Mindfulness and Place-Based Education in Buddhist-Oriented Schools in Thailand
The Ministry of Education in Thailand has approved over 20,000 Buddhist-Oriented Schools to promote the integration of the three-fold Buddhist philosophy of Trisikkha (morality, mentality, and wisdom) and mindfulness into the teaching-learning process, st
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11. MINDFULNESS AND PLACE-BASED EDUCATION IN BUDDHIST-ORIENTED SCHOOLS IN THAILAND
ABSTRACT
The Ministry of Education in Thailand has approved over 20,000 Buddhist-Oriented Schools to promote the integration of the three-fold Buddhist philosophy of Trisikkha (morality, mentality, and wisdom) and mindfulness into the teaching-learning process, students’ behavior, school management, and the school environment. In this chapter, we describe how place-based education and the tenets of Buddhist-oriented schools promote Thai citizenship and the moral development of students in rural schools with high populations of transient Thai families and migrant students from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. Keywords: mindfulness, place-based education, Buddhism HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN THAILAND EDUCATION
Buddhism has strongly influenced much of the social organization of Thailand including its educational legacy since the time of Buddha, 2,500 years ago. For hundreds of years temples were the centers of education and learning for the Thai people and monks were the teachers (Dhammapitaka, 1986). Although monasteries and monastery schools for the public were widespread, advanced education was only accessible to males who entered the Buddhist monastic system. Nevertheless, many of the everyday values of right and wrong, family social structure, and ways of life were practiced by Thai citizens in their home communities as a direct reflection of Buddhist principles passed on by the Monks over thousands of years. As secular and coeducational nationwide education replaced this kind of monastic male dominated education of the general population in the last century, Buddhism voluntarily assumed a supportive, yet influential role in providing societal guidance. An example of how Buddhism pervades national conduct and local community culture may be seen in the use of the “wai,” which originated in and is an important part of Buddhist practice (Kingdom-of-Thailand.com, 2011). The wai is a gesture in which the palms are placed together as if to pray and held at chest level or higher as a sign of respect. All Thais, Buddhist or not, use the wai in greeting and as a sign of gratitude, acceptance, and respect. The wai is also a way of expressing and promoting harmony. Indeed, wai is part of the very basis of Thai culture and the functioning of M. Powietrzyńska & K. Tobin (Eds.), Weaving Complementary Knowledge Systems and Mindfulness to Educate a Literate Citizenry for Sustainable and Healthy Lives, 159–170. © 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
R. KLECHAYA & G. GLASSON
civil society. A foreigner who masters the proper use of the wai greatly enhances the way she/he is received by and viewed by Thai people. Thai culture shares similar values with many other Asian cultures including a high degree of respect for ancestors, gracious hospitality, generosity, maintenance of a social hierarchy, and respect for seniority. In recent decades, however, these fundamental Buddhist values and practices of Thai life have been changing. Under t
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