Alumni

This year’s annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion is taking place in Boston, MA, from November 21 to 25. And several members of the IBS faculty will be participating or giving presentations. If you’re planning to attend, here […]

Updates from our fundraiser to renovate the Haste Street Dorm- alumni from the chaplaincy program quickly pooled their resources to name a room after Rev. Dr. Daijaku Kinst. There’s still time to join our campaign and name a resident room […]

In the early 1960s, the Buddhist Churches of America committed itself to the training and education of America-born ministers. It was decided that the BCA Study Center, then housed at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple, would be chiefly responsible for these […]

On Friday, May 2023, faculty, students, trustees, and friends of the Institute of Buddhist Studies gathered to celebrate the graduating class of 2023. This event was also a chance to honor Dr. Richard Payne, who is retiring this year, and […]

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Institute of Buddhist Studies alumni gathered online for a panel entitled “Buddhist Spiritual Care for Our Times.” Rev. Jo Laurence, Blayne Higa, and Trent Thornley work in ministry and chaplaincy in a variety of settings, […]

On Friday, May 21, faculty, students, trustees, and friends of the Institute of Buddhist Studies gathered online to celebrate the graduating class of 2021, along with the class of 2020, who was not able to celebrate last year due to […]

Current IBS adjunct faculty member and recent IBS grad Thomas Calobrisi has co-edited this autumn’s Journal of Dharma Studies. The journal’s theme is histories of science in Buddhism, and looks at how various Buddhist cultures produced knowledge. What goes into editing […]

On May 4th at 4pm, over 1700 people watched the livestream of “May We Gather,” a pan-Buddhist memorial to honor the 49th day memorial of the victims of the Atlanta shootings. At once memorial service, communal healing and protest against […]

Ryūki Tom Hawkins is a Sōtō Zen priest and candidate for the Master of Divinity at IBS. Here he shares a little bit about his passions and interests.  Q: Tell me about yourself. How did your life make its way […]

On Thursday, January 28th, IBS Alum Chenxing Han was joined by Dean Scott Mitchell and Rev. Harry Bridges to celebrate the launch of her debut book Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian-American Buddhists. 175 participants also joined the […]

CJ Dunford is a recent IBS alum and Jodo Shinshu minister. Back from a year in Japan, they share how they arrived at Buddhism, and their passion for practical Buddhist theology centering liberation for queer folk.  Gesshin: Where are you […]

The Institute of Buddhist Studies has so many amazing alumni entering the fields of chaplaincy, ministry, academia, and more. We’re excited to share this update on Nathan Michon, class of 2020. Q: What brought you to IBS, and what did […]

In the last few weeks, over six million people around the globe have protested climate disaster. On Friday, September 20, 2019 over two million people walked out of their schools or workplaces. On that day, my professor and schoolmates helped […]

Current student Akiko Rogers shares with us this piece on ordaining at Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan. You can read more about her family and journey to become a minister here. In July, twenty international Jodo Shinshu ministerial aspirants undertook tokudo […]

I sat down with IBS alumnus Jamie Kimmel to discuss practice, chaplaincy, and how Buddhism can inform pastoral care. Tell us about yourself. How did you come to Buddhist chaplaincy? Like many others, it was a series of events in […]

Tadao Koyama graduated from IBS in 2018 with a Masters in Buddhist Studies. He is currently living and practicing Buddhism in Japan. We are delighted to share this update on his progress, and the challenges and rewards of training at Nishi […]

For the last year, IBS Dean Scott Mitchell has served as a guest editor for the journal Religions overseeing a special issue on Buddhism in the United States and Canada. From the journal: Over the last century, Buddhism has grown […]

Joanne Laurence, a 2016 graduate of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) and Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) Master of Arts program in Buddhist Chaplaincy, was awarded the highest professional certification, Board Certified Chaplain [BCC], from the Association of Professional Chaplains. […]

This past June, three members of the IBS community participated in the 2017 Annual Conference of the Association of Professional Chaplains. Rev. Dr. Daijaku Kinst, the Noboru and Yaeko Hanyu Professor of Buddhist Chaplaincy at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, facilitated […]

Editor’s note: the following is text of the 2017 Commencement Address by IBS alum Chenxing Han, delivered during the graduation ceremony on Friday May, 19, 2017. We would very much like to thank Ms. Han for delivering the address and […]