In 2004, myself and 15 other experts were invited by the Tibetan-Government-in-Exile Prime Minister to advise on a new education bill that was being presented to the exile parliament. The education bill sought to integrate Tibetan language, culture and dharma into the curriculum with the explicit goal of sociocultural integration and preservation of children’s linguistic and cultural heritage and dharma. Such an educational approach can validate and foster children’s positive identities as well as providing a resource for learning. I rejoiced in the knowledge that the Exile government's concerns and actions were aligned with my own in relation to heritage language and cultural preservation and most importantly, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasised, to ensure that the Buddha dharma continues to support inner development towards liberation. 

 

I subsequently embarked on a PhD at The University of Bath in England to continue this work of cultural heritage preservation within the curriculum in order to maintain the essential connection between global communities and their dharma and heritage language and culture, whilst also meeting the demands of the 21st century. From my fieldwork, working with Buddhist communities in Nepal, the need for a Buddhist transformative experiential education for children age 3 to 14 or from kindergarten to class 8 became clear and propelled my work both during and after my doctorate studies. By the beginning of 2016 the development of a Buddhist education became my main focus, and what a joy it was! 

 

A Buddhist Children’s Pedagogy

A new pedagogical approach developed from the fundamental understanding of the aim of education as progression along the pathway towards liberation. The knowledge, experience and expertise gathered over  years of the aforementioned research and practice, become precious tools in constructing a new educational framework and content. While Buddhism provides the educational lense for my work, it is essential that this worldview is embedded within a children's pedagogy that is also Buddhist. However, here lies the gap; Buddhist learning and teaching methodology has been predominantly developed for adults.

 

A Buddhist children’s pedagogy needs to be transformative, experiential, and developmentally appropriate to nourish children’s beings towards freedom. As a former teacher at a Waldorf school with 30 years of experience in education (also in teacher training and curriculum development), I identified the Waldorf transformative educational approach as providing such a pedagogy, with it’s deeply holistic understanding of child development, and integrated this with the Buddhist contemplative and meditative (experiential) methodology. This synthesis became a new educational approach, termed ‘Abiding Heart Transformative Experiential Buddhist Education’. It is founded on a sound philosophy of education and a view of a profound path towards inner freedom. 

 

I reside in Boudha, the heart of Buddhist Kathmandu, where many of the great teachers were questioning how to integrate Buddha dharma into the Nepali children’s curriculum in monastic schools. It became apparent that the Buddhist educational approach and curriculum that I was developing addressed this issue, so I initiated a dialogue with several Buddhist masters. The great masters had a profound understanding of the future directionality of Buddhist children’s education and I was able to discern the subtleties of the various global pedagogies.

 

One master, Mingyur Rinpoche, listened deeply and asked many questions about such pedagogies. I described the nesting system of conforming type education, progressive and transformative education, and the placement of both Waldorf and Buddhist pedagogy within transformative learning. Both aim, in their individual ways, towards inner freedom– enlightenment. This includes but moves beyond human flourishing. The aim of Buddhist education is to progress on the path towards liberation or at the very least sow the seeds to enable this process. This includes children’s Buddhist education, starting in kindergarten, through to high school. Everything in Abiding Heart Education becomes part of the path towards inner freedom. 

 

The essence, which I explained to Mingyur Rinpoche, is the approach to teaching; the teaching methodology, and the assumptions from which an array of methodologies arise, including an understanding of the human being. As practitioners, it is important to identify our positioning and assumptions or paradigm from the outset. Without such reflection, tensions and contradictions between the educational content and teaching and learning methodologies can arise and potentially compromise the effectiveness of curriculum delivery. A transformative Buddhist education can only arise from an education philosophy and pedagogy that supports pupils progressing on the path of inner development towards liberation or Buddhahood. I propose that the Waldorf methodology is the only methodology that is capable of delivering a deeply immersive Buddhist education for children while also teaching a comprehensive children’s curriculum. 

 

Intrigued by my work, Mingyur Rinpoche shared that he was planning to set up another school in Kathmandu and that such a curriculum would be of great benefit to his schools. Thereafter, we met reguraly to discuss the content that I was developing and to ensure that it was accurate from the Buddhist perspective. In turn, I was able to offer educational expertise in relation to his other monastic school in Bodhgaya, India. And so, for several years, Mingyur Rinpoche and I have met; me sharing my knowledge and understanding of education methodologies, transformative and experiential teaching and learning, and the need for child development to underpin curriculum delivery; and Mingyur Rinpoche ensuring that the Buddhist content and curriculum I developed is authentic and accurate. How precious! 

 

I have been exceptionally fortunate to also be advised by other accomplished Buddhist teachers. Lama Shenpen’s insights over the years have been invaluable, guiding me in relation to integrating Buddhism across year groups in primary education. She even wrote a class 5 play for us about Guru Rinpoche’s life story! Khenpo Sonam Tsewang, a great Buddhist scholar, from the Nyingma tradition, has also been closely working with me for the past 7 years, explaining Buddhist texts and advising on the Buddhist aspect of our teacher training courses. Both Lama Shenpen Hookham and Khenpo Sonam Tsewang and other Buddhist scholars have been checking the Buddhist curriculum content for accuracy. There are many more experts that have been involved in advising and supporting Abiding Heart education, some of which I will mention below. After many years, Abiding Heart’s transformative experiential Buddhist education has registered training organisations in both Nepal and the USA.

 

The Pillars of the Abiding Heart Education™️ Approach

The Abiding Heart Education™️ approach comprises four foundational components: 

​

1. Experiential Buddhist Foundation Studies; 

2. Buddhist and developmental science-based Child Development from Birth to Rebirth;

3. Learning theories: Buddhist learning methodology, Steiner pedagogy and other contemporary learning theories and methodologies leading to the Abiding Heart Education learning and teaching approach;

4. Abiding Heart’s transformative experiential curriculum for kindergarten through to class 8. 

 

I have developed courses to encompass each of these areas, which form the pillars of the Abiding Heart Education’s transformative experiential Buddhist learning approach on which our teacher training courses and Buddhist imbued curriculum rests. The curriculum includes an array of subjects taught in kindergartens and schools, from literacy and numeracy, to cultural studies, sustainability and arts and crafts, all of which are immersed directly and indirectly in the Buddhist view and meditation, with the aim of nurturing the development of wisdom and compassion. Contemplative education, Buddhism, prayers and rituals, are integrated into every lesson and throughout the daily, weekly and monthly rhythms of the school year. The curriculum is rich, purposefully wholesome and true to my ideal of educating the head, heart and hand.

 

The Abiding Heart Education approach comprehensive teacher training courses aim to have a global reach and to work at the depth of things through the four foundational components. The first pillar of the Abiding Heart Education™️ approach is Foundation Buddhist Studies and the inner development of the trainee teacher. Trainee teachers must first dedicate time to understanding, contemplating and meditating the Buddhist view. This involves guidance and instruction on how to meditate. Although such insight and skills require many years of practice, trainee teachers are grounded in a foundational understanding of the Buddhist view and meditation. In our view, this is essential, as being a teacher is less about what we teach but who we are. 

 

The first pillar of the Abiding Heart Education™️ approach formed the Foundation Buddhist studies course - a 16 week full-time course - a full semester! Experiential arts are also part of this course to enrich the process of learning and to enable exploration of inner landscapes and reflection on how the Buddhist view and meditation can be applied in the journey of self-transformation. The combination of daily philosophy classes together with meditation and transformative and expressive arts, modelling, Himalayan arts and crafts and movement, are a fantastic way of applying the Foundation Buddhist studies into our lives.