معرفی
Dr. Ji Hyang Padma serves as Core Candidate Associate Professor at Naropa University within the Master of Divinity program, teaching courses including Introduction to Spiritual Care, Contemplative Communication in Spiritual Caregiving, Ethics in Spiritual Caregiving, and Zen Buddhism. A scholar-practitioner with over twenty-five years of intensive Zen training (including fourteen monastic years), she holds Lay Entrustment Transmission in Shunryu Suzuki's Soto Zen lineage and integrates contemplative practice with academic rigor.
Her academic foundation includes:
- Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology/Sofia University
- Bachelor of Arts, Wellesley College
Dr. Padma's research examines Zen Buddhism's application in contemporary contexts, focusing on spiritual care systems, Buddhist chaplaincy frameworks, and restorative justice practices. Her work bridges contemplative traditions with social transformation through:
- Development of interfaith spiritual care models
- Analysis of ritual consciousness in healing practices
- Critical engagement with race/gender dynamics via restorative circles
- Integration of MBSR and Reiki in pastoral contexts
Her publication trajectory reveals evolving expertise from foundational Buddhist pluralism studies (2000) toward specialized chaplaincy applications (2012-2021), culminating in upcoming 2025 research on Buddhist college chaplaincy. Key themes include ritual innovation during crises and cross-cultural spiritual care ethics.
Professional service spans seventeen years as Omega Institute's Meditation Teacher in Residence, chaplaincy roles at Tufts/Northeastern/Wellesley/Brandeis/Babson universities, direction of California Institute for Human Science's Comparative Religion Program, and pandemic-era UCSF Medical Center chaplaincy. She maintains active practice as MBSR instructor and Reiki practitioner.
