DHARMA TEACHING: REV. TRUDI JINPU HIRSCH, OUR CPE SUPERVISOR, ON CHAPLAINCY AND NOT SQUANDERING YOUR LIFE

This may sound admirable, but what does it mean? What shape will it take for Buddhist chaplains?

The story of Buddhism began with the Buddha’s enlightenment and realization that each of us is already “perfect and complete lacking nothing.” At the same time he understood that this could not be taught, and that each one of us must realize it for ourselves. As a Zen Buddhist priest, chaplain and ACPE supervisor I needed a way to introduce the Buddhist community to the practice of chaplaincy, which started out as mainly a Judeo-Christian discipline. As one of the first Buddhist chaplains and chaplain/supervisors,

I was constantly asked: “Why would a Buddhist be at all interested in taking up chaplaincy?” What I came to appreciate through my own CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) journey was that chaplaincy and Buddhism is a beautiful fit. Buddhism abides in impermanence and points to the interconnectedness of all things. Its teachings and practice guide one toward being aware and awake in every moment, that every moment ultimately contains the whole. It asks practitioners to become Bodhisattvas, living their lives on the basis of compassion for all beings without exception. It says there is no separation between oneself and others. All of these teachings are meaningful to and actively practiced in chaplaincy. By having an intimate connection with patients we learn about the miracle of life and about suffering. Caring for these patients guides us toward letting go of the places we are attached to that prevent us from sitting in their shoes. Patients touch our hearts and minds directly and we hear their cry—which is none other than our own.

As a chaplain supervisor I encourage students to acknowledge the possibility of the whole (that each student is “complete and perfect lacking nothing”). Together we explore the unknown “now-ness” and come to realize that the only block to this present moment is what we cling to. We begin to explore the fear that arises as we begin to examine the (at times) concrete image we have of others and ourselves.

The story of Buddhism begins with the famous journey Shakyamuni (Gautama) took as he left his kingdom where he had been comfortable and completely protected from the world and its problems. He journeyed outside the gate into the everyday world of “sickness, old-age and death.” This “face-to-face” teaching of the reality of suffering transformed him. He searched for the meaning of life and eventually, after many years of struggling and despairing, realized the fundamental truths about life and death. Part of his teachings, of more than 40 years, came to be known as “The Four Noble Truths,” which point to the reality that we’re all already sitting in the perfection and miracle of who we really are…we just, as yet, don’t realize it.

In the hospital, our CPE students come face to face with patient after patient. “Life is suffering” (the First of the Four Noble Truths) will no longer be a simple idea that they contemplate in meditation, but the actual day-to-day reality of all beings as s/he visits the various people in the hospital.

“There is a cause of suffering” (the Second Noble Truth) takes on new meaning as the student explores with their patient the spiritual pain built around the desire to keep things the way they are/were, or the way we would like them to be. We reflect on our need to hold on to life and to push away death. “The cessation of suffering” (the Third Noble Truth) will be sought for with fervor as the student becomes inwardly motivated to explore who s/he is and the meaning of life and death for themselves and for their patients.

Looking at your own mortality has always been an essential part of Buddhist practice. We sit for many years looking directly at the nature of death and what contemplating it brings up in each of us. “The Path/Way” is the Fourth Noble Truth and is the inspiration for the creation of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s Buddhist Chaplaincy CPE Units. These units were started as a way to offer members of a Buddhist community the opportunity to engage their practice with the patients in the hospital. We explore breathing, meditation, visualization and relaxation as among the many tools chaplains can offer to particular patients. Students learned to listen with their whole body and mind and to work with patients exploring ways to use these integrative modalities to alleviate pain, worry, sleeplessness, and distress. Students learn to attune to the energy level of the patient. Students expand on the use of observation and mindfulness, and are guided toward being aware of their own feelings and those of their patients moment to moment.

CPE emphasizes the action-reflection-action model of education, which works beautifully with the training that Buddhist students practice. I feel very grateful to be able to offer other Buddhist practitioners a “Way” to make their practice come alive, a “Way” to realize the Four Noble Truths as a living breathing reality. I would like to end this talk with the chant that is said at the end of every evening at the end of Zen meditation practice for the day:

“Let me respectfully remind you

life and death are of supreme importance

time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost

each of us should strive to awaken, AWAKEN!

Take heed…do not squander your life.”