Tagged: education
Looking at Education
While the master and the disciple were enjoying a walk in Nature on an ample sidewalk, a mother walked with her son in the same direction as them for a couple of seconds. They overheard the little kid saying: “I will clean up the front porch of the house, but if you want it done right it will cost you more than what you want to give me.”
The master decided to stop by a pond and asked: “ Would you charge me if I ask you to clean up my front porch?” The disciple was perplexed by that question but immediately said: “No, Master.”
The master said: “Why not?” The disciple said: “ I am grateful that I am your disciple and you do not charge me for that.” The master then said: “Your education is different from that kid who charged his mother to clean up the porch of the house.”
The disciple said: “ He is living in her house and obtaining many benefits but he doesn’t realize that. I wonder why?” The master responded:” He has been trained alright to know the value of coins and bills. He wants to get the maximum profit that he can. That was his education.”
The disciple said:”The word education can be understood in many ways, master. In this case, you are saying that the mother has taught that kid to act in that way…”
The master said: “ You said that. Let us talk about that word, education. What does it mean to you?”
The disciple who was versed in dictionary meanings said: “ Well, education is the process to acquire general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself intellectually for mature life.”
The master said: “Very well. What about acquiring beliefs, values, skills and habits. Is that education too?”
The disciple said: “Yes, master but that depends on the setting. Someone from a different country will have different values and beliefs.”
The master said: “Therefore education depends on a particular setting. Isn’t that called training or even indoctrination to fit into that particular country?”
The disciple said: “Yes, master. We could call that training too.”
The master said: “ Society has a way to train a person to fit into it. Society values the economy over any other thing. Therefore, that training will be geared towards that end. The development of reasoning and judgment will be centered in that value of economics. Do you see that?”
The master continued:” Even if you are well versed in languages, arts and sciences; you are only trained to fit into the boundaries of society. Thus, education in our society is just training to acquire skills to fit in, to promote the ways and beliefs of that society. However, Life or Nature does not fit into those narrow boundaries. Society has borders, Nature does not. What sort of training do you need to understand Life, to enjoy it? How does society prepare you for that?”
The disciple thought for a few seconds and said: “When I attended a University, I had a few courses in psychology, philosophy and religion. I guess that is the extent of my preparation for that Life beyond the boundaries of society along with my beliefs and values.”
The master said: “ Life does not usually use the language of reasoning. If you would like to understand Life, a vision based only on intellectual reasoning is very superficial and narrow. Thinking cannot see the whole for it is fragmentary. But why is it so important to understand Life, you may say? Well, most individuals want happiness and all they do is acquire, buy things, power and wills. They believe that happiness can be purchased. Most individuals want to feel at peace and what they do is prepare themselves to fight in case someone takes away what they have accumulated. Most individuals want fulfillment in this life experience but all they find is seclusion from their roots, from Nature, and rather live artificial lives surrounded by concrete, artificial food which they need to purchase, and dependency on a few coins which you must obtain to survive. Many in the world, have to work selling widgets 7days a week to survive. Imagine that life! No time to smell the roses. No time to feel! They will be closer to Nature only when they are depressed, or when they want to take something from it. If these individuals acquire more knowledge or training to have a better standard of living, they become slaves of their acquisitions and status, ever fearful that those could go away. In that conditioning, most speak about love, peace and happiness and even justice without knowing those through experience. Labels become their mental, reasonable reality; but there are no feelings no meaning behind those words. Those labels are empty, lifeless, but yet minds are obsessed with those words. Do you see the importance of that education and where it may lead you if you become unaware? That kid will work only because he wants profit. He does not know about the common good. On the other hand, you will work and you will do it with joy. Isn’t that another type of education? “
Changing the mental programming
In Life, duality is always present. Not as opposites of each other, but as necessary complements. When we view Life through concepts, we see 2 different energies: We see Life and Death as different, opposites. That is the vision taught through centuries of conditioning. That is how we view politics, society and religions. It is only A or B. Choose one. Fight against the other to preserve your “choice.” The way we are taught in society to perceive Life is through that. Observe it.
