Buddhist Chaplain

Clark offers support for spiritual and ethical practice in everyday life, including working with conflicts and difficult decisions.

  • Serving people of all faiths and beliefs

  • Trained and experienced

  • Conversations are informal and practical

  • Meet in person, on phone, or online

  • Serving individuals and organizations

Arrange a Meeting

Please feel free to email or call to arrange an informal meeting. I’m happy to answer your questions and chat about what might be useful for you. We can meet in person, on the phone, or online.

Training & Experience

Clark is a graduate of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program at Upaya Institute & Zen Center, where he trained with Roshi Joan Halifax, Sensei Hozan Alan Senauke, and Sensei Joshin Byrnes. He holds a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, Teachers College, at Columbia University. He has a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Lycoming College and performed graduate studies at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Clark has taken ordination vows (tokudo) in the White Plum lineage of Soto Zen Buddhsim. He enjoys ongoing training, as a priest and new monastic, with Sensei Joshin Byrnes of Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Cornwall, Vermont. He also serves as a chaplain at the Dukes County Jail on Martha’s Vineyard and is the liaison between the jail and the Island Clergy Association. Clark is an Associate Member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association and has been a student of Buddhist practice for over forty years.

Clark served for nine years on the Steering Committee of Island Insight Meditation Community, and two years as a mentor to chaplaincy students at Upaya Zen Center. He also worked as a mediator in private practice for seven years, including experience with court-based and community mediation. Clark cofounded Satyagraha Institute, a program that trains community leaders in traditions of nonviolence, and he occasionally writes and speaks on nonviolence, conflict, and the inner life.

Support this Work

My work is sustained by kind giving. In the Buddhist tradition, the practices of begging and generosity play important roles in the life of the community. Not only do these practices serve as methods of support, but they cultivate insight into humility, uncertainty, interdependence, and lovingkindness. Thank you.