When you hear the words

When you hear the words
“Eastern thought”
&
“learning”

When you hear the words
“Eastern thought”
&
“learning”
you might think of this: ––––>

When you hear the words
“Eastern thought”
&
“learning”
you might think of this: ––––>

Fortunately:
you’d be wrong

Fortunately:
you’d be wrong

Fortunately:
you’d be wrong
We actually mean this:
<––––

✤
infusing Eastern principles into our classrooms
is very serious business
✤
it isn’t a matter of merely copycatting
procedures that Asian teachers use
✤
or even working on the same subjects or
applying identical methods

Nope

Try again!

IN FACT ...

Values like balance,
self-reflection &
mental awareness
It’s all about how Eastern values can
supplement and highlight our own theories

Some points to
consider:
One through six.

SIDDHARTHA
GAUTAMA
=1=

Buddhists consider him
their “Supreme Buddha”

His father was a king, and
he was raised with the teachings of
India’s best tutors

Yet he left home to pursue
an ascetic, humble life

This isn’t for you, of course.
It’s for everyone ELSE in the class who doesn’t
know what ‘ascetic’ means. ;)

Through starvation,

self-mortification,

self-mortification,
(close your eyes)

fierce self-discipline,

& constant meditation

He hoped to achieve
pure religious fulfillment.

SIDDHARTHA
GAUTAMA

Fortunately

He followed that by
getting something to eat

And (as well) he discovered some moral precepts:

The Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths
I.Suffering is everywhere in our lives

The Four Noble Truths
I.Suffering is everywhere in our lives
II.Craving and desire leads to that suffering

The Four Noble Truths
I.Suffering is everywhere in our lives
II.Craving and desire leads to that suffering
III.Giving up one’s cravings means the end of one’s suffering

The Four Noble Truths
I.Suffering is everywhere in our lives
II.Craving and desire leads to that suffering
III.Giving up one’s cravings means the end of one’s suffering
IV.Balance in all things: right view & action

He
arrived at
these
principles
on his Thinking,
own: reflecting
on his
life, &
making
mistakes

THESE TRUTHS MATTER TO US,
AS EDUCATORS, FOR THEIR PEDAGOGIC
(NOT SOLELY SPIRITUAL) WORTH

THESE TRUTHS MATTER TO US,
AS EDUCATORS, FOR THEIR PEDAGOGIC
(NOT SOLELY SPIRITUAL) WORTH
For instance: a student should (or might) shed the desire to
land upon a single, correct answer, and instead concentrate
on the process that would lead her there.

THESE TRUTHS MATTER TO US,
AS EDUCATORS, FOR THEIR PEDAGOGIC
(NOT SOLELY SPIRITUAL) WORTH
For instance Part II: maybe a student could devote her time
more evenly to a variety of tasks; or when working on a
single task, counterbalance her approaches to the work,
never favouring one far and above the others

Siddhartha realized that
his most-cherished lessons
were those he’d stumbled
upon in his own
meditation and thoughts.

Siddhartha realized that
his most-cherished lessons
were those he’d stumbled
upon in his own
meditation and thoughts.
Following dogmas and dictates (even
others’ examples) only led him away from
himself and his own understanding. It gave
him no gain.

He realized that his most-
cherished lessons were
those he’d stumbled upon
in his own meditation and
thoughts.
Following dogmas and dictates (even
others’ examples) only led him away from
himself and his own understanding. It gave
him no gain.

BUDDHIST
ENLIGHTENMENT
=2=

✤
Sartori, or Enlightenment, is the ultimate goal for
a Zen Buddhist
✤
it’s one’s realization of the true nature of the
cosmos, a state of non-thought (=blankness of
mind)
✤
usually very sudden or spontaneous

✤
Sartori, or Enlightenment, is the ultimate goal for
a Zen Buddhist
✤
it’s one’s realization of the true nature of the
cosmos, a state of non-thought (=blankness of
mind)
✤
usually very sudden or spontaneous AHA!

