WELCOME TO THE JUNE NEWSLETTER

This month we will proudly graduate two classes:  Foundations Training with 30 students receiving a certificate of completion and, our first ACPE Buddhist CPE training program with 7 students receiving a certificate acknowledging the completion of one 400 hour Clinical Pastoral Education unit.

In September, we will begin offering a weekly opportunity for our past and current students, along with community caregivers, to sit as a sangha. This will take place on Monday evenings in a Manhattan location TBA. We will have a regular weekly schedule of sitting and a talk or community council practice.

In this newsletter, you will find a teaching by our Guiding Spiritual Teacher, Roshi Enkyo O’Hara, a reflection on the Foundations Training by one of our graduating students and an essay by a Foundation’s alumna on how her creation of a An Offering of Comfort – A Contemplative Response to Futile Treatment has been used in the Palliative Care Department where she works and how she is bringing it out into the world.

May the beginning of summer bring ease to you,

Koshin Paley Ellison + Robert Chodo Campbell

Co-Founders

UPCOMING EVENTS

FOUNDATIONS IN BUDDHIST CONTEMPLATIVE CARE TRAINING PROGRAM 2009/10

Applications are due June 21, 2009.

The Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Caregiving Training Program is a 10-month intensive for people wishing to deepen their practice and integrate contemplative skills in caregiving.  Dates for the educational year run from September 2009 to June 2010, with classes meeting once a month. Students complete individual clinical placements and contact hours throughout the year.

 Teaching Faculty:Robert Chodo Campbell, Koshin Paley Ellison, and Trudi Jinpu Hirsch, with guiding spiritual teacher Roshi Enkyo O'Hara.

For more information and the application, go to: http://zencare.org/chaplaincy/foundations/index.html

---

Introducing Our Contemplative Care Training For Yoga Teachers

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and OM yoga, are collaborating to create a year of rich training in contemplative care for Certified Yoga Teachers.

This innovative new program is designed for yoga teachers who are inspired to integrate contemplative care with their yoga teaching skills in order to deepen their own spiritual practice and their understanding of care based in Buddhist traditions. The students will offer their expertise in hospice, hospitals, and other health institutions. For more information and the application, go to: http://zencare.org/chaplaincy/yoga/index.html

Perhaps the most difficult of the bodhisattva precepts is the one about anger —not holding anger, not justifying anger. We say that working with our anger is the project of transforming suffering into wisdom. What do we mean by that? Throughout all of human life, there is stress, there is injustice, there is disappointment, frustration and grief. How can we tolerate this reality without falling victim to anger and unskillful mind? It is said that Shakyamuni Buddha was visited by four messengers: old age, sickness, death, and a spiritual seeker. The first three messengers generate suffering, and the last, the one who seeks wisdom in the face of reality, turns toward, not away from, suffering. And in that turning toward, transforms the suffering into wisdom. Can we turn toward our anger and the anger of those whom we encounter, recognizing it as a messenger of the possibility of wisdom? Can we choose to water the seeds of compassion and insight rather than self-centered and automatic reaction? How? Conscious intention to let go of our anger, to not justify it, combined with a strong meditation and contemplative practice will gradually erode a lifetime of habitual anger. Good for you, good for your clients.

To hear more of Roshi’s Dharma Talks, click here: http://web.mac.com/enkyoo/Roshi_Enkyo/Roshi/Roshi.html

IN OUR STUDENTS’ WORDS

Inexhaustible

by Karen Duffy, Graduating Foundations Student

My aim in life is to be a good ancestor.   
— Jonas Salk

I thought I knew how to be a caregiver, I’ve had decades of experience volunteering at a local nursing home since I was a kid. In this program, I recognized I was using the same old bag of tricks. I would walk into the dining room like a one woman conga line.  It was all jokey bits, because I thought a caregiver's goal was to cheer up the residents. I didn't realize that I was even doing this until, I slowed down, sat on that little round black cushion and started to explore the gentle, contemplative side of visiting the sick.

Through the training, I have learned the meaning of active listening; I have learned observational skills.  These skills have guided me throughout my 10 months, I have gained perspective and a deeper meaning in the work.  As student contemplative caregivers, we see a lot of suffering, it can be overwhelming but we do our best by showing up every week and being present. At the end of each training class, when we chant the 4 Vows, I focus on the word "Inexhaustible." There is an inexhaustible number of people who are in need.  I am so grateful that I have had this journey. I am so proud to share this experience with such honorable people who are helping others. 

 

---

An Offering of Comfort – A Contemplative Response to Futile Treatment

by Ann Grossman, graduate 2008.

In September, 2007, I had the great fortune to be accepted into the first class of the NYZCCC Chaplaincy Program.

My reasons for applying to the program were multifaceted; but the primary reason was to explore seamless integration of my Buddhist practice into my practice of medicine.

I am a physician assistant, and coordinator of an inpatient Palliative Care Team at Capital Health, in Trenton, New Jersey. Although not all my patients are actively dying, all have some form of chronic, debilitating disease and symptoms that disrupt their life.  I witness my patient’s suffering daily. (to read more click here)

At the moment, all our workshops, public education and trainings are held at various locations that we rent. Our administration and consultations are held in a separate office suite. We are looking for a dedicated training home for the Center, where we could expand our offerings, provide more direct care, train more people and expand our public education programs. Ideally, we are looking for 2,000 + square feet in the union square area—centrally located and near our partner Beth Israel Medical Center. We are looking for a donated or subsidized loft space that would house a contemplative training space, two consulting rooms and an administrative office. All offers and/or leads are welcome. Please contact us at: info@zencare.org

DONATE NOW

Make a tax deductible donation to support our work helping others. You can do that here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=19324

We are looking for pro bono assistance in public relations and someone to transcribe talks from MP3 files. If you, or someone you know might be interested, please contact us at: info@zencare.org

We need a large (12” +) Japanese Hand Hammered Gong for our retreats and offerings. It would look similar to the one pictured here.