Sumeru News

Introduction to Buddhist Counselling (on-line) Instructed by Linda Hochstetler, MSW, RSW / TA Charles Chiarelli, OCT, BA, BEd 13 Saturdays, September 18 – December 11, 2021, EST 4-6 pm (7 classes) & 4-5 pm (6 tutorials) - 20 hours This module is designed to provide basic Buddhist counselling skills to individuals with little or no clinical experience or training. It is intended to prepare participants to volunteer with Sangha members, friends, and family. No previous training is required. Students will learn the following skills: attending, rapport building, use of silence, paraphrasing, reflecting, showing empathy, focusing the conversation, clarifying, appropriate questioning,...

My most recent column for Buddhistdoor Global is called "The Good Ancestor" and it is about our role in the future. It begins with a reflection on the tragic fate of Canada's Indigenous Peoples at the hands of settler colonials, and then turns to our unhealthy relationship with Planet Earth in the Anthropocene, concluding with some hints about regenerative design for a sustainable future, being modelled by a variety of European communities. https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the-good-ancestor

My latest column for Buddhistdoor Global is an interview with two Buddhist chaplains: https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/buddhist-spiritual-care

From time to time, I get thank you letters from Sumeru authors. Here's the latest... "I’ve said it before, but I will say it again. Thank you. This has been the most productive and enjoyable process with a publisher I have ever encountered.  I truly appreciate your dedication and also your openness to engage, discuss, suggest, and listen." John W. Traphagan, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Professor, Human Dimensions of Organizations, Fellow, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Professorship in Japanese Studies, University of Texas at Austin His book, Embracing Uncertainty: Future Jazz, That 13th Century Buddhist Monk, and the Invention of Cultures is...

EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY: Future Jazz, That 13th Century Buddhist Monk, and the Invention of Cultures. An anthropological memoir of the author’s experiences in Japan and other places to explore ideas of uncertainty and undifferentiation as they relate to ethics and culture. The book threads a discussion of jazz improvisation as metaphor for the human experience and the ongoing process of change that is the world. The Zen monk in the subtitle is Dōgen, who figures prominently in the book. John Traphagan is a professor of Religious Studies and Anthropology at the University of Texas Austin. The book is illustrated by Amane...