✤
sometimes, it’s a result of a koan

✤
sometimes, it’s a result of a koan
✤
koan: a riddle for self-contemplative or self-
reflective purposes; often one without any
‘regular’ or ‘straightforward’ answer

✤
sometimes, it’s a result of a koan
✤
koan: a riddle for self-contemplative or self-
reflective purposes; often one without any
‘regular’ or ‘straightforward’ answer
✤
“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

INSTRUCTION:
Watch video clip

ZEN &
BODHIDARMA
=3=

BODHIDHARMA

BODHIDHARMA
➡ first patriarch of
Chinese Buddhism
➡ introduced Buddhism to
East Asia (from India)
➡ we consider him the
leader of the Zen
Buddhists

BODHIDHARMA
➡ first patriarch of
Chinese Buddhism
➡ introduced Buddhism to
East Asia (from India)
➡ we consider him the
leader of the Zen
Buddhists

He encouraged his followers
– including you –
to spend time
wall-gazing to quiet the mind

* less dependence
on scripture & texts
He encouraged his followers
– including you –
to spend time
wall-gazing to quiet the mind

* less dependence
on scripture & texts
He encouraged his followers
– including you –
to spend time
wall-gazing to quiet the mind
* become the master
of your own mind

* less dependence
on scripture & texts
He encouraged his followers *reflect
– including you – on &
to spend time discover
wall-gazing to quiet the mind yourself
through
daily
meditation
& thought
* become the master
of your own mind

BODHIDHARMA
➡ believed each student
had all requisite virtues
inside already
➡ taught that all sentient
beings (incl. students!) had
1. ability 2. promise and
3. purpose
➡ considered these values
definitive w/r/t attaining
Enlightenment

I. VIRTUE AND DISCIPLINE
II. MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION
III. DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM

3 MAIN
GOALS:
I. VIRTUE AND DISCIPLINE
II. MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION
III. DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM

3 MAIN
GOALS:
I. VIRTUE AND DISCIPLINE
II. MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION
III. DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM

3 MAIN
GOALS:
I. VIRTUE AND DISCIPLINE
II. MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION
III. DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM

3 MAIN Whaddoes this
hafta do
wif educatzion?
GOALS:
I. VIRTUE AND DISCIPLINE
II. MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION
III. DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM

Thanks,
Poindexter!

Many of Bodhidharma’s
espoused values are ones
we promote in our public
education system

Many of Bodhidharma’s
espoused values are ones
we promote in our public
education system
Some of his approaches for meditation
overlap with teaching methods: things like
Experiential Learning (eg. Outdoor
Education & labs), anecdotal accounts, and
high charged and engaged discussions:

Many of Bodhidharma’s
espoused values are ones
we promote in our public
education system
Some of his approaches for meditation
overlap with teaching methods: things like
Experiential Learning (eg. Outdoor
Education & labs), anecdotal accounts, and
high charged and engaged discussions:

Many of Bodhidharma’s
espoused values are ones
we promote in our public
education system
Some of his approaches for meditation
overlap with teaching methods: things like
Experiential Learning (eg. Outdoor
Education & labs), anecdotal accounts, and
high charged and engaged discussions:

And don’t forget ...

EVERYONE’S
CAPABLE

NIRVANA
=4=

A state
free from suffering
Nirvana is
something like a
Buddhist Heaven

What’s salient
about this w/r/t
teaching is this:
It’s a state of physical and mental
purity that may allow a student to be
deeply connected in his
understanding to the subject matter

What’s salient
about this w/r/t
teaching is this:
For example: when teaching a
student a history lesson, pointing that
student toward the process and
methods of ‘history’ rather than
simple historical facts

What’s salient
about this w/r/t
teaching is this:
Process and understanding
take priority over
answers and figures.

INSTRUCTION
No. 2:
Watch mini-demonstration
the second
(to the left)

ZEN IN THE 11 + 12
CURRICULA
=5=

<<–––––––––––
INSTRUCTION NO. 3:
you know the drill

ZEN
AND THE
ART OF TEACHING
=6=

Following Eastern principles means a rich tapestry of possibility

Whether silent reflection, engaged dialogue, hands-on learning

Or epiphanic moments buried at the core of a lesson plan

A student can absorb a Western curriculum, and like
technology-in-the-classroom, enhance it with these Eastern values.

And:
realize and accept all the understanding the lesson provides.

On their own.

For their own end.

Let’s go home;
we’re done!

• Discuss the following:
• How could this benefit you in your teaching of
your own subject area?
• List pros and cons of its inclusion into your
curriculum.
• Did you like our presentation?