Key to sustainable living is a society with self-realized individuals. Self-realization through self-understanding could be attained through spiritual development. Spiritual development is a core aspect of sustainable development as it lead to development of human qualities and skills that can be the foundation for an individual’s health, inner peace, positive relationships, higher achievements in academic goals and success in career. By incorporating spiritual development into the school curriculum it is possible to promote the concept of sustainable living.

1. SUSTAINABLE LIVING THROUGH INNER
BLOOMING
Spiritual Development in Schools
International Conference on Social Work –
Social Development and Sustainable Development Goals
Nirekha De Silva and Upul Nishantha Gamage
29 September 2016

2. CONTENTS
1. Why we need to introduce spiritual development in Schools
2. Usefulness of Spiritual Development
3. Initiatives to introduce Spiritual Development in to Schools
4. How to mainstream Spiritual Development to Sri Lankan Schools
2

3. WHY WE NEED TO INTRODUCE
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN
SCHOOLS
1
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4. Based on Sri Lanka Police Statistics. Quoted from I. V. Kavirathne, ‘Music Videos Newest Guide to Suicide?’ Sunday Observer, 18 Sep 2016 4

5. Spot Survey July 2012- Research and Evaluation Programme –Alcohol and Drug Information Centre 5
Smokers (male) 15 and
above age = 33.2%
Alcohol User (male) 15
and above age = 35.6%

6.  44% of undergraduates have faced sexual abuse; and 36% of
undergraduates have faced physical abuse (Out of 1322
undergraduates from all over Sri Lanka) Fernando & Karunasekera
(2009)
 18.3% of pregnant women have faced physical abuse in Badulla
District (Out of 1200 pregnant women) Moonesinghe (2002)
 10% of children aged 10-13 and 14% of children aged 14-19 Has
been sexually abused (Out of 1152 adolescents all over Sri Lanka,)
UNICEF (2004)

7.  51.2% of respondent indicated presence of
domestic violence (4004 households in 11
Districts ) UNOPS (2011)
 48% of Muslim women has faced
Domestic Violence (Out of a sample of 357
Muslim families all over Sri Lanka)
Muslim Women’s Research and Action
Forum (2004)

8. Prison Admissions in 2015
Convicted Prisoners - 24,086
Un-convicted Prisoners- 89,559
-Department of Prisons (2016)
8

9. 80,000 – 100,000
persons killed in the
Civil War between
1982 -2009.
-UN Humanitarian Coordination Report
(2009)
9

10. 10
Our culture does not nourish that which is best or noblest in the human spirit. It
does not cultivate vision, imagination, or aesthetic or spiritual sensitivity. It does not
encourage gentleness, generosity, caring, or compassion. Increasingly in the late
20th Century, the economic-technocratic-statist worldview has become a monstrous
destroyer of what is loving and life-affirming in the human soul.
Ron Miller (1989) Editorial, Holistic Review, Spring

11. We are turning out, as if through a mould, a type of human
being whose chief interest is to find security, to become
somebody important, or to have a good time with as little
thought as possible.
Krishnamurthi (1992), p 9.
11

12. 12
It is not education, but education of a certain kind, that will serve us.
And the current model of western, urban-centered, school-based
education, which is so often more focused on turning children into
efficient corporate units rather than curious and open-minded adults,
will only lead us further down the wrong path.
David W. Orr (1994) Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment and the Human
Prospect, p. 8

13. SCHOOLS MOLD OUR FUTURE
GENERATION
Subjects taught in school - learning about the world and skills
necessary to survive in the world.
No subject focusing on understanding self and
interconnectedness.
It is essential to analyze and understand oneself to enjoy a
meaningful and happy life.
By promoting spiritual development in schools it is possible to
develop qualities and skills for peaceful and sustainable living.
13

14. DEFINING SPIRITUALITY
Self-realization through awareness of self
by knowing the mind,
shaping the mind, and
freeing the mind.’
14
Spirituality promoted in this paper is based on universal human
values, not a spirituality based on a particular religion.

