公元二十一世紀佛教與教育將成為同義詞，教育的成功將成為弘揚佛法的先驅。法之弘揚，社會之改造，會促使世界諸國舉國上下將教育當成是當務之急而廣興良學。因為重視道德教育乃教育之本，佛教在教育事業上必將繁榮昌盛，廣播四海。佛教所創辦的教育事業，教的是－－智慧與解脫，乃來自於道德與操守。人善之初，孝者也；人善之本，立身守規，潔身自愛。能以這種教育系統來培養人，人才自會輩出不窮，德如日月，智如淵澄，社會砥柱，人民福祉。佛曾教誨，一孝之德，能生善根，能使行者，證悟無餘。所以說，無論出家在家，若能行孝來上報四重恩者（師恩、國恩、父母恩、聖賢恩），則其福田，越種越廣；則其福報，越種越深；則其菩提，能得增益。摩訶目犍連及地藏王菩薩都是孝行的懿範。能使他們的事跡廣為教育各階層的學子聽聞，能使南北傳佛教諸聖賢之高風亮節、之諸瑞跡善報廣為學子們讀知，則二十一世紀佛教在興學辦教，塑造英才，以及為光明未來的綱紀立音定弦上，佛教必居領導地位。
二十世紀亞洲佛教衰敗，其中一大原因是僧伽在訓練說法人才方面疏忽與斷層。以中國為例，佛學院零星稀布，於經書律藏，許多和尚幾乎一無所知。佛教徒創辦的普通學校也很少。雖然佛教香火在中國已延續一千七百多年，但是佛之聖言至教卻沒有普及深入到廣大青少年心中，因為佛教僧伽幾乎沒有給他們創造什麼聆聽聖教的機會。至上世紀與本世紀的交轉之初，在中國的書禮之家竟對聖經舊約更為熟悉；這都當歸功於耶穌會教士火一般的傳教熱忱；他們翻譯聖經成中文，足跡所到之處，學校就如雨後春筍般冒出。
再者，歷史上從未有過有組織的譯經嘗試－－即將浩瀚的佛教三藏翻譯成他國語言。佛法在中國一千七百多年所累積的廣大財寶，除極個別特例之外，凡不精通中文者，悉皆不能從中得以饒益。
因此，有從事教育工作的佛教徒，在討論到佛法邁向二十一世紀時，勸告我們：過去在中國，佛教徒忽視教育，所以宗教信仰的根未能深紮。臨當社會變革，風雨飄搖之時，佛法便很難立足。我們現在是在法滅的時代，如何面對挑戰，如何中興佛法，如何化眾生貪迷，令其轉迷成覺呢？我們要從教育著手。
佛教僧伽人士挑起教育的重任，這並不是很新奇的想法。加里瑟 （Carrithers）（註一）說 ，在斯里蘭卡，讀寫與其他文學領域的教育傳授之責很早就落到僧伽的肩上。伯切特（Bechert）（註二）很贊成其說。他說：「在緬甸，是僧伽傳播文化的。」在古斯里蘭卡，寺廟是村落學童的學校。因為這個緣故，學校成為緬甸寺廟處最常用的一詞。讀寫技能，以及基本的宗教知識都是在那兒教授的。從古文中，孩子在那兒接受文化與生活知識的啟蒙教育。」
簡‧步南格（註三）報告說，一直到本世紀，僧人都有一個很重要的角色－－教師。在十九世紀其間，所有的學校都設在寺廟內，泰國和尚開始組織學校，但是本世紀以來，辦教興學之事由國家營辦的學校接手了。
我們可以看到在出現纔幾十年的公立教育產生以前，佛教國家如斯里蘭卡、緬甸、和泰國，僧人是為人師表的，指導著孩子如何成長為一個良才。我們可以總結出，在教育政策改變以前，佛法在這些國家的昌盛在一些程度上是歸功於教室裡僧人的努力。
註一、註二、註三請看英文。 |
|
Buddhism and education will be synonymous in the twenty-first century: the success of education will herald the propagation of the Dharma. The success of Dharma in reforming society will establish good schools as a good priority for every nation, state and town. Buddhist Education will flourish from the roots of moral excellence. The lessons of this system will teach that wisdom and liberation must be based on solid base of moral and virtuous character. The foundation of a good person is filial respect and practice of a code of ethical precepts— proper rules held purely. The flowering and fruition of such people appears in bright virtue, clear-minded concentration, and humane wisdom that serves all humanity. The Buddha taught that the single matter of filial respect created the good roots that carried him to full enlightenment. Thus, repaying the kindness of sages, parents, teachers, and our nation becomes an ever-expanding field of blessings for both lay and left-home Buddhist disciples, and also served as the causes for the great Bodhi resolve. Great Maudgalyayana and Earth Treasury Bodhisattva serve as outstanding examples of filial behavior. In making their stories known to students of every level of education, as well as introducing the lives of sages of both Mahayana and Theravada Vehicles as exemplars of the rewards of a virtuous life, Buddhist education will guide the way for twenty-first century schools, molding wholesome characters and solid principles for a bright future.
