September 02, 2008 by Howard G. Fass
The word “education” according to the Cambridge English Dictionary is:
education: noun [S or U] the process of teaching or learning in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this:As a child he received most of his education at home.It's a country which places great importance on education.
When I was asked to write an essay on this subject I first felt a vague sense of sadness for something I knew was lost somehow. There was also a sense of estrangement, too many words without any meaning and ultimately feelings of distrust. It was a rather complex feeling and one I decided I should really think about and analyze.
Upon reflection I found the answer.
In the modern industrialized world order, many aspects of humanity and human interaction have greatly diminished in quality and meaning. Our ancestors before the twentieth and nineteenth centuries, although perhaps materially poorer in some mundane ways, definitely grew up and lived lives in a world that provided far greater meaning and purpose. There was the surety of the family and connection to the earth and soil. There was religion with deep faith and piety. There was the sense that education had more of a mission within the context of religion and culture which created meaning, belonging and purpose to people’s lives.
Today, for most, in the new world order, the purpose of education has become creating efficient and obedient workers for the state and large corporate entities.
How many times can we all remember going to class, being trained how to efficiently learn the subject matter like detailed instructions given by a corporate machine? Then the bell rings and we move on to the next class like the production on an assembly-line. We study, we learn, we cram and force all the information in as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is dissected and memorized and recited. It is then finally measured with examinations and tests and observations, given a grade and then largely forgotten and tossed on the heap along with the rest of useless exercises we’ve been made to do. We may not remember what we learned and understand why we learned it, but we certainly mastered the process. It’s a process for production and consumption with little left over to leave a lasting motivation and take us to a higher level.
This current manifestation of what education has become runs completely contrary to what it means to be human. For the human mind, being essentially creative and holding the root seeds of enlightenment, there has got to be a lasting more meaningful purpose to learning that exists above and beyond the modern occupation-based social model. For it to be truly beneficial, it must constantly strive to nourish and develop the qualities that best raise up the standards of human intellect, creativity and compassion. In the Buddhist world-view, this is exactly what Dharma practice is all about; Dharma practice means to improve one’s-self each and every day through practical and healthy ways for ultimate beneficial.
Tzu Chi embodies true education by being a living work-based manifestation of compassion in action. I believe that Tzu Chi utilizes the work that it does world-wide in disaster relief and human aide as a form of living education. In a way it’s a form of apprenticeship at the craft of becoming a better human being within the family of all beings.
Through the compassionate work that Tzu Chi does, those who help financially learn to put their resources to optimum use and purpose. Those on the field providing the physical aide learn about the true face of impermanent existence, human frailty and the compassion. Those receiving the aide learn about the potential that exists in all of us if only we take up a practice of skillfully manifesting love in action. In a world that seems to be for sale to the highest bidder regardless of the moral cost, this is an education with power and meaning that can benefit everyone. It feeds the soul while developing the mind.
There could be no greater mission than to awaken to one’s own true-self and potential through skillful compassion and aide to all other living beings. One can not help others until one has gained this education for oneself through study, contribution and hard work. In this way Tzu Chi lives up to its charter every day.
For this I am humbled, ennobled and ultimately thankful that there is an organization such as Tzu Chi which lives out the mission of the Dharma and works for the compassionate aide of all in need.
The word “education” according to the Cambridge English Dictionary is:
education: noun [S or U] the process of teaching or learning in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this:As a child he received most of his education at home.It's a country which places great importance on education.
When I was asked to write an essay on this subject I first felt a vague sense of sadness for something I knew was lost somehow. There was also a sense of estrangement, too many words without any meaning and ultimately feelings of distrust. It was a rather complex feeling and one I decided I should really think about and analyze.
Upon reflection I found the answer.
In the modern industrialized world order, many aspects of humanity and human interaction have greatly diminished in quality and meaning. Our ancestors before the twentieth and nineteenth centuries, although perhaps materially poorer in some mundane ways, definitely grew up and lived lives in a world that provided far greater meaning and purpose. There was the surety of the family and connection to the earth and soil. There was religion with deep faith and piety. There was the sense that education had more of a mission within the context of religion and culture which created meaning, belonging and purpose to people’s lives.
Today, for most, in the new world order, the purpose of education has become creating efficient and obedient workers for the state and large corporate entities.
How many times can we all remember going to class, being trained how to efficiently learn the subject matter like detailed instructions given by a corporate machine? Then the bell rings and we move on to the next class like the production on an assembly-line. We study, we learn, we cram and force all the information in as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is dissected and memorized and recited. It is then finally measured with examinations and tests and observations, given a grade and then largely forgotten and tossed on the heap along with the rest of useless exercises we’ve been made to do. We may not remember what we learned and understand why we learned it, but we certainly mastered the process. It’s a process for production and consumption with little left over to leave a lasting motivation and take us to a higher level.
This current manifestation of what education has become runs completely contrary to what it means to be human. For the human mind, being essentially creative and holding the root seeds of enlightenment, there has got to be a lasting more meaningful purpose to learning that exists above and beyond the modern occupation-based social model. For it to be truly beneficial, it must constantly strive to nourish and develop the qualities that best raise up the standards of human intellect, creativity and compassion. In the Buddhist world-view, this is exactly what Dharma practice is all about; Dharma practice means to improve one’s-self each and every day through practical and healthy ways for ultimate beneficial.
Tzu Chi embodies true education by being a living work-based manifestation of compassion in action. I believe that Tzu Chi utilizes the work that it does world-wide in disaster relief and human aide as a form of living education. In a way it’s a form of apprenticeship at the craft of becoming a better human being within the family of all beings.
Through the compassionate work that Tzu Chi does, those who help financially learn to put their resources to optimum use and purpose. Those on the field providing the physical aide learn about the true face of impermanent existence, human frailty and the compassion. Those receiving the aide learn about the potential that exists in all of us if only we take up a practice of skillfully manifesting love in action. In a world that seems to be for sale to the highest bidder regardless of the moral cost, this is an education with power and meaning that can benefit everyone. It feeds the soul while developing the mind.
There could be no greater mission than to awaken to one’s own true-self and potential through skillful compassion and aide to all other living beings. One can not help others until one has gained this education for oneself through study, contribution and hard work. In this way Tzu Chi lives up to its charter every day.
For this I am humbled, ennobled and ultimately thankful that there is an organization such as Tzu Chi which lives out the mission of the Dharma and works for the compassionate aide of all in need.
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