Guidance for the Spiritual Caregiver from the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva

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Śāntideva's Importance in the Buddhist Interfaith Dialogues

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

The Bodhicaryāvatāra by Śāntideva, also known as The Way of the Bodhisattva or Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life,[1] is a masterpiece of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It has been a guiding treatise for every generation of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhists since its composition sometime around the turn of the eighth century CE.[2] Its commentaries are numerous, with over a hundred book-length expositions in the modern age alone[3] and many more lost to history. Its impact on the trajectory of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism is immeasurable.
However, to my knowledge, the Bodhi, as I shall abbreviate it, has yet to be examined for its contributions to a growing professional field: spiritual care. As a Buddhist chaplain, I admire Śāntideva’s brilliance, rhetoric, and poetic style while struggling to apply his wisdom to my work as a spiritual caregiver. In the western world, the profession of chaplaincy emerges from Christian roots and Christians have produced a large body of literature on spiritual, or pastoral, care and counseling and pastoral theology. They can quote from the Bible when explaining the cura animarum, or “cure of souls,”[4] and can reference sources from St. Augustine to Paul Tillich in support of their methods. Biblical exegesis has informed the foundation of their discipline for decades, if not centuries. Jewish chaplains have followed in this pattern and reference the Torah and Talmud to describe tikkun olam, or “healing the world.”[5]
Buddhists have yet to settle on their own paradigm for spiritual care, although the bodhisattva model immediately comes to mind, at least in the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions. Buddhists, when asked for the ‘scriptural authority’ behind their work,[6] however, struggle to recall more than a handful of verses from diffuse sources whose implications for their practice of spiritual care may or may not be fully examined. There are many reasons for this, not least of which the massive corpus of texts Buddhists considered canonical or otherwise sacred. Another is the relatively new profession of chaplaincy among Buddhists. Even now, there are only five accredited

graduate level training programs in North America.[7] As these training programs, their faculty-scholars, and student bodies continue to grow, producing Buddhist literature on spiritual care, including the exegesis of classic sources for their contributions to this field, becomes even more critical. This work is one such attempt.

Notes

Śāntideva, and Charles Goodman. 2016. The Training Anthology of Śāntideva: A Translation of the Śikṣā-Samuccaya. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, p. ix. NOTE: Referenced henceforth as ‘Goodman.’
Goodman, p. x.
Based on a Worldcat library search for commentaries on the Bodhicaryāvatāra.
Lartey, Emmanuel Yartekwei. 2003. In Living Color: An Intercultural Approach to Pastoral Care and Counseling. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 16.
Friedman, Dayle A. 2010. Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional and Contemporary Sources. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, p. 147.
There is, naturally, some doubt as to whether or not this is a fair question, seeing as it is based in the paradigm of Abrahamic religious traditions.
Naropa University, Institute of Buddhist Studies, University of the West, Harvard Divinity School, and Maitripa University. A number of smaller, non-accredited or partnership training programs also exist within various sanghas, such as Upaya Zen Center and the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies.

Citation

Sanford, Monica. "Guidance for the Spiritual Caregiver from the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva." Qualifying Examination in Sacred Texts for Rev. Dr. Victor Gabriel (University of the West), Claremont School of Theology, for the degree of PhD in Practical Theology (Spiritual Care & Counseling). Unpublished manuscript, 2017.

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