R.A. Peterson

Student, Applied Buddhist Studies, Nan Tien Institute

Should Buddhist Chaplains serve in the military of the United States of America? This question holds many assumptions that deserve as much attention as any answer. As gong’an practice teaches, sometimes asking a question can illuminate our situation even if there is no concrete resolution. For this reason, the first half of this essay will unpack the subtleties of this question and explore its real-world circumstances, before moving on to different ethical considerations in forming a response. For brevity, terms such as “military,” “government,” and “chaplain,” etc. refer to the United States/ US military context, such as “US military,” “US overnment,” or “US military chaplain,” etc. unless otherwise noted.