Memorable Moment
Several of the most memorable experiences that I had at HDS came from the gatherings, retreats, conferences, and meditations that I organized with my friends in the Harvard Buddhist Community (HBC):
- The 8-month long Buddhism and Race Speaker Series that brought together powerful Buddhist leaders calling for a radical reorientation towards racial justice
- The heartfelt spring break retreats that HBC led at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge
- The Noon Service where HBC invited over 70 members of the HDS community to begin the 2022-2023 academic year through grounding ourselves in the land and setting intentions for the year.
Any of these events was memorable in and of itself, but all the more so because I got to organize them with my closest friends. The other most memorable times were the small moments—the ones when my friends and I would lay on the HDS lawn or in the middle of the hallway, when we’d spontaneously break into song or dance, when we’d never take ourselves too seriously and yet somehow have the most profound and inspiring conversations. These simple moments when the world slowed down and we were truly present to each other are the ones that I will cherish forever.
Favorite Class or Professor
During my second year, my friends and I co-created a yearlong reading and research on “Exploring Decoloniality and Buddhism” under the wise guidance of Dean Melissa Bartholomew. We dived deep, studying the profound and ongoing violence of colonialism and discussing how Buddhist texts and teachings call us towards reparations and repair. We learned from Buddhist and Indigenous leaders, reading Shawn Wilson’s Research Is Ceremony and Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s The Shamanic Bones of Zen, engaging in practices created by Shanté Paradigm Smalls and Lama Rod Owens, and benefiting from an inspiring guest lecture by Natalie Avalos. Over the course of the year, we also reckoned with our personal entanglements with the legacies of colonialism, and we shared Buddhist wisdom and practices to support each other along this journey. Through this course, we created a community of deep care and respect, and we touched into the authentic joy that arises from working together for a more liberated world.
Message of Thanks
I am so grateful to all of my mentors who provided such profound wisdom and guidance on my journey towards becoming a chaplain. I’m thankful for the classes that I took with Chris Berlin and Cheryl Giles, and I will continue to benefit from all that I learned from them on Buddhist chaplaincy, compassionate care for the dying, and trauma and resilience. I’m also appreciative for all the helpful feedback, guidance, and support that my thesis advisor, Monica Sanford, offered me over the course of my final year at HDS. Finally, I want to especially thank my chaplaincy supervisors: Cheryl McDevitt at Beverly Hospital and Jill Gaulding at Chaplains on the Way. They are both such inspiring chaplains, and their skillful, compassionate mentorship has profoundly impacted me, both personally and professionally. In addition, the depth of appreciation that I feel for my friends at HDS is more than I can adequately describe. I am so grateful to Justin, chanti, Maya, Ebony, Sophia, Mel, Mac, Eva, Liem, Cody, Win, Emma, Morgan, and so many others. You all are such an inspiration to me, and I am profoundly grateful for all the times that you’ve supported me, held me, made me laugh, danced and sang with me, and made my day so much better just by your presence. Also, a big shout out to my mom for reading all of my divinity school papers—even the ones on obscure Buddhist texts—and for always being willing to talk things through with me. And finally, enormous gratitude to my partner, Harsh, for all the shoulder rubs, patient listening, and supportive encouragement, and to my cats, for enduring all of my kisses and snuggles whenever I got home from class or needed a break from paper writing. Thanks for loving me through all the highs and lows of this graduate school journey.
What I Hope to Be Remembered By
On a regular basis, people come up to me and say, “I came across this article/podcast/ritual related to death, and I thought of you.” While it may seem weird that death reminds people of me, I personally am glad that it does. Nobody should have to be alone when they confront the hardest truths of life, and I am always happy to talk about death and grief with anyone who needs a friend or listening ear. For those who’ve participated in the Buddhist death contemplations that I’ve led on campus, I hope that you’re able to face your mortality with more compassion, gentleness, and open-heartedness. For the patients at Beverly Hospital whom I accompanied in their final weeks, days, and moments, I hope that you found peace in the final chapter of your life. For those patients’ families whom I sat with and cared for, I hope that you felt comforted and supported in your grief. For all those who are unhoused and who joined the Grief Group that I led through Chaplains on the Way, I hope that you felt seen and heard in your pain, and I hope that the community of care that we built together continues to support you.
Future Plans
In the fall, I will be starting a yearlong chaplaincy residency at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. I’m so grateful to continue pursuing a vocation that gives me energy, inspiration, and joy. In my personal and spiritual life, I plan to continue my daily practice of Buddhist death contemplations so that I remember what’s most important in life and appreciate my short time here on earth. I plan to continue chanting, dancing, laughing, meditating, and savoring all the sweet little moments of life.