A major reason for the decline of Buddhism in twentieth century in Asia was the failure of the Sangha to train monks in the teachings of Dharma and the failure to make education the proper work of the Sangha. In China, for example, Buddhist studies academies were rare, and many monks remained virtually illiterate in Dharma and Vinaya. Public schools built and run by Buddhists were fewer still. Even though Buddhism had been a Chinese religion for 1700 years, the actual teachings of the Buddha failed to reach young people, because the Sangha provided little opportunity for them to hear the Teachings. The educated classes in China, by the turn of the century, were much more familiar with the doctrines of the Old Testament, due to the missionary zeal of the Jesuits, who translated the Bible and set up schools wherever they went.
Furthermore, there was never an organized attempt to translate the massive Buddhists Canon [Tripitaka] into any other language. The immense wealth of Dharma gathered over seventeen centuries of Chinese Buddhist scholarship, with notable exceptions, is still unavailable to anyone not fluent in Chinese.
Thus Buddhist educators, discussing Buddhism into the twenty-first century, advised us that: “In the past in China, Buddhists ignored education, so that the roots of the religion failed to take hold. When the winds of social change blew hard, Buddhism was unable to stand. We are now in the Age of the Dharma’s demise; to meet the challenge of making the Buddhadharma grow strong, and to turn all beings from confusion and towards enlightenment, we must start with education.”
Buddhist Sangha members taking up the task of training young minds is not a new idea: in Sri Lanka, “the teaching of reading and writing, and other literate specialties, fell to the Sangha’s lot very early,” according to Carrithers.1 Bechert agrees:
“In Burma, it was the Sangha that transmitted literary culture. As in ancient Sri Lanka, the monastery was the school for the children of the village. And for that reason the word ‘kyuang’ (school) is still the most common Burmese word for monastic settlement. Reading, writing and basic religious knowledge were taught there, and students were introduced to culture and knowledge of life with the help of old texts.”2
Jane Bunnag reports that until this century in Thailand, monks had an important role as teachers, as all schools were in the temple compound. During the nineteenth century, Thai monks began to organize schools in the provinces, but state-run schools took over the job of education in the twentieth century.3
We can see that in the Buddhist countries of Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand until the advent of public education in the last few decades, Sangha members provided the role models for teaching children to be morally and ethically virtuous adults. We might conclude that the success of Buddhism in those countries, until education policies changed, was due in some measure to the monks’ efforts in the classrooms.
1.from Bechert and Gombrich, The World of Buddhism, Thames and Hudson, Ltd., London, 1984, Facts on File Pubs., New York, N.Y., 1988, p. 120.
2．ibid., p. 128.
3．ibid., p. 140.
|
