From my many years of reading, thinking asking questions, and being a school teacher, in Natick and Ashland, Mass., loving every moment of excitement in the eyes of my students, I have come to a conclusion of what is missing in our approach to education.
It is a brave jump for me to state my feelings. I think we came close to this once, because I sponsored a pilot class, teaching meditation at Framingham State to future teachers. ( It was unsuccessful I am guessing because no one ever gave me any feedback, and I never heard anymore about it though I asked. It was disappointing to me of course as the future began to open to my view. I should have inquired more before I sponsored it, but then without knowledge of Buddhism maybe meditation is harder to fathom for many people, especially young people who are caught up with the excitment of their entry into the adult world.) From this lesson in life, which was just a yellow light telling me to pause, think and discover, the little detective of my book has come to this conclusion in her elder years.
I feel strongly that Buddhism might be the missing link to how we help our children form their futures, a better culture, a better society. Buddhism is one of the paths to discovering the mysteries of the world, just as science is. Science is the approach we take in matter, Buddhism is the approach we take in understanding consciousness. We ignore the science of consciousness completely and when we do that we leave the basic floor of education sterile.
If we want to truly teach our children how to handle the world of matter, we need to teach them the power of understanding consciousness. The most important gift, no matter what mental ability a child has, is to learn that there are basic truths about the world, that there are gifts we all have to handle the unthinkable in life. Some people never even begin to understand that because we don't teach it, we regard Buddhism as a religion. It is not a religion, rather a science of understanding consciousness.
What have we to got to lose to put Buddhism along side science as a mandatory subject for future teachers, and required in the curriculum from first grade on? Think of the lives we could save, if youngsters came to a better understanding of their place on earth. Just the Noble Truths, are enough to get one into a fun class for first graders that will help them become good people, and identify sooner the children who will become suicide killers.
In my book, Small Town America Framingham, you will see that my parents nutured me, and encouraged my inquisitiveness. You see the questions common to children which are in fact the Noble Truths of Buddhism.
Intellectuals recognize the benefits of studying Buddhism and Science. Do we have to wait another lifetime to get on the ball and start teaching Buddhism, and stop thinking of it as a competing religion. I welcome your thoughts, and hopefully we can spread this idea that has more to offer to the good than anything else I can think of.
It is a brave jump for me to state my feelings. I think we came close to this once, because I sponsored a pilot class, teaching meditation at Framingham State to future teachers. ( It was unsuccessful I am guessing because no one ever gave me any feedback, and I never heard anymore about it though I asked. It was disappointing to me of course as the future began to open to my view. I should have inquired more before I sponsored it, but then without knowledge of Buddhism maybe meditation is harder to fathom for many people, especially young people who are caught up with the excitment of their entry into the adult world.) From this lesson in life, which was just a yellow light telling me to pause, think and discover, the little detective of my book has come to this conclusion in her elder years.
I feel strongly that Buddhism might be the missing link to how we help our children form their futures, a better culture, a better society. Buddhism is one of the paths to discovering the mysteries of the world, just as science is. Science is the approach we take in matter, Buddhism is the approach we take in understanding consciousness. We ignore the science of consciousness completely and when we do that we leave the basic floor of education sterile.
If we want to truly teach our children how to handle the world of matter, we need to teach them the power of understanding consciousness. The most important gift, no matter what mental ability a child has, is to learn that there are basic truths about the world, that there are gifts we all have to handle the unthinkable in life. Some people never even begin to understand that because we don't teach it, we regard Buddhism as a religion. It is not a religion, rather a science of understanding consciousness.
What have we to got to lose to put Buddhism along side science as a mandatory subject for future teachers, and required in the curriculum from first grade on? Think of the lives we could save, if youngsters came to a better understanding of their place on earth. Just the Noble Truths, are enough to get one into a fun class for first graders that will help them become good people, and identify sooner the children who will become suicide killers.
In my book, Small Town America Framingham, you will see that my parents nutured me, and encouraged my inquisitiveness. You see the questions common to children which are in fact the Noble Truths of Buddhism.
Intellectuals recognize the benefits of studying Buddhism and Science. Do we have to wait another lifetime to get on the ball and start teaching Buddhism, and stop thinking of it as a competing religion. I welcome your thoughts, and hopefully we can spread this idea that has more to offer to the good than anything else I can think of.
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