Bodhisattva Chaplaincy Training.
Candidate for the Bodhisattva's Chaplaincy Training
A suitable candidate for the bodhisattva's training
is one gifted with faith, kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy, equanimity, and intelligence.
One possessing a willingness to persevere through
all obstacles healing their own minds and hearts
so they may return to their communities as a
beacon of change.
A suitable candidate for the bodhisattva's training should have the following qualities: faith in the collections of teachings on the Universal Way and in the spiritual guides of that tradition, loving-kindness and compassion toward others, intelligence [capable of] realizing profound and magnificent [doctrines], and the stamina to engage with courage in a vast range of [bodhisattva] practices, including; the four means of attracting disciples, the six perfections, and the eight fold path. This individual should not seek personal peace and happiness but will learn to work with joy in order to liberate all sentient beings. He or she should be energetic and delight in hearing about the profound subject of emptiness. The presences of these qualities indicate a spiritual potential in which the Universal Way can awaken.
Why become a Dharma teacher, Chaplain or Buddhist Priest?
People enter a spiritual path for many reasons. However, the greatest aspiration is to awaken heart and mind and care for others more than self, recognizing our great oneness. The path of the Bodhisattva is one of devotion to all that may suffer. When we have cultivated great understanding of our situation we develop self-realization of ourselves and love for the world we serve.
Great Zen Master
"People do not recognize that their own minds are the true Buddha. They do not recognize that their own natures are the true dharma. They want to search for the dharma, yet they still look far away for holy ones. They want to search for the Buddha, yet they will not observe their own minds. If they aspire to the path of Buddha-hood while obstinately holding to their feeling that the Buddha is outside the mind or the dharma is outside the nature, then, even though they pass through kalpas as numerous as dust motes, writing sutras with their own blood, never lying down to sleep, eating only one offering a day, or even studying through the entire tripitaka and cultivating all sorts of ascetic practices, it is like trying to make rice by boiling sand, it will only add to their tribulation."
- Secrets on Cultivating the Mind
Zen Master Chinul (1158-1210)
Suitable Candidates
Candidates are required to participate in a worker dharma program for the cultivation of mindful attitude in everyday life for up to three months. The Dharma worker program is a weekend volunteer program at the Buffalo Zen Center to cultivate a proper practice. Applicants must take the beginners meditation course and are also encouraged to take Precepts the Universal Principles of Right Livelihood.
Study and Practice Term
Bodhisattva Training is three-year program with two terms per year. The first beginning January 15 and ending in early August will consist of a 200-day practice period, Monday through Friday, excluding weekends followed by a second term commencing September 5 thru December 15. This secondary term will consist of a 100-day practice period, also Monday through Friday, excluding weekends. There is a one-month vacation in summer and a one-month vacation in winter.
Upon completion of the 300 practice period days per year along with yearly requirements and assessments for three consecutive years, you will graduate with a Dharma Degree and Ordination Certificate. The certification can also be achieved in five years with the annual completion of 200 practice period days being observed per year, as well as satisfying annual requirements and evaluations.
Study and Practice Program
Formal Morning and Evening Practice
All Dharma students will observe a daily formal morning and evening practice at home Monday through Friday. Dharma students must rise early enough to accomplish full formal morning practice, which can be completed in approximately one hour. Dharma students are advised to go outside after washing in order to limber up and then return inside for prostrations and morning practice. Evening practice will require approximately one-half hour. It is recommended that Dharma students bathe and stretch to refresh themselves before beginning evening practice, which should be scheduled immediately upon returning from work before engaging in any other activities. Live-in Dharma students will follow the daily and weekly temple schedule. There is no formal practice schedule on weekends, but all Dharma students should set aside a minimum of three to four hours for their study program every weekend.
Informal Practice
All Dharma students are advised to do their informal Dharma practice in the midst of their daily lives whenever they can. It is said that practice in the midst of activities is superior to the practice in quiet and solitude. Meditation and a Buddhist practice will fail unless they help you cope with daily demands. Turn your work and workplace into a wonderful Dharma center for mindful work. Use your breath, awareness, and letting go practice in order to maintain stability and enjoy peace of mind for your Dharma practice.
Keeping a Practice Journal
Monday through Friday during the practice period at the end of each day all Dharma students must keep their practice journal following the guidelines for journal entry. You can write your journal entry directly after evening practice if you choose. Guidelines for journal entry are:
- List your formal morning and evening practice indicating maximum or minimum in numbers
- For your informal practice during the day time, reflect upon the following three points:
- What made you happy?
- What troubled you most?
- How much time did you waste in idle chit chat, worrying about things needlessly, fostering angry or unhappy emotions, watching television or videos?
- Reflect on your Dharma student life of the day in a few sentences.
For second and third year students, you should write awakening of the day entry in no more than two sentences after the reflection.
