The Dharma of Trees is an eco-chaplaincy service on Vancouver Island, where we seek to be of service to individuals and communities struggling with environmental grief. Starting from a place of not knowing, DoT serves by bearing witness to this grief in its various forms and as it emerges for people on all sides of environmental conflicts, such as anti-logging protests, and we offer simple services and rituals in the spirit of clarifying and healing the delusion of our separation from the more-than-human world around us. An emerging challenge for us is how to be of service to our other-than-human companions at this time; how can we serve the trees? This Member Circle will start with a few accounts of our activities and challenges, and then be open for questions and discussion from anyone. All are welcome.
Dr. Chris Goto-Jones is a Buddhist Chaplain working in the field of EcoDharma on Vancouver Island, Canada, where he is also a certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide (ANFT). His training in Buddhism is in the Zen, Shingon, and Vipassana traditions, and he carries a Dharma name, Shinsen (森仙). He is also a member of Zen Peacemakers International, and he has taught meditation internationally for nearly a decade, including through the massive open online course (MOOC), De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Leiden University & Coursera/FutureLearn, 2016-present), which has served 250,000 participants to date. Chris has advanced certifications in MBSR and MBCT. He is a certified Philosophical Counsellor, a diplomate counselor in Existential Analysis & Logotherapy, and a registered Counselling Hypnotherapist. He is currently a professor in Philosophy at the University of Victoria.
