It Really Does All Start With Education

The Watercooler
1

The first words you’re taught, from there it cascades into a world full of other people beliefs and opinions, is it really any wonder the world is as it is?

So I’m wondering why Buddhists don’t set up schools, educate the very children that could make a massive change to this planet, if it wasn’t for some circumstances on here last weekend, I’d never of known that there is one school in the whole of Europe, trying to go down that very path.
It’s just a shame they are missing the vital years!

Brockwood Park School - Uplifting and Unique Education - Home

2

There’s sunday dhamma school for children, inspired by the sunday church service. In Thailand, and I think other majority Buddhist counties, the school should have basic Buddhism in them.

If you wish to see a change in your local area, set up your own local area’s children sunday dhamma school at your local Buddhist society. Or make one if there isn’t a Buddhist society. Also, support the kids by having university Buddhist societies set up, and youth group of the Buddhist societies for continuation of engagement with youths as they grow up.

For Tzu Chi, they have Tzu Chi kindergarten all the way to university.

2 Likes
3

We’ve had Sunday school here since I was born, I even attended as a child, it’s brilliant for parents, it’s like a baby sitting club that gives mum and dad a few hours to go and browse around Ikea, and look for a wooden table and chairs, which looks better than the next door neighbours…

These are Christian Sunday Schools, they still run today, but more frequently now. Like though school holidays.
They put a notice board up at the church, did you know you can get Pizza now if you attend, it’s brilliant, not only can you lose your kids on a Sunday, you can now lose them all Summer/Easter and know they are getting some really healthy food in the process.

At Easter they do Easter egg hunts, might as well top off all the Pizza with lashings of free chocolate.
Of course they don’t teach healthy living, like some cooking classes where kids could learn about what they’re eating. Understand the food and where it comes from, go blackberry picking etc, etc, etc…
Nope they just follow the trend!

There is nothing that I know of in the UK where kids could attend a Tzu Chi kindergarten or Buddhist Sunday school.
There is no way of knowing anything about Buddhism and the philosophy at all for kids. If a young child did manage to discover Buddhism by them self, more than likely they would be carted of to the church for a full exorcism…

You either stumble across it after many years like I have, or you tell a couple of people you know who instantly refer it to another religion, where you’re going to end up getting fleeced.

I’m thinking this is another one of my waffles which doesn’t really translate.

Thanks for the reply @NgXinZhao , it’s been nearly a week since our last chat! :dove:

4

What’s stopping you from starting one?

5

The fact I’m not in the system at all.
I’ve had no address for years, I’m a sofa surfer, which means no ID whatsoever, no doctors, no dentists, no bank account, no car, phone, nothing.

The council will want an address from me because I would need to rent a building/place, they’ll want paying rent and insist on health and safety reports as well as another ton of paperwork, there is also a ratio of one adult to an amount of kids. (I’m not sure what that ratio is)

Yet I’m wondering now whether I could come in at this from a whole different angle,
build something online which kids would like, some kind of entertainment site based around Buddha and nature.
Then steer them into here, as I don’t know any of the terms or scripture, maybe another category here for total beginners?.

Though I did search a word you used recently, ‘what are Jhānas’

It brought up this link
What are the jhānas? The meditative state breaking through the mainstream, explained. | Vox

6

Short answer: education is expensive. That is pretty much where it starts and ends.

7

I don’t know about the current state of these two, but London Buddhist Vihara used to do classes for children (in conjunction with YMBA I think), I’m guessing it still does. The Dharma School in Brighton is closed since COVID, but I am guessing that the teachers are probably still doing something.

1 Like
8

The Amish seemed to have cracked it, not that I know that much about them!

9

Thanks, I’m looking at that now. Never heard of this! :dove:

1 Like
10

I’m not saying it is impossible, but it is very challenging. You need a group of dedicated, experienced, and responsible individuals who have the time and the funding to keep even the smallest program going. When the right elements come together, it can work beautifully. The main challenge aside from funding is finding a sufficient concentration of Buddhists in a community in order to sustain the program. Aside from the option to start digitally, I think it would probably make the most sense to build an affiliation with an already established organization - such as those mentioned by Stu - rather than starting from scratch. Because I don’t think it is a matter of these existing communities not wanting more education, especially for young people, but again, that of finding the right people who will stick with it for long enough that it becomes established. Chances are many such people are already trying very hard to make those efforts and what is currently available is the result.

All in all, those running any religious educational programs are likely to be doing it for little to no money, and with how busy most people already are, the pool of available candidates is alway likely to remain small.

1 Like
11

I have found that most Buddhist parents, especially who emigrate from Buddhist countries, are far more concerned with their children getting enrolled in a prestigious institution, be that secular or religious. If they cared that much about Buddhist education then the may not have emigrated in the first place. They certainly aren’t going to risk sending their kids to some small, new, Buddhist school. Getting them to bring their kids regularly to Sunday Dhamma School is already a huge achievement because it means not doing whatever sport or tuition classes that happen at the same time.

3 Likes
12

There was a Buddhist school in the U.K. but it closed in 2020

13

That’s sad. Is it known why it closed?

14

In common with a lot of independent schools operating on a shoestring budget, it was killed off by the COVID lockdown.

15

So they were unable to move to virtual instruction during the lockdown due to lack of funds or parental means?

16

The announcement issued by the trustees before they shut down the school’s website doesn’t go into much detail.

To the wider Dharma School Community,

It is with deep sadness that the 3 remaining trustees have to inform you that the Dharma Primary School will close permanently on July 17th, 2020. Since the School closed in March for lockdown, much thought, time and work has gone into seeking possible alternatives to closure, and the conclusion was sadly that there was no viable alternative solution.

We are deeply grateful to all the wonderful teachers, staff, parents and children who have supported, with love and deep commitment, the School over the last 25 years. The children who have gone out from the School speak through their behaviour of the benefits of the School – for its creative education and its Buddhist ethos.

Jeannette Adair, Lynnne Weir and Vincent Murphy

Trustees

1 Like
17

That’s interesting to hear, the parents obviously don’t understand the Buddhist values at all.
It’s kind of the same here though, the parents want the kids to succeed to counteract their own failures, then take all the credit and feel they succeeded in the end.
Sunday school here for Christianity starts at 3 years old, just about the age where you’ve learnt to walk and talk, I found that out myself by being told to sit down, shut up and listen.

Maybe that’s all changed here now and the parents attend, and that’s what the Pizza offering is all about…

Though a little off topic, yet I feel it’s relevant. I joined here after watching the Western Australia Monk online, there was a link underneath that eventually led me here.
A few months before I had typed in the search engine, ‘Buddhist Forums’ and it brought up one called ‘Dharma Wheel’.
I had to fill in a small form but couldn’t answer a question, it was to do with the different versions of Buddhism, so I just put, ‘whichever one the Buddha followed’

I was instantly rejected and politely told to be on my way! :dove:

18

As a former staff member, I can assure you that Dhammawheel has an extremely loose vetting process, and that it was most certainly a technical issue that interrupted the creation of an account there.

19

I think he’s referring to Dharmawheel.net, which is a Mahayana forum. dhammawheel.com is a Theravada forum. The question is presumably to make it a little more difficult to create an account to reduce spam posts…

1 Like
20

Phenomenal reading comprehension by me lol

1 Like