Refuge in the Storm Webinar Series Part II: Sickness, Aging, and Death: Caring for Life-Cycle Crises

Harvard Divinity School

This webinar is the second in a series offered by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. It featured a panel discussion of contributors to part II of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care, edited by Nathan Jishin Michon. The panel included Kin Cheung (George) Lee and Lourdes Argüelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro), and was co-moderated by Rev. Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon and Rev. Dr. Monica Sanford. Bios: Kin Cheung (George) Lee Dr. Kin Cheung (George) Lee is a California licensed psychologist (PSY28022), a California Board of Psychology recognized clinical supervisor, and a registered clinical psychologist of the Hong Kong Associations of Doctor in Clinical Psychology. Clinically, he is a fellow member of the Asian Academy of Family Therapy, certified therapist in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and certified therapist in Managing and Adapting Practice. In the past 17 years, he has provided psychological services to individuals, couples, and families in various non-government agencies, community mental health centers, and schools in Hong Kong and the United States. Academically, Dr. Lee is a lecturer at The Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong and a founding member of the Master of Buddhist Counselling program as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Practice of Buddhist Counselling. He is the former assistant chair of the Department of Psychology at University of the West and former Director of Clinical Training at Alliant International University, Hong Kong program. He is the author of the The Guide to Buddhist Counseling and 小空間(translated: "A Little Emptiness"). Lourdes Argüelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro) Born in Cuba and educated around the world, Lourdes Arguelles, PhD (Lopon Dorje Khandro) is a Ngkma ordained by HE Garchen Rinpoche and a Lopon installed by HH Chetsang Rinpoche, the head of the Drikung Kagyu tradition. She is also Professor Emerita of Education and Cultural Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California as well as a retired California licensed psychotherapist and community organizer who worked pro-bono with survivors of domestic and political violence in the US-Mexico Borderlands. Lopon-la currently lives in retreat except when she is attending dying beings or teaching at Drikung Kyobpa Choling, a Tiberan Buddhist monastery in Escondido,California and to its Sangha in Latin America. Monica Sanford Monica Sanford joined Harvard Divinity School as assistant dean for multireligious ministry in September 2021. Sanford comes to HDS from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she became one of only two Buddhists in North America to lead a multireligious life department at a college or university. Sanford is one of the first full-trained Buddhist practical theologians in the United States, having earned her PhD in practical theology from Claremont School of Theology. Sanford also holds an undergraduate degree in design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master of divinity degree from University of the West. Sanford is an ordained Buddhist lay minister in a Chan lineage and trained as a Buddhist chaplain. Her recent book, Kalyāṇamitra: A Buddhist Model for Spiritual Care (January 2021), is the first textbook for Buddhist chaplains. Nathan Jishin Michon Nathan Jishin Michon is a JSPS visiting scholar focused on Buddhist chaplaincy at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. Jishin is editor of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care and A Thousand Hands: Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community, among other works. Jishin especially focuses their research on Japanese Buddhist chaplaincy, chaplain training, and contemplative forms of care. They previously helped in disaster relief and hospice care. This event took place November 14, 2023. Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video/2023/11/14/refuge-storm-webinar-series-part-ii-sickness-aging-and-death-caring-life-cycle