The Buddhist Education Foundation of Canada has launched the Buddhist spiritual care initiative in June of 2014. We are working with the Toronto Centre for Applied Buddhism, Emmanuel College, the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Toronto, and the Toronto Buddhist communities to create educational opportunities for Buddhist spiritual care professionals and volunteers.
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Development of Buddhist Counselling and Spiritual Care: June 2014 to Present
We hosted a series of Buddhist chaplaincy roundtables in 2014-15 to learn from and connect with the diverse Buddhist communities in Toronto. This initiative has already led to the endowment of the first Professorship in Chinese Buddhist Studies in Canada (Shi Wu De Professorship) and the creation of a Buddhist chaplaincy program at Emmanuel College in 2015, a Master of Pastoral Studies Program in Buddhism (MPS Buddhism), the first such Buddhist professional education program in Canada that will qualify graduates to be certified with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. Students can also pursue registration with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario by enrolling in the Certificate in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy within the MPS Buddhism program. We are continuing our efforts to support the endowment fund which is not yet fully funded at this time even though the Shi Wu De Professor has been appointed.
For a second time, we have sponsored the Fellowship in Buddhism and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto hosted by the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine.
2020 Buddhist Education Foundation of Canada Fellowship in Buddhism and Psychiatry
In July 2020, Dr. Nicolas Beaulieu, MD, FRCPC, MA was awarded this Fellowship. He was expected to apply and promote the application of the Buddhist teachings in psychiatry in clinical research and practice during the year of fellowship. We are very impressed by the Impact Report written by Dr. Beaulieu upon the completion of his Fellowship.
We currently are fundraising to support a third such Fellowship.
Working with the Toronto Centre for Applied Buddhism (TCAB), we are also supporting efforts to create an applied Buddhism education network connecting with education institutions and centres in Canada and internationally. These courses are currently being offered by TCAB.
Since 2020, the volunteers of TCAB have offered free Buddhist counselling services to over 120 clients. http://appliedbuddhism.ca/buddhist-counselling-service
TCAB initially offered 12 free sessions to our clients. As the wait-list was getting long, it has been changed to 8 sessions. Since 2019, TCAB also hosted three placement students from the Buddhist MPS program at Emmanuel College, the 2020 Fellow in Buddhism and Psychiatry and one placement student from Mohawk College to provide Buddhist counselling and spiritual care to the community.
Our foundation held two Cross-Canada Buddhist Education Community Roundtables in November 2021 seeking advice on creating a Buddhist spiritual care education and practicum program (in 1. Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Education, 2. Buddhist Hospice and Palliative Care Education) that would qualify for accreditation by the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC).
The first round table has resulted in a Buddhist prison book donation and study partnership program. Buddhist books have now been donated to 11 correctional institutions in Ontario and seven institutions across Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, BC.) The Buddhist study partnership correspondence course “Understanding and Transforming Anger with Mindfulness” will be launched in the fall 2023. http://www.buddhisminprisons.ca/buddhist-book-donations-to-prisons.html
The Buddhist prison chaplaincy initiative has not resulted in an accredited education program by CASC as we have found that they have very limited capacity to offer chaplaincy in prison settings. Their focus is primarily on hospital settings.