Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Paper presented at
Suggested citation:
Suwida, S., and C. L. Bong, (2010). “Right Education – the Srisa Asoke Model” in Lay
Buddhist Forum 2010: Buddhism for a New Generation, September 30 - October 04,
2010. (Buddhist Chongji Order, South Korea, 2010), pages 16-31 (for English version)
(or pages 32-39 for Korean version).
Right Education – the Srisa Asoke Model
ABSTRACT
This paper outlines the Srisa Asoke model of right education, a Buddhist community‟s initiative, effort and
success in reclaiming and setting the direction and application of its model of right education in nurturing
and inculcating in the next generations the right philosophy and values of living and development of
humanity. In response to what Srisa Asoke community sees as ineffectiveness in the mainstream
education system in producing students with right values and conduct, the community set up its own
primary and secondary schools to educate, train and develop its own children and youths on spirituality,
right conduct, and skills in right livelihood, and generally the Srisa Asoke philosophy of right living in
harmony with one another and with the environment in a responsible and sustainable way. The primary
components of the Srisa Asoke education are training in morality and spirituality, development of
vocational skills for right livelihood, resourcefulness and practical skills in problem solving, creativity and
innovation, academic knowledge and sciences. Students are evaluated objectively using a three-tiered
assessment system. They are assessed on moral conduct, practical performance in works, and academic
performance by the monks or nuns who are their supervisors, by their teachers and seniors. Since its
inception, the Srisa Asoke model of education has won many awards at district, provincial and state
levels in recognition of its success and appreciation. The success of the Srisa Asoke schools lies in
producing students who have a good sense of morality and right conduct, who are confident, skillful and
independent, resourceful, creative and innovative members of their community, and who are capable of
making and earning a good and right livelihood without resorting to selfish exploitation of fellow human
and natural resources. Now the schools are beginning to attract children from all over the country.
Currently the Srisa Asoke schools provide education free for all its students, numbering over two
hundred in 2010.
1. Introduction
The world, rolling from crises to crises, of various types, environmental, economic, political, violent
conflicts, and ever more frequent occurrence of natural disasters, is in dire need of repair. Societies are
torn, families are broken, and there is rising crime rate among the youths. Many would agree that the
way the world is managed or mismanaged now with a purely materialistic world view that growth can
be infinite and natural resources can be selfishly exploited endlessly is unsustainable. These „many‟
include world bodies such as UNESCO1, individual nation governments, communities, and individuals
across a whole spectrum of society from academicians, scientists and economists to everyday folks of
various professions in the office and farms. There is the general consensus that the present main stream
education system is incapable of adequately training and equipping the youths of today to meet the
1UNESCO Strategy for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. 2010.
Education for Sustainable Development in Action, March 2010, UNESCO Education Sector. 2010/ED/UNP/DESD/PI/1
needs and challenges of the present and future in developing themselves, their communities, their
nations, and in maintaining a peaceful and just world. What type of alternative education system would
adequately equip the learners and graduates to meet the needs and challenges of today and
tomorrow? Any models of a right education system should meet the basic need of humanity, a need that
is very aptly articulated by Venerable Master Chin Kung 2. This is the need to value, develop and
maintain harmony among humans; among humans and other living beings; and among humans and the
environment; and the need to learn to appreciate and take care of everything and every being. In that
way is peace and harmony developed, in that way is growth sustainable for this and future generations.
This is not dissimilar from that advocated by a mundane world body such as ESD (Education for
Sustainable Development) of UNESCO that education system should promote reflection on lifestyles that
combine well-being, quality of life and respect for nature and other people.
Alternative school systems founded on spiritual, humanistic and/or eco-conscious sustainable
development are springing up everywhere, both in Asian and western countries. Tertiary education
institutions are now incorporating those concepts and practice in their teaching and learning
programmes3. Islamic-based alternative schools are also established to fight the social ills now infecting
the Muslim youths4. Buddhism-based schools are springing up to bring back the normality in education –
to produce individuals fit to be leaders and citizens of a country, at peace and in harmony with oneself
and the externals, family, community, society and the environment. Tzu Chi schools are examples where
spiritual development and training in morality based on Buddhist teachings are integrated into their
standard curriculum and everyday living of the students 5. Education and training in moral conduct and
virtues are incorporated in schools inspired and guided by Venerable Chin Kung. Morality too is
inculcated in Islamic-based alternative school such as the Gayong Academy. This paper describes the
alternative education model of the Srisa Asoke Buddhist community in educating and training their
youths to fulfill their roles and meet the needs of today and the future, particularly those of the
community and country.
