Buddhist Education and Modern Education: Compatible or Incompatible?


			(back to list) Buddhist Education and Modern Education: Compatible or Incompatible? Dr. Tamás Agócs ABSTRACT The ultimate goal of Buddhist education is to destroy ignorance, the root cause of suffering. Specifically, education in a Buddhist sense should seek to eliminate from the students’ mind a variety of wrong views, which form the theoretical basis of ignorance. These purely conceptual contents of the mind are (what form) the so-called "imputed ignorance" (parikalpita-avidya), as opposed to the "innate ignorance" (sahaja-avidya). It is also called "conceptual" or "acquired" ignorance. Innate ignorance cannot be accessed until there is conceptual ignorance (or misconceptions), so first one has to eliminate the "imputed" ignorance, i.e. wrong views. Wrong views in the Buddhist sense are those which go against the three marks of conditioned existence, i.e. impermanence, suffering and egoless-ness. To think that there are any permanent phenomena in conditioned existence is certainly a wrong view, just as much as to think that there is any lasting happiness to be gained from it. But the root of all wrong views is the belief in a concrete and permanent self, which seeks to gain happiness. The whole of samsara is revolving around this notion of self, the most difficult and impenetrable of all our misconceptions. Traditional (Western) notions of education imply that there is some kind of result to be gained from the process of learning. A student, for instance, studies a certain subject in order to master it and put it to use in his/her life, thus becoming more knowledgeable, wealthier, gaining higher status in society etc. This we may call the social value of education. This highly abstract value is concretized in the diploma or certificate issued on completion of one’s studies. It is usually assumed that by getting a diploma, one somehow becomes a more valuable person and he/she can turn this extra value to his/her advantage. Many young people entering higher education today are motivated by such expectations. The whole value system of modern education obviously implies belief in a concrete and permanent self, which can become "better" (more knowledgeable, educated etc.) and happier through education. (In Europe, for instance, the whole system of higher education is rapidly becoming more and more market-oriented.) Thus, there seems to be a contradiction between the ultimate goal of Buddhist education, i.e. to attain liberation from the misconception of a permanent self, and the purpose of modern education, which is to strengthen and secure one’s mistaken sense of identity. How can we resolve this contradiction in the context of modern Buddhist education, and in the spirit of continuity and progress? This is the question I would like to explore in my paper.