Dharma Student Meetings
Approximately every 25 days (always on Saturday) Dharma students get together at the Buffalo Zen Center. Plan to stay overnight at the Center; you should arrive by 7 p.m. on Friday evening for ritual and devotional practice. At 6 a.m. Saturday morning you will awake for meditation and the Dharma student meeting. After breakfast, you attend a seminar. Dharma students, who cannot attend the Dharma student meetings at the Center, are required to email or fax their practice journals and hold Dharma student meetings by phone with their mentor or teacher.
Six Gates of Liberation
- The Liberation Gate of Meditation Practice
- The Liberation Gate of Doctrinal Study
- The Liberation Gate of Rituals and Ceremonials
- The Liberation Gate of Cultivation of Devotional Heart
- The Liberation Gate of Caring for other more than yourself.
- The Liberation Gate of Cultivation of Wisdom Heart
The Liberation Gate of Meditation Practice
The first year novice will learn humility and how to enjoy peace of mind by focusing attention on the task at hand. Second year juniors will take the Advanced Meditation Course and learn to use the power of their unknowing mind for hwadu Zen or Dhyana practice and learn how to use the power of concentration to cultivate a boundless heart. Third year seniors will learn how to make herself/himself available mindfully for public service and teaching. They will learn to conduct public meditation and Dharma services and to offer introductory meditation courses and retreats.
The Liberation Gate of Doctrinal Study
The first year novice student will study the life of the Buddha, His great disciples and early canonical scriptures. They will also study the visual art history of Buddhism, such as the iconography of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Second year juniors will study Prajnaparamita wisdom literature, including the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. They will also study the early history of Zen Buddhism and the Platform Sutra. Third year seniors will study the history of Korean Son (Zen Buddhism), Flower Ornament (Hua-yen) Sutra, and socially engaged Buddhism. At the end of each term, Dharma students are required to write an essay for their assignment.
Topics of Study
An informed and capable chaplain and Buddhist teacher must have knowledge of the greater communities’ faith traditions. Graduates of the program will be prepared to properly address individuals at their spiritual and emotional level, nurturing greater acceptance and understanding of other’s faith traditions and philosophy. Graduates will learn basic wisdom skills when dealing with difficult situations that arise in the pastoral role.
First Year First Term:
A. The Life of the Buddha, Dhammapada
B. Teachings of Christian Tradition: Bible
C. Teachings of Jewish Tradition: Vidui, Kadish
D. Teaching of Islam: Koran
E. Compare and Contrast different traditions
First Year Second Term
A. The Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha
B. Native American Traditions
C. Taoist Teachings: Lao Tzu
D. Novice Student Training
E. Breath Meditation
F. Active Listening and Communication skills for Ministry
Second Year First Term
A. The Diamond Sutra
B. The Heart Sutra
C. Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
D. Hwadu and Koan Practice
E. Working with Displaced Individuals.
Second Year Second Term
A. Buddhist Rituals & Ceremonials
B. Pastoral care and bereavement study.
C. Prajnaparamita/sunyata
D. Zen
Third Year First Term
A. Korean Zen
B. Buddhist Traditions: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana Schools.
C. Vajrayana attunements for healing and awakening.
D. Being with Dieing
Third Year Second Term
A. Socially Engaged Buddhism (conflict and diversity.)
B. Avatamsaka-Suttra
C. One unit of Certified Pastoral Education
You can chose one topic and focus on a particular period or philosophy in order to shed the light of your understanding and wisdom. For instance, you can focus on the life of pre-enlightenment Buddha or post-enlightenment Buddha. If you decide to do your essay on the life of pre-enlightenment Buddha, for example, you can further narrow it down to the life of pre-enlightenment Buddha before renunciation or after renunciation, and so forth. The minimum requirement for your assignment is one essay per year. The essay length is 5 to 15 pages double-spaced.
In addition to completing the essay, Dharma students are required to give one oral presentation at the joint Dharma Student Meeting in July each year for evaluation purposes. Please consult the required and recommended reading list.
The Liberation Gate of Rituals and Ceremonials
The first year novice student will memorize and chant the Great Compassion Dharani and Yebul for daily ritual practice. English chants such as the Heart Sutra and the Three Refuge formula will also be memorized. They also learn to do kido chanting, to break open their voice for public service occasions along with the daily use of ritual objects and musical instruments. The second year junior will learn to perform public meditation services, weddings, funerals, memorial services, and purification ceremonies. They will be instructed in repentance and forgiveness services. Third year students will learn to perform Buddhist holiday ceremonials, home visits, civic and religious ceremonies and functions. All students are trained under the guidance of qualified instructors and will be required to demonstrate proficiency.