When we begin to understand duality from another perspective, we perceive only ONE energy which changes, alters by diminishing its original quality. What is night but the continuous absence of light? What is cowardice but the continuous absence of bravery? And bravery? The continuous absence of cowardice.
Words cannot fully explain duality, but through our own observation of Nature, we will understand. Nature, Life has always been the teacher.
Death goes hand in hand with Life. In Nature what we label as “killing” is also to preserve, to live.
What makes the difference with the killing going on among human beings?
Intention.
Only each of us knows our intention behind an action.
Humans strive to live harmoniously with Nature, but they cannot for their intentions are driven by “reasons,” the conditioned mind, labeled as “choice.” A true intention is the manifestation of who we ARE not what we THINK. There is a huge difference.
Animals free in the “wild,” act without “reason,” without a conditioned mind. We could label that way “instinctual” or “predestined” or even a “gutsy feeling” or use any other label.
The point is that wild animals live harmoniously in Nature.
In Nature, killing is out of necessity to eat in order to survive. For humans, killing have different “reasons” created by an egotistical mind. It is the sick mind, over-trained mind, creating “problems” that we hope to resolve by using that same kind of mind. That is insanity.
Life is like a mirror reflecting who we ARE, but also a boomerang sending back that which we have generated.
Why?
We are individuals but at the same time a Totality. To act in the world is to DO that to ourselves. The hand feeding the tummy is also feeding itself; for without a body there cannot be a living hand.
Hand, tummy, liver, heart, lungs are all individual organs, but nothing without the Totality of the body.
Animals sense that, most humans do not.
From the above “justice” is already in Life.
Individuals conditioned by the teachings in society believe that the above is only a “spiritual holistic view,” some utopia which is unable to “solve” the real problems in society.
How is it possible for the World to be filled with Justice already, if there is killing and wrong doing everywhere? It is white against black, woman against man, country against country, religion against religion, Humans against Nature… We need to organize and DO something!
That is how revolutionary sociopolitical IDEAS are born under many labels. Each one with a different dream of what “justice” means, driven by the same conditioned mind.
Those idealists believe that “teaching” can change everything. But if the teacher is born out of the same mental conditioning of society, how is he going to teach others? Undoubtedly, he will pass on the same conditioning.
When the mind unlearns that which it has been taught to learn.
When the heart opens up because it is no longer afraid to maintain the false security of having things, or the need of being somebody and doing great things to be remembered…
Out of that mental “programming,” there is a new Life.
Doing the “right” thing
Most “spiritual” and “morally correct” individuals, are concerned about this: “Doing the right thing in Life.”
A veil of sainthood, righteousness is coveted by the “I.”
There are many “rewards” (Just like a credit card reward point system) associated with DOING a morally accepted script, allowed by society, religions, nations, fraternities, schools… all of those institutions which are regimenting/conditioning (also known as teaching/educating or preparing ) the individual.
As we are “right now,” there are many scripts in our minds deciding what “a right action” is.
A young person may want to “DO” the right thing in choosing a career. That same man, may want to “DO the right thing” as he fathered a child out of wedlock. Later, he may want to “Do the right thing” while deciding whether to put his ill father, permanently in a hospice.
The phrase to “Do the right thing” has many meanings according to time, circumstances, beliefs, traditions.
Definitely, to “Do the right thing” is merely a cover, for we cannot know the ramifications, the extent of our DOING.
Carl paid for his son to go to the “best University,” even though his son did not want to go. Carl thought that he was DOING “the right thing,” for the welfare of his son.
His son was killed in a car accident, on his way to a class.
Of course; guilt surrounded Carl, for the rest of his Life.
What is the “teaching” in that story?
In the Western society, everything has to have a “moral” teaching, something the mind can apprehend so “I don’t do it again and I can teach others.”
