Psychologist and Buddhist practitioner was a friend to the friendless, champion of the disenfranchised and patron saint to the lonely
Richard B. Does died at home in his shrine room on September 8, 2023, in the arms of his loving wife, Antonia, with family and friends close by, enveloped in the peaceful beauty of the majestic trees and natural space outside that he tended to lovingly throughout the many seasons of his life. The support of angels from UVM hospice helped create the tranquil space for his passage. Born in Winthrop, Mass., in 1940, Richard was the eldest of six children. Shortly after completing his PhD at Michigan State University in 1969, he moved to Burlington with his family, where he began his career as the director of the University of Vermont’s Counseling and Testing Center. He made a profound difference in the lives of many clients there, as well as through a private counseling practice he maintained for much of his life. Richard was a brilliant man who touched the lives of countless beings. As a clinical psychologist, a meditation instructor, and both a student and teacher of Buddha Dharma, he had an uncanny way of truly and deeply recognizing the other. He spent the majority of his life in both a serious and oh-so-playful quest for the meaning of reality and in support of the well-being of others. As a Buddhist practitioner for close to 50 years, Richard drew Truth from sacred teachings, deep personal experience and training, and infinite space. Friends, acquaintances, and strangers of all cultures, walks of life, and faiths were blessed by his genuine curiosity and respect for them. Even amidst moments of his own discomfort or struggle, he would think of those around him first, often making them laugh and always making them feel seen and appreciated for who they were. Children especially loved Richard, as he was so closely in touch with his own inner child and with the inherent goodness and pure nature within them, himself and the rest of us. He will be remembered and missed profoundly for his lyric wordplay, the nicknames he gave to people, his great sense of humor and his deeply perceptive intelligence. His insight, compassion, playfulness, generosity and expansive visionary fields will live on for lifetimes. Richard was a friend to the friendless, champion of the disenfranchised and patron saint to the lonely. He felt deeply the grave injustices of this troubled world. He leaves behind his first wife, Lynne Walther; their sons, Richard…
Psychologist and Buddhist practitioner was a friend to the friendless, champion of the disenfranchised and patron saint to the lonely
Richard B. Does died at home in his shrine room on September 8, 2023, in the arms of his loving wife, Antonia, with family and friends close by, enveloped in the peaceful beauty of the majestic trees and natural space outside that he tended to lovingly throughout the many seasons of his life. The support of angels from UVM hospice helped create the tranquil space for his passage. Born in Winthrop, Mass., in 1940, Richard was the eldest of six children. Shortly after completing his PhD at Michigan State University in 1969, he moved to Burlington with his family, where he began his career as the director of the University of Vermont’s Counseling and Testing Center. He made a profound difference in the lives of many clients there, as well as through a private counseling practice he maintained for much of his life. Richard was a brilliant man who touched the lives of countless beings. As a clinical psychologist, a meditation instructor, and both a student and teacher of Buddha Dharma, he had an uncanny way of truly and deeply recognizing the other. He spent the majority of his life in both a serious and oh-so-playful quest for the meaning of reality and in support of the well-being of others. As a Buddhist practitioner for close to 50 years, Richard drew Truth from sacred teachings, deep personal experience and training, and infinite space. Friends, acquaintances, and strangers of all cultures, walks of life, and faiths were blessed by his genuine curiosity and respect for them. Even amidst moments of his own discomfort or struggle, he would think of those around him first, often making them laugh and always making them feel seen and appreciated for who they were. Children especially loved Richard, as he was so closely in touch with his own inner child and with the inherent goodness and pure nature within them, himself and the rest of us. He will be remembered and missed profoundly for his lyric wordplay, the nicknames he gave to people, his great sense of humor and his deeply perceptive intelligence. His insight, compassion, playfulness, generosity and expansive visionary fields will live on for lifetimes. Richard was a friend to the friendless, champion of the disenfranchised and patron saint to the lonely. He felt deeply the grave injustices of this troubled world. He leaves behind his first wife, Lynne Walther; their sons, Richard…