A Buddhist In The Classroom

A Buddhist perspective on classroom training.

The earliest records we have today of what the Buddha said were written down several centuries after his death, and the body of teachings attributed to him continued to evolve in India for centuries afterward across a shifting cultural and political landscape. As one tradition within a diverse religious milieu that included even the Greek kingdoms of northwestern India, Buddhism had many opportunities to both influence and be influenced by competing schools of thought. Even within Buddhism, a proliferation of interpretive traditions produced a dynamic intellectual climate. Johannes Bronkhorst here tracks the development of Buddhist teachings both within the larger Indian context and among Buddhism's many schools, shedding light on the sources and trajectory of such ideas as dharma theory, emptiness, the bodhisattva ideal, buddha nature, formal logic, and idealism. In these pages, we discover the roots of the doctrinal debates that have animated the Buddhist tradition up until the present day.

What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to develop young minds, but now find yourself limited by "teach to the test" pressures and state standards, Mary Cowhey's book Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades will reignite the passion and remind you that educators provide more than test prep. Starting her career as a community activist, Cowhey shares her roots and how they influenced her Peace Class, where she asks her students to think critically, learn through activism and discussion, and view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and what they can do to make it a better place. Woven through the book is Mary's unflinching and humorous account of her own roots as well as lessons from her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world. Black Ants and Buddhists offers no easy answers, but it does include starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community. Students and teachers investigate problems and issues together, in a multicultural, antiracist classroom.

Buddhist studies is a rapidly changing field of research, constantly transforming and adapting to new scholarship. This creates a problem for instructors, both in a university setting and in monastic schools, as they try to develop a curriculum based on a body of scholarship that continually shifts in focus and expands to new areas. Teaching Buddhism establishes a dialogue between the community of instructors of Buddhism and leading scholars in the field who are updating, revising, and correcting earlier understandings of Buddhist traditions. Each chapter presents new ideas within a particular theme of Buddhist studies and explores how courses can be enhanced with these insights. Contributors in the first section focus on the typical approaches, figures, and traditions in undergraduate courses, such as the role of philosophy in Buddhism, Nagarjuna, Yogacara Buddhism, tantric traditions, and Zen Buddhism. They describe the impact of recent developments-like new studies in the cognitive sciences-on scholarship in those areas. Part Two examines how political engagement and ritual practice have shaped the tradition throughout its history. Focus then shifts to the issues facing instructors of Buddhism-dilemmas for the scholar-practitioner in the academic and monastic classroom, the tradition's possible roles in teaching feminism and diversity, and how to present the tradition in the context of a world religions course. In the final section, contributors offer stories of their own experiences teaching, paying particular attention to the ways in which American culture has impacted them. They discuss the development of courses on American Buddhism; using course material on the family and children; the history and trajectory of a Buddhist-Christian dialog; and Buddhist bioethics, environmentalism, economic development, and social justice. In synthesizing this vast and varied body of research, the contributors in this volume have provided an invaluable service to the field

Donna Quesada had been teaching for about a dozen years when the first signs of burnout hit her. Rather than give in to her frustration, she reached for Buddha’s teachings, the Zen wisdom that formed the basis of her own longtime spiritual practice. She survived the semester and gradually rediscovered the joy in her job that had been progressively declining. In this wise and inspirational book, she shares the lessons she learned—lessons that revealed, time and again, that no matter the situation, it’s always about getting your head in the right place first. Resolution begins in our own minds. Some days, some semesters, and even some years will be more challenging and more wearisome than others, she warns. But in The Inspired Teacher, Quesada offers a lasting source of encouragement and Zen. Although the book draws from Eastern teachings, the wisdom is for everyone, regardless of personal background, creed, or faith. With elements of The Last Lecture as well as Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul, this is the perfect gift for teachers—but also for anyone needing inspiration.

This book provides a series of thematically arranged articles written by contemporary scholars of Buddhism throughout North America.

TCSE-Smith, blurb (final 9 August 2013) There are 400 million Buddhists in the world. Buddhists in Australia make up 3% of the population. So why have Buddhists had so little to say about educating youth? And, can Buddhism survive in Australia without educating youth? Sue Smith in Buddhist Voices in School answers why Buddhists are reluctant to ‘go public’ on education, and how Buddhism has much to offer the critical area of enhancing the wellbeing of young people. Here she distinguishes spiritual education from religion. Using case studies of Buddhist classes in primary schools Smith shows how a community adapted Buddha-Dharma to fit with contemporary education. The book describes how Social and Emotional Learning, inquiry and experiential approaches to education fit well with the intentions of Buddhism. In these classes students learned to meditate and explored ethics through a lively selection of Jataka tales. Voices from a Buddhist community, state school teachers, parents and also students inform the narrative of this book. It is the students themselves that reveal over time how they have developed calm, focus, kindness, resilience and better ability to make choices through their participation. The author concludes that the principles and techniques used in this program make potent contributions to current pedagogy. This book will be of great value to educators, academics and all those who have interest in Buddhism and who care about how children are educated.

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION This volume is a collection of papers presented at the international workshop on “Buddhist Approach to Global Education in Ethics” which is being held on May 13, 2019, at International Conference Center Tam Chuc, Ha Nam, Vietnam on the occasion of the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations 2019. The aim is to throw new light on the values of the global ethical system with a focus on the Buddhist approach in deepening our understanding of how Buddhist ethics can deliver a social change in the globalized world. REVIEW OF CONTENTS Prof. P. D. Premasiri in his paper titled “Universally valid ethical norms of Buddhism applicable to global education in ethics” deals with hindrance in determining the basis for global education in ethics and providing undeniable facts about the diversity involved in ethical norms, principles and attitudes of various global communities. The author also discusses the characteristics of Buddhist teaching on a humanistic approach to the moral life with perceptions of enlightened humans, i.e. ‘Knowledgeable Persons’ (vi¤¤å purisà). The paper places further emphasis on the necessity to draw the attention of educators to train the minds of humans on ethical choices in accordance with such decisions. The paper entitled “Teaching Buddhist Ethics through the Life of the Buddha and Jesus” by Abraham Velez De Cea has proposed a new approach to the Buddhist ethical way of teaching and its application through interpretations of the Buddha’s life from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation. The purpose is to heighten the Buddhist contribution being made to global education in ethical issues. The paper is divided into two parts, Buddhist ethics as a form of virtue ethics and secondly, interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings from the perspective of virtue ethics and meditation.

This Book Is A Critical Study Of Buddhist Philosophy Of Education And Its Adaptation In Modern System Of Education In India, Tibet And Sri Lanka. It Also Shows The Recent Impact Of The Buddhist Philosophy In Western Education. There Is No Doubt That Buddhism Made Tremendous Contributions To The Philosophy Of Education. The Notion Of Education Entails Many Subsidiary Notions, Such As Notions Of Ignorance And Knowledge, And Of Teacher And Student. Here, We Shall Survey The Tradition Of Buddhist Education Both Monastic And Secular In India, Sri Lanka, And Tibet. We Would Also Show How These Forms Changed Under Specific Influences And In Differing Cultural Contexts, Including Modern Approaches Of The West.

A rich compendium of stories, meditations and creative activities to engage both instructors and students in learning about Buddhism and developing greater self-awareness, wisdom and compassion. This 328 page Resource contains information about: * basic teachings of Buddhism * the life of the Buddha * the Jataka Tales and other stories of virtuous actions * meditation special days and festivals * and many other fun activities.