The word “chaplain” originates in the Latin word for ‘cloak,’ and for medieval Christians, recalled the story of Saint Martin. This saint one day came upon a poor man, getting drenched in a downpour, and responded by tearing his long cloak in two, giving half to the other man, so they could both share in protection from and comfort in the storm.

Contemporary chaplaincy in the United States is rooted in the nation’s founding, with the recognized needs for both securing religious freedom and serving the spiritual needs of citizens. Today, there are two defining characteristics of chaplains: they work outside of religious institutions, and they serve the spiritual needs of all people.

Most people obtaining an MDiv degree from a seminary, theological school, or graduate school are obtaining the degree as an educational qualification for professional chaplaincy. However, that is not the only thing you can do with an MDiv! (see below).

Increasingly, Buddhists have recognized that the fruits of their practice – compassion, skillful means, equanimity, non-anxious presence, willingness to face suffering, seeing the sacred in death and dying, etc. – are a good match for meaningful livelihood as a chaplain. Chaplaincy associations and employers have noticed that Buddhist values and practices are aligned closely with the competencies desired in a good chaplain, and pathways to professionalization for Buddhists (and non-Christians) have steadily expanded to meet the needs of changing religious demographics in North America. The emergence of Buddhist or contemplative spiritual care has been pioneered as a field of theory, praxis, research, and education since 2010.

All chaplains need to be grounded in their own traditions in order to draw out the spiritual resources of others and be in service to their needs. Buddhist education for spiritual care creates doctrinal, ethical, spiritual, personal, and religious foundations for discerning one’s personal theology of care. The relationships to tradition, to teachers, to community and peers become supports for growth of compassion, wisdom, and ethics, empowering capacities to meet the suffering of others right where they are, and respond appropriately.