MANJU MAGAR is currently a full-time resident in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Since her time at Maitripa College, she has also worked as a healthcare provider and operator of Himalaya Care Home, a family business. Buddhist practice applies to every experience and learning cycle in the hospital, she says.
We have the opportunity to be of service to others at the most vulnerable times of their lives. Supporting patients and families facing death is to gain real life experience, outside of class, which reinforces my understanding of the nature of reality, and the fact that our lives are fragile and impermanent. In the midst of this, I try to practice loving-kindness, and draw inspiration from the example often given in our studies of how a mother cares for a child.
Having Yangsi Rinpoche as my advisor during my MDiv was incredibly fortunate; my inspiration and energy come directly from him. When people appreciate what I bring to CPE, I feel I am not representing only myself, but also Maitripa College and Rinpoche.
Amazing takeaways from my studies at Maitripa College include contemplating the philosophy of interdependence, practicing acceptance of life, and learning meditations to work with anxiety. These are all so helpful.