The Liberation Gate of Cultivation of Devotional Heart and Wisdom Heart
The cultivation of virtues is essential for the Dharma career of each student. In order to evaluate these two gates, Dharma students are advised to follow the triple heart practice. The first heart is a sincere heart. When Buddhists say that all sentient beings are Buddhas the first proof is that each and every one of us is capable of manifesting a sincere heart, but often we neglect this potential. Dharma students are urged to display their sincere heart, which is no other than their Buddha heart, through Dharma student practice. The second heart is a good heart that is free from major defilements, such as hatred, ill feelings, and resentments. The third heart is a pure heart that can harmonize with all circumstances and respond to all situations without harmful effects.
Home Altar
All non-residential Dharma students are advised to set up a home altar and enshrine a seated or standing statue of Buddha Shakyamuni in any of the postures; Earth-witness, Meditation, Wish-fulfilling, Reassurance, or Teaching. If you cannot find or obtain a suitable statue of Buddha Shakyamuni for your altar, a painting or a bodhi leaf from Bodhgaya will serve the purpose. The height of the home altar should be between 100 cm (1 meter) and 175 cm depending on the size of your Buddha statue, and the size of the shrine room and ceiling height.
Altar furnishings should include an altar cloth, two candleholders, an incense burner, and a water bowl. You are advised to make offerings of fruits, flowers, or nuts and seeds once or twice a week. When you buy fruits or nuts and seeds, select the best quality and offer them on the altar. When you make bread or cakes, please offer them first on the altar.
A small sutra desk placed before the altar is ideal for your mokt'ak and sutras. Your mat and cushion can be placed in front of the sutra desk for prostrations and meditation. Keep your altar area neat.
There are maximum and minimum requirements for each year of Dharma student training. You will not advance until you meet the minimum requirements for each level. Dharma students who aspire to become qualified Buddhist teachers in the West, must be prepared to pass through all the spiritual gates of devotional heart and wisdom heart.
Tuition and Scholarship Opportunity
Tuition per term is $700 ($1200 per year). For full-time and low-income students, the fee is $500 per term.
There is a scholarship for live-in Dharma students who serve on the Temple staff. Those who would like to apply for the live-in Dharma student scholarship are asked to first participate, for two to three months in the Visitor's Program. During the Visitor’s Program you will be required to pay for instruction as well as room and board. If the Temple director accepts you after the Visitor's Program, the Temple will provide you with room and board, training, and other necessities in exchange for your full-time service; scholarship students serve on the Temple staff during their Maitreya Buddhist Seminary training.
The third option is to participate in the Visitor's Program first, and then become a Temple resident who holds an outside job. These Temple residents pay for room and board, plus regular tuition.
Pure Standards for Dharma Students
1. Always remember that you are a direct descendent from Buddha Shakyamuni and the inheritor of His right Dharma. Do not fail to honor your teacher and to serve your Dharma friends free from worldly thoughts.
2. The body-and-mind of a true Dharma student is the body of ultimate truth or Dharmakaya. Our original body-and-mind is a great liberated being untainted by defilements and the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, cultivate yourself, trusting that your original face is no other than the pure and perfect mind. It is a true Dharma student with an awakened heart who trusts in his/her original self and develops faith mind. Shake off inferior feelings and rise from self-conceit or self-pity with the knowledge that your own original mind is Buddha, and your faith firm in the Buddhist teachings of self-help.
3. Always cherish your beginner's mind. The purity and strong feeling of your first mind have the Dharma power to convert your difficulties and troubles into a valuable gift and joy.
4. Nothing fails to inspire and enlighten the true Dharma student. Please keep in mind that the harder the work and the more daunting the task you face the better grist for your Dharma future.
5. Truthfulness and faithfulness are the virtues of being human. Purity of speech karma is the guiding light in your life of the three karmic deeds (body, thought, and speech). Always speak the truth and be truthful like a mirror.
6. The bodhisattva workers of the Buddhist movement for the salvation of the world must learn the Six Perfections and Four All-Embracing Virtues, so that they are able to offer comfort and hope to those who are distressed and troubled, and love and joy to those who are sick and tired.
Six Paramita (Perfections)
1) May I be generous and helpful.
2) May I be pure and virtuous.
3) May I be patient, able to bear & forbear the wrongs of others.
4) May I be strenuous, energetic and persevering.
5) May I practice meditation and attain concentration and oneness to
serve all beings.
6) May I gain wisdom and give the benefit of my wisdom to others.
Four All-Embracing Virtues
1) Giving and sharing,
2) Kind and friendly speech,
3) Conduct beneficial to others,
4) Selfless service to all.
7. The key to the Buddhist movement lies in the practice of love and compassion. It is easy to make mistakes and difficult to remain completely free from faults in the worldly life full of conflicts. Therefore, Dharma students should be willing to learn from their mistakes and misdeeds through moral discipline and repentance practice. True and sincere repentance practice helps develop a compassionate heart towards the wrongs of others. Through your own mistakes and misdeeds, you learn to understand, forgive and love your fellow beings of the world. Repent, love, and be happy! You will discover the path to Big Happiness - helping yourself is helping others, and helping others is helping yourself.
