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https://theconversation.com/biology-with-tibetan-buddhist-monks-what-im-taking-back-to-my-college-classroom-from-teaching-at-a-monastery-176222>
"It would be quite appropriate for a college professor to assume students know
that a tree is alive and a rock is not.
Or would it?
For several summers, I have had the pleasure of teaching biology to Tibetan
Buddhist monks exiled in India. This program, called the ETSI (Emory-Tibet
Science Initiative), was sparked by discussions the Dalai Lama had with Emory
University researchers in the 1990s and has blossomed into a way for monks of
all ages to learn about science in the decades since.
The differences between modern biology and traditional Buddhist understandings
of nature can seem significant – even in their definitions of what is “living.”
Biologists’ understanding of life incorporates animals, plants and bacteria.
Traditional Tibetan monastic teachings, on the other hand, base life on the
idea of consciousness. Bacteria and animals, including humans, are recognized
as having consciousness, and therefore are considered “living” beings. Plants,
according to these traditional teachings, do not have consciousness and are
thus “nonliving.”
But differences like these have led me to understand what I take for granted in
my teaching at the University of Richmond and how much richer learning can be
when we step back to explore the most basic – yet biggest – questions together.
Thinking about how I would present various topics to the monks has given me
concrete lessons to take back to my classroom in Virginia."
Via Susan ****
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
