Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: This article investigates core ideas and principles of teaching and learning as found in the Nidāna-Kathā, a sacred Buddhist text that describes the lives and learning journeys of the Buddha. A three-tiered, exhaustive textual analysis revealed the following themes: resolve and responsibility, supererogatory effort, pabbajja, tradition, becoming, pedagogy and joy. Due in part to the noteworthy openness of a Buddhist conceptualization of canonicity, teachers have seldom drawn upon Buddhist sources (either living or written) to establish what might be termed Buddhist approaches to teaching and learning. While the purpose of this article is not to essentialize Buddhism nor its approach to education, by focusing on a single, primary source text detailing the Buddha’s teaching and learning journeys, we seek to put forth a few Buddhist educative principles that, though not representative of all Buddhisms, are at least grounded historically, mythically and archetypically. We hope this article acts as a call for future research to further explore Buddhist approaches to education based on either historical sources or the lived experiences of its generations of inheritor–practitioners.
Source: Religions
DOI: 10.3390/rel14091093
Authors: Jessica Ashcraft, Isaac Calvert
Institution: Brigham Young University
Language: English
Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,557
OpenAlex ID: W4386134137