Rosy,
I would recommend against it.
It's too narrow a pigeonhole. And most people practicing Zen will have a
teacher and sangha already, and thus will not see a "Chaplain".
I'd suggest being a Buddhist Chaplain. This way, lots of people can be served.
It's usually impossible to help Zen people, anyway, because they think they
know so much. And they DO: They are stuffed to the gills with opinions and
prejudices, and vanities, too boot, which makes it all very sickly. Most of
them think that Zen has something to do with a "mind", and that there is
something to be "understood", or worked-out. Plus, they are all comedians,
unless they actually practice. And, even THEN. Avoid them.
If Zen interests you, though, I'd also recommend practicing as deeply as you
can with a good teacher and a committed sangha, and awaken, and then keep up
your practice after awakening. This gives you the best opportunity of anyone
ever to "understand" Buddhism, and to have actual experiences in your bones,
sinews, and viscera which apply to Buddhist concepts, or vice versa, rather.
You will then truly have your own eyebrows enmeshed in the eyebrows of the
Ancestors. This is not a metaphor!
It will be necessary to have a good background and understanding of Comparative
Religion. A good start will be to read and re-read Huston Smith's, THE
RELIGIONS OF MAN. I suggest an older edition, before the publisher changed the
title to "The World's Religions".
The chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism are the most important, but the others
are needed, also, to ground YOU in the background of the people who will be
coming to you: Jews, Christians, and Muslims. I suggest reading the book
thoroughly about every two years for about ten years, and then continuing.
Along with all else you read, and study.
Crucial to your education will be physical Yoga. Many styles are taught, but
one which is closest to the classical asanas, and which calls them by their
classical names, will be best, because it will help you most with your Zen
meditation practice, and you'll learn a little Sanskrit, which will help you to
pronounce Buddhist concepts correctly. The Yoga will help you to awaken: our
practice is a PHYSICAL one, and has nothing to do with any so-called "mind"
(there is no such thing).
Tell us what stage you are at and maybe we can tell you more by way of
suggestions.
Regards,
--Joe
> Rocket <rscip_caracol@...> wrote:
>
> Hello!! I would to know what it takes as far as education to become a Zen
> chaplain? Thanks, rosy
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