2 Chin Kung Venerable Master, Buddhism as an Education. Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. e-book, downloaded from
http://www.buddhanet.net
3 Cortese, Anthony D. "Education for Sustainability: The Need for a New Human Perspective," 1999.
6 Personal communication: According to the recollection Khun Khandin on the setting up of Sammasikkha schools.
exposed to unhealthy values and attractions. Children become more materialistic, wasteful
and selfish. They are less concerned with morals or virtues, the very values of humanity.
The higher they go in education, the more materialistic and mercenary they get, the less
are they concerned with the values of human virtues. Instead of serving their family or
community, these children, by their wasteful and extravagant consumerist life style exert
such burden on their families that their parents sometimes resort to borrowing money or
selling their lands and properties just to provide for them.
d. Serving the rich for personal gains only: Graduates of the main stream schools leave their
home community to serve the „rich‟ instead of helping their own community to grow.
e. Inadequate education in basic human values: Values such as gratitude, filial piety, human
virtues and morality are not taught or adequately imparted into the children in main
stream schools so that children do not know right from wrong and are generally
ungrateful.
f. Bigheadedness: Children return to their community with bigheadedness, priding themselves
too good to „dirty their hands‟ doing farm work or any physical labour to help the family
or community. Some of them return as complete airheads who have no clues on basic skills
necessary for making a basic living. Good social and traditional values are completely
forgotten!!!
II. Daily Routine of Students: The daily life of the students is disciplined and busy in learning and
working in applying what is learned and serving the community. Working and serving the
community is a form of spiritual practice. Everyday work and living activity is spiritual practice,
training in mindfulness from meditation at work, performing meritorious deeds. Students‟
waking time are thus productively occupied in learning and spiritual training. The daily routine
of the students is as follows:
Wake up: 4 a.m.
Sanitation and cleaning works: until 5 a.m.
Exercise: until 6 a.m.; then, pay respect to the national flag.
Practical learning at work bases: until 9 a.m.
Dhamma: listening to Dhamma lecture for an hour, until 10 a.m.
Main meal of the day: between 10 a.m. and 12 noon; meals preceded by chanting
the relevant verses for partaking food: contemplating the purpose and the value of
the foods, gratitude to the cooks and farmers, and recollection of merits earned.
Academic subjects: between 12 noon and 3 p.m.
All time out of formally scheduled classes or learning are for practicals.
7 Rattana Tosakul and et. al. 2005. “Srisa-Asoke community” in Walking Step by Step, Eating Spoon by Spoon: Community Wisdom
in Knowledge Management. [“Chum Chon Srisa-Asoke” in Deon tee la kaaw, Kin khaaw tee la kham: Phoom Panya nai kaan jad
kaan kham roo khong chumchon]. Thailand Research Fund. p 180-188.
kitchens and sales of surpluses; Asoke political party (For Heaven and Earth); community
kitchen; energy-generating houses; engineering workshops; library; salons, etc.
These work bases, production and service centres serve their own community and also
surrounding communities and the general public.
8Suwida Sangsehanat. 2006. “Integrated Wisdom on Buddhist Philosophy: An Alternative Strategy for Thai Social Development”,
PhD Dissertation in Integrated Science Program, Thammasat University. p. 203.
on the theory and practice of morality, career choice and in cultivating right attitudes.
Being self-reliant and self-sufficient, their success enables them to become a source of
support and a refuge for others.
c. Dependable and responsible leaders: High school students are independent, competent,
dependable, and innovative. As seniors, they organize, run and manage the learning
activities or work bases for their teachers.
d. Appreciative of traditional cultures and values: Students are taught traditional values,
traditional cultures, and skills in traditional arts and crafts. They are skilled in making
traditional clothes and playing traditional music instruments. They apply what they learn
in daily life, wearing clothes of traditional design to reflect their appreciation of
traditional cultures instead of aping blindly or mindlessly the consumerist „modern fashion
trends‟ (which really don‟t mean anything significant to them, culturally or otherwise).
e. Drug-free: Students are not involved in drugs or unhealthy addictions.
f. Gainfully employed or onto further postgraduate education: All students upon
graduation are able to establish right careers, and carve out their own niche in the
market place to make good clean living. Some of them set up workshops for producing
agriculture machineries. Others are traditional costume designers and seamstresses,
producers of organic products, etc. Others have gone on to pursue post-graduate
education.
The above outcomes reflect the extent of success of the Srisa Asoke Community in imparting to
the new generations the human quality, spirituality, value and the philosophy of Srisa-Asoke.
