The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work

by Cheryl A Giles (Editor), Willa B Miller (Editor), Pat Enkyo O'Hara (Preface by), Judith Simmer-Brown (Foreword by)

Overview

Powerful and life-affirming, this watershed volume brings together the voices of pioneers in the field of contemplative care--from hospice and hospitals to colleges, prisons, and the military. Illustrating the day-to-day words and actions of pastoral workers, each first-person essay in this collection offers a distillation of the wisdom gained over years of compassionate experience. The stories told here are sure to inspire--whether you are a professional caregiver or simply feel inclined toward guiding, healing, and comforting roles. If you are inspired to read this book, or even one touching story in it, you just might find yourself inspired to change a life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614290377
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	11/24/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Cheryl A. Giles, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Francis Greenwood Peabody Professor of the Practice in Pastoral Care and Counseling at Harvard Divinity School, where she is core faculty member of the Buddhist Ministry Program.

Lama Willa Miller has studied and practiced in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for the last twenty years. Her teaching specialties include natural meditation, heart-cultivation, body-based Buddhist yoga, and practices for deep retreat. She earned her PhD in Religion at Harvard University, where she also assistant teaches. She is author of the book Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (Quest Books, 2009), a practical guide for getting started on the spiritual path.

Table of Contents

Preface Pat Enkyo O'Hara xi

Foreword Judith Simmer-Brown xiii

Editors' Preface Cheryl A. Giles Willa B. Miller xvii

I The Roots of Contemplative Care: Foundations of a Discipline

Toward a Definition of Buddhist Chaplaincy, Jennifer Block 3

Cultivating an Appropriate Response: Educational Foundations for Buddhist Chaplains and Pastoral Care Providers, Daijaku Judith Kinst 9

Meditation Is Not Enough, Wakoh Shannon Hickey 17

SPOT: A Training Program for Buddhists in America, Lew Richmond and Grace Schireson 27

Beyond the Color Line: Cultivating Fearlessness in Contemplative Care, Cheryl Giles 41

II Serving the Sick: The Arts of Hospital Chaplaincy

The Four Noble Truths as a Framework for Contemplative Care, Trudi Jinpu Hirsch 55

Buddhist Chaplaincy in a Christian Context: A Personal Journey, Mark Power 63

The Turning of the Dharma Wheel in Its Many Forms, Robert Chodo Campbell 73

Widening the Circle: Engaged Bodhichitta in Hospital Chaplaincy, Chris Berlin 81

The Jeweled Net: What Dogen and the Avatamsaka Sutra Can Offer Us as Spiritual Caregivers, Koshin Paley Ellison 93

The Way of the Chaplain: A Model Based on a Buddhist Paradigm, Mikel Ryuho Monnett 105

III Dharma Behind Bars: The Arts of Prison Ministry

Gary's Story, Dean Sluyter 113

Compassion Radiates through Rock, Margot Neuman, with Gary Allen 121

We Belong to One Another, Penny Alsop 133

All My Relations, Richard Torres 141

Caring for Each Other Behind Prison Walls, Nealy Zimmermann 149

Buddhists Behind Bars, Terry Conrad 161

IV Wielding Manjushri's Sword: The Arts of College and Military Chaplaincy

May You Always Be a Student, Danny Fisher 173

Changing Our Mind, Transforming Our World, Ji Hyang Padma 185

Buddhist Pastoral Ministry in the Military, Thomas Dyer 193

V Living with Dying: The Arts of End-of-Life Care

Spiritual Care with the Dying, Tenzin Chodron 207

Community and Compassion in Care of the Dying, Joan Halifax 219

Awakening Kindness: End-of-Life Care in a Social Model Hospice, Randy Sunday 231

Being a Compassionate Presence: The Contemplative Approach to End-of-Life Care, Kirsten Deleo 243

Finding Acceptance at the Heart of Things, Carlyle Coash 253

A Little Nowness, Ginger Brooks 265

Ten Slogans to Guide Contemplative Care, Victoria Howard 273

VI The Pastoral Role of the Dharma Teacher: The Arts of Ministry

Thus I Have Listened: A Reflection on Listening as Spiritual Care, Willa Miller 281

Wrong Speech: Knowing When It's Best to Lie, Lin Jensen 291

Report from the Field: Being an American Zen Buddhist Minister, Steve Kanji Ruhl 301

Buddha, Dharma, and Community Ministry in the City, Rebecca O. Johnson 309

Family Programming in Buddhist Community, Sumi Loundon Kim 315

Internet Resources for Buddhist Chaplaincy and Ministry 325

Selected Bibliography 327

Reprint Permissions 331

Index 333

Editorial Reviews

"A must-read for caregivers and others seeking to actualize genuine compassion beyond hope and fear—a treasure trove of practical wisdom."

Fleet Maull

"My heartfelt wish is that the chaplaincy movement represented in this volume will grow and reach people like us who are in need. Just as our hearts can open wide enough to hold all the suffering in the world, so too, may Buddhist chaplaincy blossom."

Toni Bernhard

"A valuable, honest and wise handbook—and a beautiful sign of the blossoming of Dharma in the West."

Jack Kornfield

"This inspiring collection marks the coming-of-age of Buddhist chaplaincy in the United States. The Arts of Contemplative Care will be the principal handbook for such ministries in the years to come."

Christopher Queen

"Historically, Buddhism takes root in new cultures when it begins to meet their deepest human needs in fresh and profoundly effective ways. This volume demonstrates how Buddhist chaplaincy and contemplative care now play a crucial role in the mutual transformation of Buddhism and the West, and how we can participate in the deep healing that they bring to those who suffer."

John Makransky

"At a time when so many of us are facing the myriad challenges which come with caring for our elderly, sick and imprisoned kin, this wise, compassionate and practical guide comes along to aid us and to give us courage. This collection is a great contribution to all caregivers."

Jan Willis

"This book is destined to become the core text of Buddhist Chaplaincy. A radical and wise offering to the world."

Noah Levine

"At a time when so many of us are facing the myriad challenges which come with caring for our elderly, sick and imprisoned kin, this wise, compassionate and practical guide comes along to aid us and to give us courage. This collection is a great contribution to all caregivers." —Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist and Buddhist: One Woman’s Spiritual Journey

“This inspiring collection marks the coming-of-age of Buddhist chaplaincy in the United States. The Arts of Contemplative Care will be the principal handbook for such ministries in the years to come.” —Christopher Queen, Harvard University, editor of Engaged Buddhism in the West

“Historically, Buddhism takes root in new cultures when it begins to meet their deepest human needs in fresh and profoundly effective ways. This volume demonstrates how Buddhist chaplaincy and contemplative care now play a crucial role in the mutual transformation of Buddhism and the West, and how we can participate in the deep healing that they bring to those who suffer.” —John Makransky, Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, and author of Awakening Through Love

"This book is destined to become the core text of Buddhist Chaplaincy. A radical and wise offering to the world." — Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx

“A valuable, honest and wise handbook—and a beautiful sign of the blossoming of Dharma in the West.” —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

“A must-read for caregivers and others seeking to actualize genuine compassion beyond hope and fear—a treasure trove of practical wisdom.” —Fleet Maull, founder of the Prison Dharma Network, the National Prison Hospice Association, and the Center for Contemplative End of Life Care Programs at Naropa University

“My heartfelt wish is that the chaplaincy movement represented in this volume will grow and reach people like us who are in need. Just as our hearts can open wide enough to hold all the suffering in the world, so too, may Buddhist chaplaincy blossom.”—Toni Bernhard, author of How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers

From the Publisher