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.
We need your generous support to continue our work. You may make an on-line donation now via the PayPal donation button below:
After making the donation, you will receive a receipt from PayPal. A tax receipt will be emailed to you in January 2027. If the donor information is different from what is entered with PayPal, then please send an email to admin@buddhistedufoundation.com to let us know the name and address and the donation amount to go on your tax receipt. We are grateful for your generous donations!
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 have completed our pledge to support the endowment fund which had enabled the appointment of the Shi Wu De Professor in Chinese Buddhist Studies. Its inaugural appointee Dr. Henry C.H. Shiu has recently published a highly acclaimed book The Heart Sutra Revisiting its Texts, History, and Meaning – Hong Kong University Press.
For a third 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 2024, Dr. Daniel Hughes, 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. Hughes upon the completion of his Fellowship.
We currently are fundraising to support a fourth 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 continuously offered free on-line Buddhist counselling services to clients struggling with mental health challenges. http://appliedbuddhism.ca/buddhist-counselling-service
The services offered by TCAB’s volunteers who are mental health professionals and placement students are immensely appreciated by its clients inside the Canadian Buddhist community and beyond.
TCAB offers at least 8 free sessions to its clients. Since 2019, TCAB also hosted five placement students from the Buddhist MPS program at Emmanuel College, the 2020, 2022 and 2024 Fellows 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 community advice on creating a Buddhist spiritual care education and practicum program (in 1. Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Education, 2. Buddhist Hospice and Palliative Care Education). In 2022, we have begun to support a Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Program via TCAB involving donations of Buddhist books to correctional institutions in Canada and the offering Buddhist courses to be studied by incarcerated men and women wanting to learn Dharma to change their lives. https://www.buddhisminprisons.ca/