The Buddhist Seminary

Buddhist Spiritual Care at the Buddhist Seminary

• Education

  The Buddhist Seminary provides the post-master Buddhist Spiritual Caregiver. As part of the integrated pre-service training programmes, the seminary also provides most of the Buddhist sections (minor) of the Bachelor Theology and Religious Studies. The seminary is further responsible for the Buddhism track of the Master's programme Theology and Religious Studies: Spiritual Care. 

• Skills

  For us, those skills are important that enable us to embody our shared values and aspirations efficiently and lovingly.

  This means that we want to be able to, e.g.,

  • explain basic practices of the Buddhist traditions as well as the foundations of the dharma
  • to be able to encourage the cultivation of mindfulness and compassion from our own personal practice and foundation
  • to offer attention and presence in conversations, and to listen deeply. And thereby be able to stimulate trauma-sensitive and dialogical insights,
  • To be able to face our own painful experiences, shadows, and limits (the paradigm of the wounded healer) and to have learned enough self-care and self-protection to recognize and prevent pitfalls such as burnout, helper syndrome, and possible re-traumatization.

• Workfield

  As a Buddhist Spiritual Caregiver you will work in fields such as healthcare (including private, palliative care and psychiatry), in educational institutions, and in defense and justice.

  As Buddhist Spiritual Caregiver you will need very different skills: skills that touch on a clerical office (as in various Buddhist traditions it is reserved for persons who have monastic, priestly, or similar other status and/or  authorizations); but which are also firmly anchored in the general and inter-religious skills that are necessary for every spiritual caregiver in a pluralistic, culturally secular, and multireligious setting.

  Each field of work has its own, situational-related context with specific requirements.

  As Buddhist Spiritual Caregivers, we pay special attention to methods that have been developed from the Buddhist traditions and/or are practiced with a specific Buddhist framework. We aim to learn more about how we can adapt Buddhist values and practices to the newly developing field of Buddhist Spiritual Care. Therefore, we place great value on exchange and dialogue with similar efforts in other parts of the world.

• Staff

  Rector

  Prof. Dr. Bee Scherer (die/diens; they/their)

  Coordinator

  Annika Gabriel a.gabriel@vu.nl

  Teachers

  Ulli Fischer, MA 

  Dr. Jens Reinke  

  Dr. Riët Aarsse 

• Appendix

  Texts: The "Wholesome Spiritual Friend and Mentor" (kalyāṇa-mitra)

  Paðhamamittasutta  (AŰguttara-Nikāya  an 7.36)

  The Characteristics of a 'Spiritual Friend'

  1) give what is difficult to give;

  2) Doing what's hard to do

  3) endure painful and badly spoken words;

  4) sharing one's own secrets;

  5) Keeping other people's secrets

  6) Staying loyal in difficult times

  7) Never have contempt for those who encounter adversity

  Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra (17, 10)

  A 'spiritual friend' is

  composed, calm, and peaceful; living by Buddhist virtues; diligent, richly educated in the (dharma i.e.) canonical texts; with realization of suchness, good at (communicating and doing so) speaking the dharma; compassionate to the core and full of inexhaustible energy. (tr. Scherer)

• Research Agenda for the Buddhist Seminary at the VU

  The research agenda of the Buddhist Seminary at Vrije Universiteit (VU) is intricately woven into the fabric of its educational mission, drawing inspiration from the unique context of the Netherlands while maintaining a broader trans-locative perspective. It considers Dutch Buddhism as a globally entwined phenomenon rooted in a multiplicity of space-based yet interconnected histories and embedded in a wider global net.

  At its core, the overarching theme of the research agenda of the Buddhist Seminary revolves around the academic exploration of Buddhist social engagements and pastoral dharmology (Buddhist “theology”). These engagements are understood twofold:

  Firstly, on a doctrinal level, they are based on the claim attributed to Buddha Śākyamuni that his teachings centre around the understanding of dis-satisfactoriness (“suffering, dukkha) and the quest for its cessation, as emphasized in Majjhima Nikāya 22 and Saṃyutta Nikāya 22.86. While it is important to avoid reducing the wealth of the Buddhist teachings to these basics, this foundational orientation appears to be particularly relevant to Buddhist social theory and action.

  Secondly, Buddhist social engagements are viewed through a socio-historical lens, representing Buddhist responses to the diverse processes of secularization worldwide that have unfolded since the 19th century. Buddhist social engagements can be interpreted as reactions to European concepts of religion as a private matter. Buddhist actors endeavoured to reaffirm the emerging public spheres as a domain for Buddhist practice and compassion. On a systematic and pastoral level, the Seminary develops dharmological frameworks and applications for Buddhist social theory and (inter)action.

  This overarching focus unfolds into the current specific research projects that form the seminary's scholarly pursuits. These include:

  • Global Development of Buddhist Spiritual Care: While Buddhists have always been engaged in helping the community, professional modes of Buddhist spiritual care have notably developed since the second half of the last century. The seminary scholarly examines and critically reflects on this development, with a particular emphasis on its evolution in Europe and East Asia, especially in Japan and Taiwan. The Seminary further develops systematic and pastoral impulses for Buddhist Chaplaincy.
  • Contemporary Buddhist movements: The Seminary brings together scholars from multiple disciplines studying contextually and anthropologically contemporary Buddhist movements and organisations, particularly those of transnational Tibetan Buddhism and contemporary Mahāyāna in sinophone contexts worldwide. Doing so, the Seminary advances the academic knowledge and understanding of the complex tapestry of the living Buddhist traditions.
  • Buddhism and Queerness: The seminary engages in a critical exploration of the nexus between Buddhism and intersectional facets of subjectivity and belonging, particularly queerness. This research area facilitates a dialogue between Buddhist philological and historical studies of Buddhist texts and practices, and contemporary queer theory. Additionally, it explores lived experiences, discourses, as well as arts and material culture as lenses to understand the modern and contemporary lives of queer Buddhists worldwide. Finally, the Seminary contributes to the advancement of systematic and pastoral initiatives and resources on the dharmological level aimed at celebrating the entire spectrum of human identity intersections.

  To advance its research goals, the seminary is committed to promoting transdisciplinary approaches. This involves fostering a dialogue between qualitative studies rooted in the social sciences and dharmological thinking, grounded in philological studies. It is particularly important for the seminary to bring these two approaches, often understood as being in tension with each other, into fruitful dialogue. This integration is also emphasized within its teaching context, reinforcing the importance of understanding global Buddhism as a lived religion while also highlighting the critical role of text, translation, and historical context in this exploration.

  Additionally, the seminary facilitates grant development, promotes postdoctoral-level research initiatives, and participates in leading global conferences, such as the AAR. Collaborations with partners in Asia and Europe, including Buddhist temples, lay associations, and academic organizations, form another crucial aspect of the seminary's research agenda. These partnerships contribute not only to the global dialogue on Buddhism but also enrich the educational and research landscape at VU's Buddhist Seminary. Finally, the seminary engages in public scholarship, specifically within a Dutch and European context, aiming to disseminate research findings to a wider audience.

  In essence, our research agenda for the Buddhist Seminary at the VU envisions a hub of innovative and inclusive scholarship. Through transdisciplinary methodologies, we aim to facilitate meaningful dialogues that bring together qualitative studies, dharmological thinking, and Buddhist social engagement. This contributes to a more interconnected, culturally enriched, and socially engaged understanding of Buddhism, positioning the seminary as a focal point that combines the thorough academic study of Buddhism with the tradition’s emphasis on wisdom and compassion.