El Papel de un Capellán - The Role of the Chaplain

En un esfuerzo por sacar a la luz el valor de la capellanía, BuddhistDoor en Español ofrece una serie de entrevistas con capellanes budistas. La capellanía es casi desconocida en los países de habla hispana, y BDE quiere hacer lo que pueda para apoyar el desarrollo de esta ofrenda compasiva. Con esto en mente, BDE entrevistó a Ayya Dhammadipa para su serie de capellanía. La entrevista en español se puede encontrar en su sitio web aquí.

Ayya también ha traducido la entrevista al inglés a continuación.

In an effort to bring to light the value of chaplaincy, BuddhistDoor en Español is offering a series of online interviews with Buddhist chaplains. Chaplaincy is nearly unheard of in Spanish-speaking countries, and BDE wants to do what they can to support the development of this compassionate offering. With that in mind, BDE interviewed Ayya Dhammadipa for their chaplaincy series. The interview in Spanish can be found on their website here.

Ayya has also translated the interview into English below.

BuddhistDoor en Español: How would you define Buddhist chaplaincy? What tasks and responsibilities does a chaplain have? What motivates a person to be a chaplain?

 DD: The most important responsibility of a chaplain is to help others find their own ways of seeking and expressing the meaning of what they are experiencing. A chaplain brings their presence and their respect for any human being to the moments when someone is facing the mystery and challenge of life.  That is why the chaplain is often a role associated with hospitals, hospices, and universities.

The role is about listening deeply, sharing or obtaining resources, and providing care and support in important or difficult times.  Sometimes, if people see their lives through the lens of spirituality, a chaplain helps them express that in the form of prayers, ceremonies, or memorials.  That is the role both in relationship to patients or students and their relatives, as well as to the staff who care for them.

I was interested in becoming a chaplain because it is a role in which you are intimate with people in a way where you can directly express your compassion toward them. It is a way to help even though you know you cannot solve the problems of that person's life.

BDE: You have been ordained in the Theravada tradition and in the Zen tradition, what are the requirements and how did you train to be a Buddhist chaplain in both traditions?

DD: In the United States, the training of a chaplain is defined by the organizations that provide the certifications and by the employers. It is independent of one's tradition, although one must be in "good standing" in their tradition to begin training. Generally, a chaplain needs between one and four units of "clinical pastoral education (CPE)." Each unit is a three-month training in a hospital certified to train chaplains. After that, there is a period when you can apply for a certificate. You will need to show proof of your education as a priest, deacon, or other spiritual person, your degree in religion or something similar, and your hours of experience. As employers of trained chaplains, hospitals are the most demanding. Sometimes other employers like hospices and universities don't require one to have the certificate and prefer more experience at the bedside.

That said, what Buddhist training gives us is the ability to face suffering gently, but in a fruitful and stable way. It helps us understand the tendencies of the mind and how suffering or peace arises from them. And it reminds us of the value of compassion, the value of being near human beings and being intimate with their experiences of body and mind. This is unlike other spiritual traditions where perhaps suffering is not well understood.

BDE: What institutional or material support do you have to carry out your service?

DD: Collaboration with the religious people in the lives of the people we are caring for is very important. That is, the chaplain does not try to replace someone's rabbi, priest, or Buddhist teacher. On the contrary, it is often the chaplain who calls those who can offer the sacraments, prayers, or other rituals and sacred words of the patient's tradition.

It is also important that chaplains are integrated with the other services being provided to clients or patients. For example, in the hospital where I did my training, and in the hospice where I later worked, the chaplains were part of the clinical team that met every day to consider the treatment plan for each patient. We also coordinated with social workers to support patients and their relatives, especially when they were going home.

BDE: We know that you have helped to accompany the seriously or terminally ill, what is the best service that a chaplain can provide in these circumstances?

DD: When a person truly accepts the fact that they have reached the end of their life, which may be moments or months before they pass away, the most important thing is to try to resolve issues that feel unresolved. If there are wounds or grievances that can be faced and put to rest, it helps folks to put that suffering behind them and leave in peace. There are also people who want to share stories or financial resources at the end, and talking about their plans with a chaplain sometimes helps them enjoy the goodness that comes from that generosity. Sometimes they are relieved that a chaplain can hear their confession or give them a blessing. The most important thing is that they feel resolved.

In other cases, people are no longer conscious when the chaplain arrives. At such times, you can still talk, hold hands, or sing something soft to soothe and support them.

And the relatives of the person who is dying need to understand how they themselves feel and how they will continue after the death of this person. Knowing how to help a person grieve, both before the death of their loved one and afterward, is very helpful.

BDE: You have also helped people in prison detention, please tell us some experience in performing this task as a chaplain.

I was one of the people at the San Francisco Zen Center who offered meditation instruction for women who were in jail and not in prison, so they only expected to be there for a short time. In that case, what interested them most and what seemed very skillful to me was to teach them how to meditate in a simple way, observing thoughts and feelings, and developing the ability to choose whether they were going to act on those thoughts or let them go. I tried to help them feel that they were creating healthier mental habits, so they could change their lives and not go back to jail.

BDE: In your opinion, what qualities should a chaplain have? What do you recommend to those who want to be chaplains?

In the role of the chaplain we see again and again that a person’s very presence can be a support for someone who is suffering or confused. And if we are willing to be that presence – stable, open-hearted, and ready to explore the depths without converting that person to our point of view – we can be the presence of compassion in life's most intimate moments.

From that point of view, an essential quality for the chaplain is to know how to create and maintain their own stability. It is a very demanding role because when feelings and desires arise during encounters with patients or students, we must know how to resolve that within ourselves or with other chaplains, and not introduce that into the encounter. Buddhism is particularly helpful for developing that skill because it gives us various tools to understand ourselves and to rely on our inner capacity for mental and physical stability.

For those who want to be chaplains, a good way to start is as a volunteer. That way, you will have the opportunity to see what situations arise and how the people who are part of the care team handle them.  Chaplaincy is a role that really helps others, and I recommend it.

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