Noble Eight-Fold Path
1) Correct View- is the beginning and the end of the path; it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truth. Right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.
2) Correct thinking- is the mental energy that controls our actions. Right thinking can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions:
1. The intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire. 2. The intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion. 3. The intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
3) Correct Speech- Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient; however it is essential because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others,
3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and
4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak gently with friendly warmth, and to speak only when necessary.
4) Correct Action The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and
3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the 8 precepts.
5) Correct Livelihood - Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason:
1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution),
3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.
6) Correct Effort - can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavors that rank in ascending order of perfection:
1. To prevent the arising of un-arisen unwholesome states,
2. To abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen,
3. To arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen
4. To maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.
7) Correct Mindfulness- is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualize sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facility of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.
8) Correct Meditation - The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointed ness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations
Everyday Admonition for Dharma Students
1. Please perform your formal morning practice faithfully Monday through Friday. Your morning practice is the place of your awakening that you are the living embodiment of the Buddha through your response to the Buddha Shakyamuni and spiritual communion with His tradition of wisdom and compassion. Always begin your day cheerfully with your morning practice and examine yourself before you retire and give thanks to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the day. (Yebul)
2. Follow your weekly Dharma schedule, be fully accountable for your duties and do your utmost. (Sense of Duty)
3. Enlightenment and truth are always before your eyes and within your reach. Enlightenment is the pure and sincere heart of practice itself, and the truth is the spirit of practice that all sentient beings are Buddha. Accordingly, there is no enlightenment or truth apart from the common ordinary person and the everyday task. You should know that it is delusion to run around looking for truth and enlightenment, and to seek or anticipate them from the outside. Let go of your delusion. The mind of the Dharma student should be one of fortitude with the faith and power of the Bodhisattva Vow and free from fear, angst and worries. So keep your mind in alignment everyday. (Life of No Delusion)
4. Repent, seek forgiveness and restore yourself right away if you caused trouble to others, committed wrongdoings or made blunders through carelessness and inattention. Keep your mind free from guilt and remorse through sincere repentance and avoid retribution such as hatred and enmity. Constant repentance is constant awakening. (Repentance)
5. The body-and-mind of the Dharma student should be poor and pure. Care for goods and articles. They are the properties of the Three Jewels. Use them clean and sparingly so that they last. Recycle them when they are no longer useful. Clean utensils and implements after use and put them where they belong. Try to manage with less or loss, if possible, but be generous and helpful to others as much as possible. (Hidden Virtue)
6. Always keep your dwelling and environment clean and tidy. To take good care of your dwelling place and temple environment is to take good care of the body-and-mind of your Dharma student training. To take good care of the body-and-mind of your Dharma student training (purity of heart) is to transform this world into the land of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Cleaning and keeping our environment free from pollution is the Pure Land movement. Be on your guard and diligent. (Environmental Movement)
7. It is conduct unbecoming to a Dharma student to pick on others and blame them in order to build a self-defense or reinforce one's position. It is the downfall of a Dharma student to become jealous of the other people's prosperity and gloat over others' misfortunes. If such a feeling or thought arises you should perform prostrations right away and surrender your weakness, and renew your Bodhisattva vows and pray for the happiness of all beings. (Renewal and Kido)
8. All Dharma students should be happy and energetic Buddhists ready to lend a helping hand. (Three Stars)
Career Opportunities after Ordination
When you complete the Bodhisattva Chaplaincy Training program and pass evaluations, you will be ordained as a Dharma teacher, Chaplain and or Priest. A priest is a full-time resident in the monastic community fully supported by the order, while a Dharma teacher is a part-time teacher running his or her own center or affiliated with a local temple or center. If a Dharma teacher wants to become a full-time priest, he/she will be required to undergo a one-year internship as a full-time resident in the monastic community. In the Buddhist Society of Contemplative Living a member is not required to remain celibate, provided that the member follows the Pure Standards and the Dharma schedule. It is our mission that Bodhisattva Chaplaincy Training Graduates work. As a priest, chaplains or Dharma teachers, you can run a local temple or center, perform weekly meditation services, and conduct classes and retreats. You can work as a social or community worker or serve as a chaplain in universities, colleges, hospitals, hospice, and correctional institutions. You can become an artist, musician, or craftsperson in order to promote Dharma art. You can teach Zen exercise, physical yoga, flower arrangement or tea ceremony. The opportunities are many according to your aptitude and abilities. This program we hope to ignite your dharma light so that you may become a positive change agent for greater peace and acceptance in our world.