“Do not close your eyes before suffering. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contacts and visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.”
—Guatama Buddha
As Buddhist spiritual practice finds an increasing presence within American society and science, there is both an opportunity and a need to train people in Buddhist practices to serve as contemplative caregivers. The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care offers 2 individual contemplative training programs and 1 Master Level Buddhist Studies program. All programs are unique opportunities to study Buddhist principles and practices relevant to contemplative caregiving, as well as an introduction to the psychological, social, and ethical issues related to caregiving:
Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care Training Program
(Continuing Education Credits are available for Nurses and Social Workers for this program).
This nine-month course provides an introduction to contemplative care skills with a Buddhist approach, and is a pre-requisite for those interested in our CPE Training Program.
Our comprehensive contemplative care training can begin in one of our Foundations Programs. In our Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Caregiving Training Program, students enrolled in this Training conduct their clinical hours at facilities like Beth Israel Medical Center, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, or places in your community (one third of our students have come from out of state or out of the country). This Training teaches people who are already caregivers and those interested in caregiving to integrate contemplative practices with their caregiving. You can also apply to receive six graduate seminary credits, from our partnership with the Institute of Buddhist Studies for this Training.
To see Course Details, click here.
Professional Chaplaincy Training: Clinical Pastoral Education
Train as a professional chaplain with leaders in the Buddhist Contemplative Care field. Offered to our graduates of the Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care Training Program, this year-long course provides 1 Unit of advanced, professional clinical training.
Those wishing either to become certified chaplains or to simply deepen the integration of Buddhist teachings and practices into their caregiving avocation can continue training through our advanced CPE courses. The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care is fully accredited by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and is the first Buddhist organization to offer a fully accredited ACPE Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Buddhist Chaplaincy Training course, training students in spiritual and educational skills from a Buddhist perspective.
4 Units are required to complete the clinical portion for chaplaincy certification, and all four units are offered through NYZCCC, one to two units per year. A 72 semester credit graduate theological degree, or the equivalency of, is also required for certification and is not currently provided by NYZCCC.
Master Level Buddhist Studies
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care along with New York Theological Seminary are providing a Buddhist track of studies within NYTS Master of Pastoral Care and Counseling degree program. Students are able to matriculate into this program and have the choice to audit or attend classes for credit.
We are happy to extend this offering with NYTS to those interested in integrating Buddhist studies and practice into their professional or non-professional training path. To learn more about the current classes and offerings, click here.
