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The Buddhist Way vs Formal Education
AllbuddhaBound
Veteran
In the west, it is assumed that if you lack formal education and degrees, your opinion is to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially when we talk about human motivation and the nature of mind. In the the Buddhist tradition, they seem to have an apprenticeship system where even simple men can strive for enlightenment and the pre-requisite for success is wisdom rather than formal training.
I believe we in the west, have decided to forego the wisdom of people who have lived their lives and the focus is education over wisdom. Of course, the result is thousands of approaches to therapy and everyone has an opinion. In Buddhism, there are different forms of Buddhism, but for the most part, they practice pretty much the same way.
I think it is easy to guess where I am at in the debate due to the previous statements but my question is what approach do you believe holds the most value, and why?
I believe we in the west, have decided to forego the wisdom of people who have lived their lives and the focus is education over wisdom. Of course, the result is thousands of approaches to therapy and everyone has an opinion. In Buddhism, there are different forms of Buddhism, but for the most part, they practice pretty much the same way.
I think it is easy to guess where I am at in the debate due to the previous statements but my question is what approach do you believe holds the most value, and why?
0
Comments
These are not approaches that can be compared.
Mind is very basic thing to Human being, we all experiences and comes to certain conclusion. Therefore colleges or formal degrees have nothing to do about spirituality.
The Buddhist tradition is much more esoteric and present moment focussed.
This is very well articulated by Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher from Harvard University.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
Is that what you are asking?
. . . and now back to the education . . .
No judgment, this isn't a stupid question, most people at a certain age/time of life will ponder it, the dichotomy does exist in a relative sense.
If you are seeking a certain career or job, the relative truth of a 'proper education' is a no-brainer. If you are seeking unconditional positive regard from the majority, better get that PhD, mansion, boat, good looking wife/husband and monthly facials. You'll still fall short but you'll get to feel superior to quite a few people
Like Lobster said they both offer valuable things, but in the context of you OP, aren't comparable. That's GOOD NEWS though, right?
If you are wise, mature, compassionate people who get to know you will know this without a doubt. If you achieve all of the above as you seek to do already, you won't care if there is a stuck up, ignorant reality television-mediated majority opinion you don't measure up to.
Gassho
I work with a couple of psychologists and a psychiatrist who believe it is a scam and that if you teach people self-compassion, you are teaching them to delude themselves. They should feel their shame and carry it always like a pendant. I guess the belief is that they will regulate themselves that way.
More and more people from the west are beginning to see the value of Buddhist concepts but there are many who fight against them vigorously.
I guess the source of my discussing these things is my own defensiveness.
http://www.edutopia.org/stw-student-stress-meditation-schools-research
The problem with western psychology is that neuroses are believed to be 'real' things, while Buddhism regards them as delusion, with a reality that is only relative, but in essence, empty of thingness.
If neuroses were suddenly known to be nothing but mental proliferations, gaseous clouds of nonsense, those who've spent years of their life to learn about them (and are still paying the student loans) will not enjoy knowing this. But they won't be alone, considering everything else we've fomented and call real.
Gassho
I am not as articulate as most on this site, I get 'lost' in a lot of whats discussed here but still have gained a lot from being here and I don't feel anxious about putting my thoughts and opinions 'out there'.
You know the way I see it is you can be highly educated and have no common sense and vice versa ..... someone told me once 'if you take the time to listen to everyone you meet you will always learn something'.
I think all approaches are equally valid, I'm also very thankful for those that can help me and others understand. I also hope my thoughts or experiences may be helpful too.
I would suggest that meditation is a way of listening to our opinions. It can make us far more tolerant of those swamped by opinions . . . That itself is an education but the well educated can learn from meditation too.
I seem to remember some Tibetan monks are getting a Western education so their partial ignorance can be negated and new knowledge stimulated. A good thing surely . . . ah here is the link . . .
http://www.scienceformonks.org/
:wave:
This attitude -- assuming as I do that it exists -- is premised in the recognition that relying on the intellectual mind as a means of achieving peace is a fool's errand. Put in simple terms, perhaps it can be stated as a question posed to the intellectually adroit: "If you're so smart, how come you're not happy?"
Anyone who has relied on the intellect for a strong foundation is likely to feel the lash of that question... and those pursuing a spiritual path may be a bit too enthusiastic about applying that lash ... to such a degree, sometimes, that the outcome seems to be, "If you want the benefits of spiritual life, you've got to be dumb as a fence post."
It may be that this direction is understandable: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and reacting to the recognition that the intellect can really gum up the works is sometimes pretty forceful.
But once things become less exciting and argumentative, once the insistence on one position or another wears thin, then I think individuals may return to Swami Vivekananda's observation that "the mind [he meant intellect] is a good servant and a poor master." The intellect really is a pretty good tool, but relying on it to answer the desire for a peaceful and happy life is a mistake. No big deal -- we all make mistakes and when we do, then we seek to correct them. Just because your dog pees on the living room carpet is not an invitation to evict the dog ... it's an invitation to train the dog, assuming you like/love your animal.
If any of that is relevant....