Buddhist Contemplative Care

This course introduces students to the theory and professional practice of Buddhist contemplative care, through scholarly literature on the roots of this form of Buddhist engaged practice in various Buddhist traditions, as well as the educational foundations of Buddhist pastoral and spiritual care, the understanding of the Buddhist approach to death and dying, and the art of end-of-life care. Students will also learn from the experiences of successful models of Buddhist contemplative care in North America and Asian countries like Taiwan. The knowledge will be practical to professional medical caregivers, to allow them to understand the anxiety and fear of their patients with a Buddhist worldview, so as to provide more suitable and meaningful palliative care. Through such discussions, one also comes to understand Buddhist contemplative care as the next stage of engaged Buddhist practice, and the new vision of the role of Bodhisattvas through the perils of everyday life.