History of Education

The mid-year holiday his finally concluded and a week of re-adjustment just flew by with a flurry of activities. I was tasked to perform a professional sharing during my departmental meeting. With the mind to let more people come into contact with the thoughts of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, I drew from his research on education and shared a small section on the history of education as well as the evolution of teachers to meet the times. The following summarized the 3 ages of education and schooling identified as well as the 4 stages of evolution of the roles of educators:

History of Schooling

1. The Age of Specialized Education directed toward providing individuals with skills appropriate to their social class. Members of the aristocracy were taught the morality and literary skills expected of their status, warriors were trained in chivalry and martial arts, and merchants in business and bookkeeping skills.
   
2. The Age of General Education common to all classes as necessary to round out individual life. In this stage education is seen primary as a means to one’s own gain; individual existence is the central concern, and the importance and needs of social life are largely unrecognized.
   
3. The Age of Total Education in conscious acknowledgement of individuals as constituents in the overall body and life of the society. The true realization of complete social well-being is seen as the greatest good. Members of a society, educated in this condition no longer perceive education as the means to their own individual ends but offer their contributive learning efforts to meet the needs of society.
   

Evolution of Teachers

1. The Stage of Direct Transmission of knowledge. In oral cultures, the three qualifications of the perfect teacher are extensive knowledge of what is to be taught, ability to transmit that knowledge, and exemplary personal character as a model for children.
   
2. The Stage of Experiment where trial-and-error improvements towards transmitting knowledge in more readily absorbable form were made. At first, the choice and arrangement of lessons is left up to the teacher. Then, the boom in student population and the growth of printing industries leads to the use of backup texts, although many skills must still be acquired through trial and error. Much practical experience is lost because information is passed on only in the form of raw notes.
   
3. The Stage of Specialization. Further increases in student numbers resulted in higher demands for teachers. The government joins the search for more efficient means of teaching. Isolating one qualification of the teacher – the knowledge of lessons to be taught – from the total person of the teacher brings greater focus upon experience and command of teaching methods. In this division of labor, scholars devote their time to the compilation of texts, away from the actual task of teaching. Teachers need not be expert in the subjects to be covered to be effective as long as the text is authoritative and they are practiced in getting the message across.
   
4. The Stage of Guided Studies. Natural and social phenomena of the immediate living environment are studied through direct observation, with text only as related reference material. The advancement of the Internet and public libraries are also key factors in this stage of evolution.
   

With the perspective from the above, we can understand that many of the frustrations and challenges facing educators today are due to the fact that we are in the transition state from the 3rd stage to the 4th. But the change is inevitable and teachers are trying their best to cope. I pray sincerely that I would be about to adapt according and play a part in propelling education in Singapore towards such a development. I further highlight the distinction in the roles of teachers in the 2 stages concerned

• Organizer of information (3rd Stage)
  Educational Institutions are designed based on the concept that Education is to prepare children for adult lives. But the idea that satisfaction from learning is postponed till a successful career is attained caused much frustration to students. It focused on self-mastery and competition which feeds a materialistic society where wealth and status is the measure of success.
  
• Arousers of Interest and Curiosity (4th Stage)
  To recognize that learning on its own is a source of Happiness. Happiness from Education is not the shallow, ego-centered hedonism but the development within each person of a social consciousness that enables understanding and appreciation of the extent to which all humans are indebted to the society in which they live.
  

Medicine and Poison

The Law of Cause and Effect is strict. It is not hard to believe that. Hence a good person with a kind heart will be rewarded with benefits. This is the most natural. And it doesn’t matter which school of thoughts this person subscript to. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh. As long as you can muster a good heart, you will have good things happening to you. This is just like gravity working whether you are aware of the Law of Gravity or not.

There are many people who claimed that their faith is one and absolute by saying that miracles are evidence. It is true that evidence in the form of miracles is important in demonstrating that there is something positive about the faith. However, I have to point out that there is not a single school of thoughts which has a monopoly on such miracles. Therefore, I have to conclude that miracles are part and parcel of life and due to cause and effect instead of the faith. You have compassion for others, you get the benefit. This is most natural.

