Steffanie Bristow Steffanie Bristow Miller, Marissa Miller, Marissa Miller, Marissa The topic for this page is Buddhism.  This page will include discussion from Thanawat Sriwot aka Steven O'Neil.  Steven is 18 years old and a former Buddhist monk from Wang Pa Pao,-near Chiang Rai Thailand.  He spent 4 years there in a Buddhist run school and left the monastery in June, 2009 and moved to the U.S.  He currently resides in Aurora, MN where he attends Mesabi East High School.  

Independent research

 I undertook research of Buddhism. Buddhism originated with a man named Siddhartha Gautama about 2,500 years ago, who sought to better understand the nature of the world. Currently, there are 376,000,000 followers world wide. There are various schools and sub-groupings of Buddhism however all Buddhist share some fundamental beliefs. ("Buddhism: an introduction," )

First, in Buddhism, there is no belief in a personal God, nor is the religion based on any relationship between humans and a God. Followers instead look to Buddhism to focus on how individuals develop spiritually in order to carefully and deeply understand the true nature of life.

One of the fundamental concepts that Buddhists aim to seek is that everything in life is interconnected. Buddhists closely examine causes and effects, and recognize that everything changes and is impermanent. Because of this special connectedness, Buddhist consider compassion as a paramount virtue and goal. This concept underlies Buddha's (Siddhartha Gautama) teachings. The teachings begin with “The Four Noble Truths” which are:

1. The truth of suffering

2. The truth of the cause suffering

3. The truth of the end of suffering

4. The truth of the path to end suffering

These truths can be described as 1 and 2, which diagnose the problem- suffering. Truths 3 and 4 describe how to solve the problem of suffering.

According to Buddha suffering can be part of being elderly, ill or dying. Suffering also exists because people are never really satisfied. The have many desires and expectations and are always in want for more. Eventually, what we have becomes monotonous. To Buddha, suffering is caused specifically by:

1. Greed and desire

2. Ignorance and delusion

3. Hatred and destructive urges ("Religions, buddhism")

Buddha also taught that the way to release yourself from the causes of suffering, like desire, was to give up attachment. The Buddhist aims to know things clearly, without becoming enchanted with them. A key to this understanding is the idea that everything is changing and nothing is permanent. Once a person is able to extinguish the causes of suffering (greed, delusion and hatred, as above) they reach Nirvana- or enlightenment. This can be thought of as obtaining a state of mind marked by joy, without negative emotions or fear. In Buddhist tradition, an enlightened person is filled with compassion for all living things.

Lastly, Buddhists believe that the way to obtain Nirvana is by subscribing to particular rules of living. This is known as the eight-fold path or “The Middle Way.” The conscripts promote moderation as follows, according the the BBC's “Religions” website.

       1.  Right Understanding

• Accepting Buddhist teachings. (The Buddha never intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly, but to practice them and judge for themselves whether they were true.)

1. Right Intention - Sammā san̄kappa

• A commitment to cultivate the right attitudes.

2. Right Speech - Sammā vācā

• Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech.

3. Right Action - Sammā kammanta

• Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure.

4. Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva

• Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in intoxicants or weapons.

5. Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma

• Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from evil and unwholesome states and preventing them arising in future.

6. Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati

• Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings and states of mind.

7. Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi

• Developing the mental focus necessary for this awareness. ("Religions, buddhism," )

A great resource teaching the fundamentals of major world religions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

Buddhism and education

According to Sanders, children raised by Buddhist parents have higher attainment of education beyond high school than the majority in the United States. This may be because of a greater interest in education as promoted by the religion, or perhaps from a personal investment standpoint. Regardless, this cultural group is becoming increasingly present in the U.S. education system and it is important to consider how this may have a bearing on best practices. (Sander, 2009)

In addition, the state of Minnesota requires that all students be taught about major world religions, Buddhism included. This spirituality offers a perspective that may seem very different than what most students are familiar with. This being case, it is important as a teacher to find a way students can learn from each other by finding a system of dialogue that makes sense to everyone. ("Minnesota academic standards," 2005)

While conducting my research, I came upon a fascinating article on “Interfaith Dialogue.” This is defined by  Massoudi, as learning from the “other.” According to the author, dialogue is different from what often occurs today both in schools and life where people communicate in monologue or lecture, and attempt to change another person's view, or, simply exchange facts or information. Inspired by Buddhism, the article suggests that people are interconnected as individuals within a boundless system and that dialogue, or learning, is constantly occurring amongst ourselves whether we are aware of it or not. (Massoudi, 2006)

Massoudi prescribes ways to engage in interfaith dialogue that would be effective in a classroom setting. The elements are described as follows.

1^st. Before dialogue

When engaging in dialogue (especially about religion) people exchange both emotion and reason. Respect and tolerance for others views must be displayed. More over, “There must be a genuine belief that the other person's point of view is as valid and as appropriate as one's own view or path.” (Massoudi, 2006)

2^nd, During dialogue

The author states that most importantly, people should attempt to have an open mind or, “beginner's mind,” that is essentially blank from judgment and open to new possibilities. Also, approach dialogue with a sense of curiosity and wonder. To do this, a person shouldn't try to label, classify or simplify what another person is relaying.

According to Massoudi, Buddhism dictates that one must act with “equanimity accompanied by generosity and patience which allows and gives the other person the opportunity to present his views without feeling intimidated, threatened or criticized.” This can be done by not acting angry when being criticized. Also one must not act pleased or happy when praised. Its important to be mindful of our thoughts and words in order to aid in the conduct and peaceful atmosphere of the dialogue. (Massoudi, 2006)

3^rd, After the dialogue

This begins with contemplation to review what was learned and what happened in the first two stages of the dialogue. Tibetan Buddhism refers to this as “meditating on exchanging yourself with others.” (Massoudi, pg 431). Its an opportunity to try and understand from the other persons point of view and perhaps even try and put yourself in their shoes. It is also a time to think about how the dialogue may have changed or transformed you.(Massoudi, 2006)

Massoudi's description of interfaith dialogue seems to provide for rich meaningful learning opportunities that also build compassion and community. They can be applied to religion, but to other topics as well. They seem appropriate in the classroom. Many activities I have learned about regarding differentiation, communication, motivation, community building and multiculturalism seem to be parallel to this article. I hope to help my students develop skills and a classroom environment that foster these skills towards effective dialogue.

Buddhism: an introduction. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm

Life of the buddha. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/resources/index.html

Massoudi, M. (2006). A system theory approach to interfaith dialogue. Intercultural Education, 17(4), Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.bsuproxy.mnpals.net/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4446f5f1-b442-404f-a421-69fc5e29a17b%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=112

Minnesota academic standards - social studies 2004. (2005, August 26). Retrieved from http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/Academic_Standards/Social_Studies/index.html

Religions, buddhism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/

Sander, William. (2009). Religious background and educational attainment: the effects of buddhism, islam, and judaism. Economics of Education Review,29(3), Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.bsuproxy.mnpals.net/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB9-4X315K3-1&_user=1822386&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000054885&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1822386&md5=9a2eebe181f263d418b7876a655f0a3a&searchtype=a