Rigpa Spiritual Care Program

"To inspire a quiet revolution in the whole way we look at death and the care of the dying, and the whole way we look at life and the care of the living" Sogyal Rinpoche Spiritual Director of Rigpa Fellowship and author of - The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

The mission of the Spiritual Care Program is:

• To demonstrate how the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhist teachings can be of benefit to those facing illness or death, their families and caregivers.
• To emphasize the universal spiritual principles, which can be used by people of any faith or none.

The Spiritual Care Program brings the compassion, wisdom and richness of the teachings and practices in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying into care giving. The Program has been designed to augment the professional's training with a comprehensive and practical approach to end-of-life care. It provides education and training to doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, volunteers, and clergy of all denominations. It includes: public conferences and seminars, study groups for professional and trained volunteer caregivers, and training days for hospital or hospice staff.

Over the last few years there have been a number of spiritual care seminars in Australia. These seminars have reached a broad section of the community (both Buddhist and non-Buddhist), health professionals, pastoral workers, volunteers, carers, older people and members of the general public.

With the growing interest in the field of spiritual care, it is anticipated that in the near future all Rigpa Centres throughout Australia and New Zealand will be able to offer people the opportunity to attend seminars dealing with death and dying and study groups.

• In-service seminars for hospices, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics
• Workshops, seminars and lectures for health care professionals and volunteers
• Study groups for health care professionals
• Public seminars and lectures for the public