The Need for an Ethical Dimension in Education.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ —Martin Luther King
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has often honored the legacy of one of his heroes, Martin Luther King, in speeches and commemorative events for the murdered civil rights leader. We love this photograph taken by Margot Davis in the fall of 1995, on the occasion of His Holiness’s visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford. His Holiness echoes King’s call for compassion and a moral dimension as a vital part of education. King believed that education without a moral purpose is ‘like a ship without a compass,’ drifting nowhere.
King wrote passionately about the two-fold function a quality education should perform in a young person’s life and society. “The one is utility and the other is culture. Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life. Education must also train one for quick, resolute, and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda…Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”
The moral dimension of education, as emphasized in His Holiness’s the Dalai Lama’s speeches about 21st-century education, are in line with what King described as the cultural, character building experience.
“Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Purpose of Education, 1947
Things that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote decades ago about the purpose of education still sound contemporary, and are part and parcel to the mission of Siddhartha School that His Holiness supports: To give the children of Ladakh, India access to a rich, thoroughly modern education that is in harmony with their heritage, values, and cultural traditions.
The Siddhartha School Project Board, under the direction of Khen Rinpoche, SSP’s founder, and Geshe Tsewang, school director, emphasize the importance of supporting youth in Ladakh and abroad to serve their communities.
Siddhartha School Project teachers and staff believe that a student’s educational experience should always be driven by the heartfelt intention to serve the needs of the community. Khen Rinpoche has established two fellowship awards for graduating Siddhartha School seniors who are volunteering at the school.
Geshe Tsewang always emphasizes service to students in Ladakh and during his travels abroad. At a recent seminar on world citizenship at NYU and a public symposium at Hampshire College, he shared his personal story and his work at Siddhartha School. Geshe Tsewang stressed to both groups that in the monastery, all activities, even eating and sleeping, ‘we do for others,’ meaning ‘we know we must take nurture our bodies and rest our minds daily if we are going to be of any help in the world.’ Likewise, for students who get the good fortune to attend college, he says:
“You have a great opportunity. Don’t merely pursue an education in pursuit of a well paying job, or fame, or because your parents expect it of you. Recognize that this education could make you a better human being by giving you the knowledge you can put in the service of making the world a better place for everyone. Solve problems related to hunger, war, climate change, bring real improvements to people less fortunate than yourself.”
If you would like to volunteer to help the work of Siddhartha School Project stateside, you can email us a letter of inquiry here. Please note that we especially need people with experience in WordPress and website management, so people with prior experience in these areas are encouraged to apply for a work at home, volunteer position. If you would like to bring Khen Rinpoche or Geshe Tsewang to speak at your college or university, contact Laura here.
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
