Elemental wisdom in teacher training.
Date
1995
Authors
Walker, Timothy R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Dalhousie University
Abstract
Description
The use of contemplative techniques as a way to train teachers in intuition is explored. Psychotherapeutic models are compared with Buddhist teachings. It is argued that psychology has given teachers information about learning styles but little help in developing their own intuition. An exploration of water, earth, fire, air and ether as archetypal symbols in cosmology, myth, religion and the medical arts of our ancestors reveals the importance of these five elements as symbols of transformation and points to a more refined mode of perception.
The mandala principle in Tibetan Buddhist teachings, described in The Tibetan Book of the Dead, gives a map of this subtle field of archetypal energies which teachers can access as elemental wisdom. Each of the five elemental qualities is examined with respect to ordinary experience, emotional intensity and the wisdom potentials that teachers can cultivate. I am suggesting that the journey of learning and development is rooted in the transformation of emotional energies rather than in cognitive content. If teachers are to learn to facilitate students on this journey, then contemplative training in awareness of these non-dual elemental qualities might be a good way to help them develop the empathy, clarity, directness and patience required of a mature teacher.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1995.
The mandala principle in Tibetan Buddhist teachings, described in The Tibetan Book of the Dead, gives a map of this subtle field of archetypal energies which teachers can access as elemental wisdom. Each of the five elemental qualities is examined with respect to ordinary experience, emotional intensity and the wisdom potentials that teachers can cultivate. I am suggesting that the journey of learning and development is rooted in the transformation of emotional energies rather than in cognitive content. If teachers are to learn to facilitate students on this journey, then contemplative training in awareness of these non-dual elemental qualities might be a good way to help them develop the empathy, clarity, directness and patience required of a mature teacher.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1995.
Keywords
Religion, General., Education, Educational Psychology., Education, Teacher Training., Psychology, Clinical.