I am a spiritual care provider, also known as staff chaplain, at a large hospital complex in Canada. Chaplaincy began as a Christian calling, but spiritual care today is a multifaith proposition and as slippery as a bar of soap. I’m a Buddhist and most of my patients...

I was asked to write an article sharing my experience of living with Mild Cognitive Impairment, due to Alzheimer’s disease. After two weeks of working on this assignment, I thought that the final draft was complete. Then I realized it wasn’t, and that my process of...

With generosity as your guide, caregiving unfolds as a spiritual path. While material generosity—helping with  money and  objects—is wonderful, direct caregiving provides the opportunity to offer the deepest kind of generosity: protection from fear. When loved ones...

On the altar in our zendo, two nearly identical buddha statues sit facing one another. Their faces are calm and open. Their robes fall low, exposing their chests—heart to heart. Painted across their backs and shoulders are scenes from the natural world: trees, birds,...

Andrea Miller: Are there any rituals or practices in your tradition that you think people of all traditions could benefit from? S. B. Rodriguez-Plate: All of them! Whenever I participate in rituals and traditions from groups I haven’t been involved with before, I...

When I was first introduced to mindfulness meditation, the teacher said that there was “nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nothing to change or fix.” As I sat on my cushion that day, trying hard to be mindful, that instruction struck me as a giant contradiction. Wasn’t...