15. USEFULNESS OF SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT
2
.

16. Spirituality development enables one to understand
the nature of one’s own self and interconnectedness
with other humans and nature.
 Such an understanding creates
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Wisdom
Inner Peace
Happiness
Care
Respect
Service towards others
Wholesome Health and Wellbeing

17. Harmful
Behavior
(Physical/ Verbal)
Unwholesome
Attitudes
Unfounded Value
System
Unrealistic Vision
17
Reaction
Roots

18. Helpful
Behavior
(Physical/ Verbal)
wholesome
Attitudes
Founded Value
System
Realistic Vision
18
Response
Spiritual
Education enable
to cultivate
positive Roots

19. Knowledge Wisdom
obtained through reading, listening,
thinking and experience
developed through awareness and
contemplation of observation
Skills - analytical thinking, planning,
solving problems
Skills - full awareness of oneself and
the inter-connectedness
Knowledge is used to make and solve
problems
Can prevent problems
Wander from one objective to another,
one idea to another
Ability to stay with one objective till
the expected outcome is achieved
Dependent in existing ideas Self-generated, new and original
Limited to a subject/s and point of view Holistic and wider
Not content Content
Person oriented Universal
19

20. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN INCREASING
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
20
Holistic
Health and
Wellbeing
Mental
Spiritual
PhysicalEnvironmental
Social

21. 21
Mindfulness based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR)- Jon Kabat-
Zinn (1979).
Mindful Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) - Zindel Segnal, Mark
Williams and John Teasdale.
MBCT was endorsed by the United Kingdom’s National Institute of
Health and Clinical Excellence. (2004)
MBSR has been used in about 200 medical centres, hospitals and
clinics worldwide and more than 1300 published studies has portrayed
the positive impact of MBSR. (2013)

22. PROMOTING PEACE AND JUSTICE
THROUGH SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
22
Wars Begin in the Minds
of Men
- Unesco Constitution (1945)
World Peace can be
achieved through Inner
Peace

23. Peace
through
Spiritual
Development
Cultivating
Inner Peace
Living with
Compassion
Promoting
Universal
human
values and
rights
Accepting
social,
cultural
diversities
Living in
harmony
with
nature
Living
with
Justice
23

24. INITIATIVES IN INTRODUCING
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN
SCHOOLS
3
.

25. 25

26.  Provides online and in-person courses in all 50 U.S. states and in
100+ countries.
 Mindful schools offer
 effective mindful practices,
 practical skills for self-care,
 facilitation and
 connecting with youth for educators.
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27.  Vision, ‘that every child possesses the skills to help them manage difficulty and
flourish, and an understanding of how and when to use those skills.’
 MiSP is involves in training of adult trainers to teach mindfulness courses to
children and young people in schools.
 The three main programmes,
 ‘.b’ for 11-18 year olds,
 ‘Paws b’ for 7-11 year olds
 ‘.b Foundations for teachers and school staff.
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28. ‘GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS (GNH)
IN EDUCATION CURRICULUM’ IN
BHUTAN
 GNH curriculum has been introduced by the Bhutanese Ministry of Education for
secondary school students to develop life skills.
 GNH curriculum - a 15-month stand-alone course -‘life-skills training’ and
incorporating life skills into existing academic subjects.
 Life skills GNH curriculum focuses on –
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mindfulness interpersonal relationships
empathy creative thinking
self-awareness critical thinking
coping with emotions decision making
communication problem solving

29.  A grass-root initiative in Sri Lanka
 Share mindfulness with Sri Lankan School children
 Led by Ven. U. Dhammajiva.
 The Sati Pasala strives to develop mindfulness in school children
that is ‘the awareness that emerges through paying attention on
purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the
unfolding of experiences moment by moment.’
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30. HOW TO MAINSTREAM
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN
SRI LANKAN SCHOOLS
4
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31. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICES AND PROGRAMMES
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Daily Practice Spiritual Development
Camps
Year 1 -13 Year 5, 7, 9, 11, 13
15 minutes daily practice Residential camp – 3-7 days
In school Retreat Centre
Teacher generated/ or
informal curriculum
Structured curriculum

32. CONSIDERATIONS
•To Whom?
Target level
•What?
Definition, Curriculum, objectives
•How?
Research
•How to sustain?
Sustainability
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33. CHALLENGES
 Time allocation
 Appropriate Curriculum development
 Training of Trainers
 Introducing to large student bodies
 Not- academically oriented
 Testing the outcome
 Funding Allocation
 Skepticism on importance of inner development
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34. Thank you