Even people with no adherence to any faith have shown miracles when they are imbued with strong willpower. This like the body’s natural healing ability and the antibodies when we are sick. Positive teachings are just like medicines which complements our antibodies to help us get well.

But as we all know, there are many different types of problems in life just as there are many countless types of sicknesses. Good medicine can cure many sicknesses. They provide hope and encouragements. This is what positive faiths and religions do.

Now, those of you who know me will know that I am a strong supporter of Nichiren Buddhism taught by the Soka Gakkai. Why did I choose this particular religion?

I recognized the positive effects that many good religions and faiths are doing for their followers. However, even good medicine cannot cure all sicknesses. My study of this Buddhism allowed me to realize that this school of thoughts can. Why?

Because the focus of Nichiren Buddhism is not about seeking external factors to strengthen our lives but instead, about inner transformation.

Using my earlier analogy, Nichiren Buddhism, instead of an external medicine to aid our recovery from sickness, strives to understand our body and strengthen our natural antibodies and healing power. We believe in the indefinite potential of each human and seek to tap this inherent potential. This, I believe, is the strategy to truly “cure all sicknesses”. It is much like the people with no faith but performing miracles with willpower except that with the understanding of why willpower works, we further enhance its effects.

This is with this understanding that while proclaiming the superiority of Nichiren Buddhism, we managed to maintain a healthy respect for people of other faiths. We can truly appreciate the good that they have done also.

But it is also well-documented that while Soka Gakkai has good relations with people of other faiths, it is highly intolerant of other sects who also practice some form of Nichiren Buddhism, especially the Nichiren Shoshu. Why is this so?

There are many reasons really. To list them all would not be suitable for a blog entry like this but for a proper full dialogue and discussion. So I will only state one clear example here. Let’s look at it from the foundation of these organizations. During WWII, the founding fathers of Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda fiercely opposed the war and call for peace. They were harshly thrown into prison. Makiguchi died in prison while Toda was released after the war with his health shattered. But he reconstructed the Soka Gakkai with the fiery desire to rid of the world of miserly [especially from warfare]. In contrast, the Nichiren Shosho caved in to the pressure from the military government during the war and even conducted prayer session to support Japan’s war efforts. Not hard to see which organization truly inherited the spirit of compassion of Nichiren Buddhism.

Soka Gakkai is currently an organization of 192 countries and territories (and still growing rapidly) with millions of practitioners constantly changing their lives for the better. This growth would not be possible if the teaching is not a positive force for humanity. The Law of Cause and Effect is strict.

The main reason why the Soka Gakkai would not tolerant Nichiren Shoshu of today is that their corruption of the teaching will hurt innocent people. The Soka Gakkai respects the other religions because they actually bring about a positive influence on people. But the corruption of Nichiren Shoshu is like taking the most powerful medicine of all, but applying it in the wrong way. For example, a medicine which is supposed to be applied on a cut, if you were to take it orally instead, it becomes poison.

Therefore, corrupted Nichiren Buddhism to Nichiren Buddhists is not the same as alternative medicines like Christianity or Islam. It is poison and ought to be eradicated.

Polishing our mirror

Like the path of birds or the path of fish, in a sense, the path of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the most natural way for human beings to achieve enlightenment. This is because it is the means for us to reveal “the mystic truth that is originally inherent in our lives”. The Daishonin emphasizes the very natural way in which chanting daimoku allows us to manifest this innate mystic truth.

There exists a law that leads us to enlightenment even though it is not visible. This law is the practice of chanting daimoku. And this is the most natural state of human behavior. It is the fundamental way in which human beings grow spiritually.

However, because it is not obvious to us just like the paths of fishes and birds are not obvious, it is not easy to understand this immediately. The main reason for humans not to recognize this path is the obstructions from their negative karma.

So what exactly is karma?

Cause and Effect is easily understood. In fact, the relationship between cause and effect is the foundation of classical science which modern educated people are all familiar with. There are many ways to understand karma. But the most straightforward way would be to see it as an account of moral bank. Good deeds give us good karma which will be the good causes resulting in good effects. And the reverse is true for evil deeds. Hence the need to regularly perform good deeds.

