultivate the ease of satipatthāna . Developing outer-authority is taking refuge by receiving the Buddhist precepts, and becoming a Buddhist and a part of sangha. Ordination is an empowerment ritual that harmoniously blends inner/outer. Unduly suffering can occur with ideas of self, island, sangha, or “I” as a thing—a one-size-fits-all notion of refuge, identity, place, or sangha that is outside somewhere to seek. Cultivating a relationship with inner/outer sangha can provide a sense of true belonging. To be the refuge is to point directly within to the place where multiple identities converge and many islands coexist, with countless sanghas appearing and disappearing.

Buddhist chaplains get to work in the intersections and gaps of this very being. The growing field of Buddhist chaplaincy is playing a unique role in North America. Buddhist chaplains are in the pursuit of right livelihood. They take Buddhist practices off the cushion to serve suffering outside temple gates and outside their comfort zone. They are widening the idea of sangha. A recent “Mapping Buddhist Chaplaincy in North America” project has begun to research the scope of their identity, education, and functioning with the contemporary landscape. 36 Many islands are creating something together here; a variety of pathways headed in many directions for future chaplains to follow. How can Buddhist chaplains be educated and trained to not only survive in the field, but thrive in the field?

Articulating Buddhist-centered pedagogies may prepare Buddhist chaplains to serve multicultural communities and larger diversities of suffering more effectively. Given Buddhism’s long history of compiled systematic methods of critical and pragmatic reflexive praxis, 37 there is a unique opportunity to articulate specific methodologies for “ministry of presence” 38 or spiritual caregiving from a Buddhist view. Real learning happens when students are brought into relationship with the teacher, each other, and the subject. 39 Curricula can include contracts of care, assessment rubrics, and components of research to develop the field of Buddhist spiritual caregiving. Professors may practice teaching as a form of ministry, and consider educational models that include less lecture, and more contemplative, reflexive, and group learning exercises. Future research directions may include developing Buddhist-centered pedagogies where educators and students sit in circles, incorporate self-care, effectively navigate conflict, and go beyond the classroom walls to address suffering.

Giles, Cheryl A. , and Willa Miller . The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work . Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012 .

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  Giác Tâm , Oriental Culture (Saigon, Vietnam: Buddhist Chaplain Directorate, 1969) . Quân-đội, The Buddhist Chaplain Branch of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (Saigon, Vietnam: Buddhist Chaplain Directorate, 1968) .

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  Scott A. Mitchell , Buddhism in America: Global Religion, Local Contexts (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016), 224 .

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  Jonathan Watts and Yoshiharu Tomatsu , Buddhist Care for the Dying and Bereaved: Global Perspectives (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2012) ; Kirsten DeLeo , Present through the End: A Caring Companion’s Guide for Accompanying the Dying (Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2019) ; Koshin Paley Ellison and Matt Weingast , Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End-of-Life Care (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2016) ; Joan Halifax , Being with Dying (Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2014), 113–123 .

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These two terms are sometime translated as inner/outer ( Anantaram abāhiram karitvā ), both individuals and teachings, not limiting the Dhamma to an inner circle, or barring the Dhamma to others, not discriminating, or making distinctions regarding teachings or disciples.

This refers to the bliss of Arahantship-phalasamāpatti.

These are the four kinds of satipatthāna s (Foundations of Mindfulness) stated in the “Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness,” in Maurice O’C. Walshe , The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012), 335–350 ; also: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/mahasati.pdf .

  Nyanaponika Thera , Hellmuth Hecker , and Bhikkhu Bodhi , Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003), 168–169 ; Maurice O’C. Walshe , The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012), 244–245 . Nārada, The Buddha and His Teachings (Dehiwala: Buddhist Cultural Centre, 2012), 150–152 .

“Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta,” 335–350; also: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/mahasati.pdf .

  S. U. Jotika and U. Dhamminda , Mahāsatipatthāna Sutta: The Greater Discourse on Steadfast Mindfulness (Ye Chan Oh Village, Maymyo, Burma: Migadavun Monastery, 1986), 49 ; Anālayo, Satipatthāna: The Direct Path to Realization (Birmingham, AL: Windhorse, 2003), 29–30 .

  Walpola Rahula , What the Buddha Taught (Bedford, UK: Diemer and Reynolds, 1959) .

  Michael Paterson , “Supervision, Support and Safe Practice,” in A Handbook of Chaplaincy Studies : Understanding Spiritual Care in Public Places , ed. Christopher Swift , Mark Cobb , and Andrew Todd (London: Routledge, 2016), 149 .

  Chenxing Han, Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2021) .

  “Mapping Buddhist Chaplaincy in North America,” Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, December 2022, https://chaplaincyinnovation.org/projects/mapping-buddhist-chaplaincy-n.a.

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  Wendy Cadge . Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013), 77–127 ; Donald Capps , “The Wise Fool Reframed,” in Images of Pastoral Care , ed. Robert C. Dykstra (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2005), 113 .

  Parker J. Palmer , The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life (Newark, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2017); Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018) .

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