Fear creeps in.
In Life, there is no teaching but a mirror. That experience of “losing” a son, will be colored with Carl’s conditioning. It is that conditioning the one that will come out.
But Carl is too “busy” with his guilt to realize about his beliefs.
If we were just aware of all the conditioning going on in our minds!
We may try to figure out Life, to get ahead, to be clever in Life; but the “I” does not make Life by himself.
The spider web of associations and timely interactions are out of the reach of the clever “I” but yet; “I” believe that “I” can “control” my destiny, by DOING “the right things.” I can use the support of the “law of karma” to spread “righteousness” around me. (If I “do this right,” then through karma, something right will occur to me.)
The only issue is that “righteousness” hasn’t been defined.
What is to “be right”?
Life is not concerned about our trivial morality. Life is beyond moral standards.
Was Carl “right or wrong”?
We will not able to understand Life until we clean ourselves up from all those concepts, moral precepts, traditions and beliefs clouding our awareness.
It is not a matter of rejection.
If we have our hands dirty and wash them, it is not out of rejection of dirt.
But unless we “unlearn” with the same attitude as when we wash our hands, we will be rejecting society, religions, schools, etc. as radicals and unfit members.
The path of Awakening may take someone through that route, however; we may learn that it is not the destination, but only a side scene. 🙂
Methods for opening our consciousness
There are no methods. 🙂 End of report.
Every human being is a manifestation of the Totality of life. Every human being is a singularity with different experiences, beliefs and emotional culture.
Thus, there cannot be a method for everyone to follow.
The idea of a “method” is coming from that consciousness of individuality. In other words, someone who may perceive himself as “having arrived.” (where?) or “illuminated” may try to describe his experience by compiling those life experiences into a method for “others” to follow.
Please see that we can only follow behavior but we cannot follow a different consciousness.
Religions, intellectuals, scientists, philosophers are keen protectors of the “methodology.”
It cannot be otherwise, when there is the idea of “massification,” that is to “make everyone the same.”
That is how our educational system works and once we go through it, a “new” consciousness is developed out of the experience of going through it and not because there was a particular element, a particular method which is the cause of change.
Going through the whole experience could be considered the method. 🙂
Lucy shared: “ My son (Billy) adopted Buddhism and he became a vegetarian and stopped smoking. He was very happy with that change, but then he met his old girlfriend again; who was a smoker and meat eater. My son went back into smoking and eating meat.”
For most, the culprit is the girlfriend. She is a “bad” influence. Nevertheless, once Billy abandoned the “Buddhist method,” he went back into his old ways, which made him unhappy; but at the same time, he was helpless to change.
That is how we arrive at another spiritual premise: If you really want to know if your “change” is just behavioral or a conscious change, then abandon the method and you will find out.
If Billy liked to eat meat and to smoke, then the method was merely a temporary “fix” which was causing repression in him. His girlfriend was the right excuse to go back into his “old” ways.
That consciousness will take Billy into a set of actions, which will have a consequence in his life. Those consequences may trigger a change in consciousness. Nevertheless, those consequences in life are not part of a “method” created by a human being.
As we peel off the layers of beliefs, dogma and emotional culture in us, then we could discover another “reality” which is fresh and pristine, “pure” from mental conditioning.
That experience may change our consciousness. However, that is not a method. 🙂
It is a consequence to be experienced by those who are ready to wake up from their long sleep. Those who have already slept enough and are ready to get up from their cushy beds and comfortable beliefs.
If you try to wake up others who are sleeping deeply, they will fight with you. They will hurt you, for their consciousness is in a different location.
Neither “good” nor “bad,” but just a different location.
Question: How to become leader in class in the field of education in school with the help of bk meditation…how we can achiece this goal?
Thank you for your question!
Dear soul,
If you experience the self and engage yourself in “studying yourself,” you are a leader in any field 🙂
Best wishes!
Exploring the Depth of Living 