But seriously, can the good deeds ever match the evil?

Karma is created with our action, words and deeds. Even if we do not actually slap someone, we definitely thought about it whenever we are angry. And gosh… can us human complaint. We complaint about anything and every complaint is an addition to our negative karma.

Add that to the violence and wars waged by our ancestors, humans are sinking in the sea of negative karma. Therefore all of us will suffer. From illness to financial problems. From emptiness in the soul to disappointment in love. We suffer as a child and we suffer in old age. All these is due to negative karma.

Therefore, at its core, the purpose of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is to clean away the tainted residues of karma.

A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

In the depths of our lives, we are all clear shiny mirrors. That is our Buddha Nature. But like a mirror, if we do not clean it regularly, it will gather dust and dirt. Just like the negative karma covering this Buddha Nature.

Or we can understand it like musical instruments. All of us are capable of producing wonderful music of happiness and joy. But like a guitar or a piano which suffers knocks and abuse of daily hardships, we go out of tune. No matter how hard we try to play the guitar, and no matter how skilled we are with the piano, if we do not first tune our lives to the rhythm of life which is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we cannot produce wonderful music.

Spotlght

An interview with Grammy award-winning SGI member Herbie Hancock on Beliefnet, a spiritual web site not affiliated with any particular spiritual organization or movement. [Read interview]

Higher than the Sky

It is strange how the vacation always seems to be busier than regular days.

It was a hectic start to the vacation for me. It began with the SL camp starting from last Friday to Saturday (23 May - 24 May). It was also the same days where the schools had many parents coming down to meet the teachers to collect their report books. Hence, I was running from places to places catering to the parents and the demands of the camp. At the end of the camp, I was totally exhausted complete with the lack of sleep.

I remembered driving home lacking in alertness. It was dangerous indeed. I chanted daimoku continuously on my journey to ensure it was a safe one.

The next day, I had Gajukai duty. An overnight one. Steven failed to turn up for duty and I was facing the prospect of staying overnight alone. But Minwei stayed on eventually. Hence, It was with this condition and lack of proper rest again that I rushed off the next morning to be the presiding examiner for the ‘O’ Level examination (MT). I was grateful that it was incident-free. I finally rested well that evening.

The next day was the panel meeting session for some of my students who needed additional attention. Only 2 out of 4 turned up. I prayed sincerely that it will be a genuine turning point in their lives.

On Wednesday, the Cute One flew off to Los Angeles business trip. She was still not back yet at the time of this blog entry. I missed her greatly.

Thursday and Friday (29 May and 30 May) was another camp in school. This time was with the basketball team boys. The boys did well and behaved appropriately throughout. It was a physically tough camp. But I was glad to go through it with them.

GD advised that we ought to better our health today. I think the camp did me lots of good.

Anyway, after the camp, I attended my first lecture for my M. Ed. Course. I clumsily forgot to sign my attendance and collect the student package. Hence, that means I have to make a trip to NIE sometime next week to collect it. NIE is all the way in the western corner of Singapore for those who do not know. *Sigh*

But the crazy week ended in the best manner possible. It was the YMD Kenshu! This year’s theme was “Arise as Ikeda’s Direct Disciples in the 2nd Act of Kosen Rufu! The seniors’ sharing really touches many of us in the depths of our lives. I will organize my notes and share them here soon.

I am also determined that all my faithful comrades those who failed to attend received the same encouragement as soon as possible.

It was rightly pointed out by YMD chief that with every human disaster like what happened in Shenzhen, our movement is made even more urgent and significant.

Higher than the Sky

Together always we must fight
Together we must win
Happy together side by side
Sharing tears of happiness
Shining within our hearts
Hope for all mankind
Tomorrow’s golden dreams
Always higher than the sky

We are reminded at the closing of the Kenshu that we are Sensei’s representatives here in Singapore. We must not fail. We are contributing to Toda Sensei’s eternal vow: To rid the world of misery. It is a truly noble vow. We have to take pride in that!