The success of the alternative education of Srisa Asoke is further recognised when the Srisa Asoke
Community is invited to be the collaborator of Ubon Ratchathani University in running and supporting the
academic programs on self-sufficiency economy.9 Srisa Asoke is looking ahead to setting up a university
of its own. For now, it continues to develop primary and secondary education. In 2010, Sammasikkha
Srisa-Asoke School provides free education for about 200 students in their primary and secondary
schools. They are from all over the country. Students are selected based on their understanding and
adaptability to the Srisa Asoke philosophy and way of life. All students stay in the community during the
school semesters and return for home visits during the vacation. Upon graduation, some of them choose
to continue to reside in the Community. Others return home, establish their own careers and contribute to
the development of their own community. The alumni return to the Srisa Asoke Community to renew their
„family‟ ties with the community, help and celebrate together the yearly Buddhist festival held at the
community.
5. Concluding Remarks
The Srisa Asoke model of alternative education is a total participatory and integrated type of teaching,
learning and applying what is learned in real-time real-life situation, involving the teachers, the students,
and members of the community (monks, nuns, temples, lay members of families and friends). Students
learn through total experience the nurturing power of the community that sustains them and of which
9 Suwida Sangsehanat, (2010). Bodhi Vijjalaya: Education for Right-Career Building and Right Living Based on Buddhist Ethics,
elsewhere in this volume.
they are an integral part, taking from it and serving it; and that the community is a refuge of their own
making. This total integrated approach is thus unique and very effective in producing learners who are
well-guided, morally strong in character, self-confident, able, independent, innovative, and self-reliant,
and appreciative of brahmavaihara values. The community ensures their development into useful
members of the human race that value peace and harmony, and who know how to maintain these values
and realize them instead getting swept away by consumerist and materialistic „pop‟ cultures, drugs and
pursuit of wasteful or unproductive leisure activities that lead to so many social ills.
The whole community and its village are the school campus. There is also off-campus learning in related
Asoke communities in other provinces. Teaching and learning are conducted in classrooms and outside
classrooms to include the community‟s farms, workshops and other facilities. Teaching and learning are
closely integrated within the community‟s structure, functions and activities. In this way, students are
given real life practicals in applying what they learn in theory, and at the same time contribute to the
community and help solve any problems that may arise or present. They are learning about real life
(not hypothetical) situations, confronting real-time problems and working out real-time solutions. The
teaching and learning are totalistic in terms of development of the students, their interaction and their
relationship within the community and the environment. Learning through applying in daily life helps
develop students‟ potential in creativity, innovation and skills necessary for right living. Students thus
learn about life and all its problems, about self-reliance and the unlimited human potential when tapped
into properly with skills and know-how.
Through guidance and interaction with the teachers and members of the community and total
participatory learning process in the lives and works of the community, students learn about the value of
moral conduct, the values of brahmavihara in relating to people and the environment, helping one
another and the community grow spiritually and develop economically and sustainably without unfair
exploitation of human and natural resources.
The education system at Srisa Asoke, its methodology and delivery can be said to be a total immersion
type of participatory learning in real life situation and real time experience; and application of
learning about right living and applying it to the benefit of oneself and the community. The education
system and practice thus develops and applies the human potential for the individual and his/her
community in a way that is in harmony with oneself, one‟s community and environment. It is thus a
sustainable system of education in a holistic sense, sustainable development of the individual, the
community, and the environment in terms of human potential, spiritual and physical; and self-reliance
and independence in terms of economic growth and achievement. All these translate into training and
achieving right living in the Buddhist sense.
References
Abdul Lateef Abdullah. Addressing youth social ills in Malaysia through alternative education: a case
study of the Taqwa International Gayong Academy (TIGA).
http://www.ace.upm.edu.my/~lateef/Gayong/GAfullpaper.doc. Accessed August 31, 2010.
Chin Kung Venerable Master. Buddhism as an Education. Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. e-
book, downloaded from http://www.buddhanet.net
Cortese, Anthony D. Education for sustainability: the need for a new human perspective. 1999.
http://www.secondnature.org/pdf/snwritings/articles/humanpersp.pdf (accessed Aug 27, 2010)
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Community Wisdom in Knowledge Management. [“Chum Chon Srisa-Asoke” in Deon tee la kaaw,
Kin khaaw tee la kham: Phoom Panya nai kaan jad kaan kham roo khong chumchon]. Thailand
Research Fund.
Suwida Sangsehanat. 2006. Integrated Wisdom on Buddhist Philosophy: An Alternative Strategy for
Thai Social Development. Ph.D. Dissertation in Integrated Science Program, Thammasat University.
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Bodhi Research Journal, Vol.1. In press
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Living. Elsewhere in this volume.
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Sustainable Development. Education for Sustainable Development in Action, March 2010,
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