Purpose:

Bodhiyana: bodhi – the enlightened; yana – vehicle; we at Bodhiyana Buddhist Chaplaincy Fellowship (BBCF) seek to develop Buddhist Chaplains into their ideal chaplain non-self through community and professional development. We intend to develop lay ordained Buddhist Chaplains, promote professional Buddhist Spiritual Care, expanding the spiritual ministry of our members within and beyond. We seek to help aspirants on the journey of becoming and being Buddhist Chaplains by offering ordination and endorsement as well as continuing education and accountability in our diverse Sangha.

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Product:

Ordination with certification and Endorsement to enhance career opportunities as well as satisfying the requirements for ACPE certification, membership to monthly Sangha meetings, and annual spiritual retreat(s).  Additionally, membership includes community, social support, and continued education with respect to chaplaincy skills and Buddhist studies.

 

People:

We are a diverse set of Buddhist ministers at both the monastic and lay level. Our Buddhist traditions are diverse spanning across from Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean Mahayana, Tibetan Vajrayana, Theravada, Soto Zen, and gradually expanding our tradition-inclusion. These practitioners are diverse spanning their life experiences as former and newly established psychologists, former spiritual program coordinator, abbess, retired oncology/palliative care nurse, university professor, professional hospital and armed forces chaplains, medical doctor, admissions counselor, and chaplaincy students from all walks of life.

 

Nonprofit:

We are a certified federal nonprofit as of December 2023. With this achievement we have now been able to make donations tax deductible! We are currently in the process of establishing our nonprofit status in California. We strive to be transparent and with each of our meetings and annual reports we post our financials.

 

Future:

BBCF looks forward to further developing its executive and general board, its Sangha, and developing our continued education curricula/planning. With this we want to stand out in the sea samsara to guide current and future Buddhist Chaplains to gain the skills they need to compete in our growing technological, individualistic, and ever-transforming world.

Metrics: We at BBCF plan to evaluate and hold ourselves accountable fully during this process by having members fill out annual reports and requiring their attendance at monthly meetings and retreats. These reports -- which require approval by committee, the general board, and mentors -- showcase the brilliance and development that members of BBCF helped to achieve in the world of Buddhist Chaplaincy. We complete annual reports and meetings that report our fiscal dealings for and throughout the year, respectively. This relates back to our commitment to transparency. Additionally, we are providing Sangha and community support through mentor-mentee relationships (requiring mandatory monthly meetings) which further hones aspirants’ and ordained individuals’ Chaplaincy skills (specifically relating to reflection, active listening, other communication skills, and ritual skills). The Sangha meetings entail sutra-study from pre-established Chaplaincy-tailored Buddhist liturgical study texts to both enhance the depth of our members Buddhist experience but also their breadth as students share their experiences with the texts and engage in Chaplaincy skills in a natural nonjudgemental environ.