A year of documenting how my personal mindfulness practice relates to my career as an educator has come to a close. The past five years I’ve spent based in India have been such a gift and I’m grateful to have spent this last year here focused on documenting “teaching as spiritual practice” and sharing all of these experiences. Once I am settled back in the States I will continue to blog at Meena’s Blog. Below are various categories that consolidate the many blog posts from the school year and you can also get a snapshot of the past five years at www.iamthou.com. Thank you to all of you who have followed this blog throughout the year.
I was invited to Sikkim by the Director of the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology to help follow through on a promise the Chief Minister of Sikkim made to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to implement secular moral ethics into the Sikkimese educational system. The past few days I've spent in this beautiful northeastern state of India have been incredibly interesting. In addition to dialoguing with members of the education sector and working with 39 pre-service Sikkimese school teachers I was able to visit the Rumtek monastery (the seat of the Karmapa) and get a feel for the unique history and culture of Sikkim. Sikkim became a part of India in the mid 1970s and the politics surrounding the inclusion of northeastern states in India are both fascinating and complex. Education reform in this region involves a number of critical issues which include addressing the fact that Sikkim has the highest suicide rate in India. Seventy percent of the state budget goes toward education but the discussions I've had here examined how that money isn't allocated in the most efficient way. Members of the education ministry participated in a presentation I gave on the importance of "teaching for the heart & mind" and we are looking into implementing a mindfulness training pilot program for pre-service teachers.
“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” – Frederick Buechner
I vacated my Golf Links apartment this morning. I slowly drank my tea and watched the bright green parakeets from my balcony for the last time. Breath by breath, I walked out of my Delhi flat for the last time and made my way to school for our last day.
The past five years at the American Embassy School in New Delhi have been such a gift. I feel blessed to have worked in a school with supportive administrators, phenomenal colleagues and amazing students. Mindfulness practice has helped me realize that all of my students and colleagues continue on through me and I continue on in them. With each farewell hug I took a deep breath, fully taking in each precious encounter.
At both the 8th grade moving up ceremony and the high school graduation I felt so proud of all my students... One of my incredibly talented students sang a beautiful song dedicated to parents that brought tears to my eyes…one of the lines of her song, “Your daughter will always love you,” reminded me of my parents and how soon I will be closer to them back in the United States.
At the graduation recessional, one of my students who I taught in 10th grade, embraced me and said, “Ms.S, ‘I am Thou,’ I haven’t forgotten.” My heart is filled with gratitude for having had the opportunity to teach such remarkable young people. I feel truly blessed.
"Celebrate endings--for they precede new beginnings." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
It’s wonderful to realize that we are all in a family, we are all children of the Earth. We should take care of each other and we should take care of our environment, and this is possible with the practice of being together as a large family. A positive change in individual awareness will bring about a positive change in the collective awareness. Protecting the planet must be given the first priority. – Thich Nhat Hanh
At the end of 7th grade our students grapple with the issues surrounding climate change by engaging in the Culminating Integrated Assessment (CIA) which is an environmental summit project. It is designed for teachers to evaluate how groups of students work in teams, a core focus throughout the year, and demonstrate a synthesis of different content areas in a creative way. Groups of 10 students were assigned a country and they had to assess the energy situation in their country, make a proposal for the future, and design a renewable energy plan. While CIA is a fun, interactive way for students to enjoy their last few days of 7th grade it also deepens their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Most importantly it highlights the importance of taking action steps towards renewable energy. My students researched the use of kite power in Vietnam.
Students were divided up into different "expert groups" where they focused on either creating graphs to predict future energy consumption, creating models of their renewable energy source, or a PSA/spot of Ecosolutions on their energy proposal. I worked with students on their "advocacy campaign" and have placed the handout we used to guide students through the process below.
A great tool that I use is the Personal Climate Change Calculator. There are many simple things we can do to help the earth by practicing mindful consumption. My teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, stresses that mindfulness moves far beyond breath awareness and encompasses living an ecologically sound life. A few years ago, Thich Nhat Hanh’s practice centers went from being vegetarian to vegan because of climate change. In fact, in “The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology” my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, shared, "By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The simple act of becoming a vegetarian will make a difference in the health of our planet."
Our last Sangha of the school year everyone brings "something" to share...prose, poetry, art, music. We call it a "Sangha Potluck." In between each sharing we invite the bell and practice mindful breathing. Below are the offerings from my dear Sangha brothers and sisters...each item touched my heart and I left Sangha filled with deep gratitude for having been a part of this community for 5 years.
I read a great piece this morning by Tish Jennings published on the mindful.org site summarizing the connection between mindfulness and learning. Check it out below! I will be at the Garrison Institute where she directs contemplative education initiatives in just a few weeks for the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute. If you peruse through the Student Voices on Mindfulness on this blog you will have some proof about how mindful awareness can help students and what mindfulness means to my 6th graders. Mindfulness practice has also transformed the way I teach and who I am as an educator. At a recent mindfulness in education conference in Washington DC educators spoke about the importance of bringing contemplative practice into the classroom. A few years ago my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, held a transformative mindfulness retreat for more than 500 educators in North India.
For me, mindfulness is the foundation for a nondual approach to education--embodied Interbeing. On a more practical level it is welcoming learning not just focused on thinking and empowering educators and student with skills to manage and work with their emotions skillfully, realize the choices they have in each situation and promote greater happiness, compassion and presence in schools. I believe the goals of mindfulness in education are to transform education so students, parents and teachers are happier and can manage their lives more skillfully (resilience) and reduce stress. I also believe it will lead to an understanding of Interbeing and create compassionate caring, ethical communities. I think some indicators of success of mindfulness in education in a classroom or school are a peaceful, focused, curious, fun, energetic, supportive, honest, caring, connected classroom community where everyone learn from each other. A school that strives to promote ethics/values of interdependence, peace and harmony with all sentient beings and the environment.
I always found it interesting that the Sanskrit root for mind, "cit," also means "heart." In fact, the lineage name I was given in September of 2008 by the Thich Nhat Hanh community was "cittasuddhasradda" which means "pure confidence of the heart." So when we speak of "mindfulness" we are also connecting with a sense of "heartfulness." I find the Mahayana view of mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh to have a heartful quality.
In March of 2008 I had the opportunity to hear Sharon Salzberg speak in New Delhi. I was surprised to discover that this well known teacher of Buddhist meditation runs retreats with Krishna Das. I asked her to speak to nonduality and bhakti since she runs retreats with the kirtan master and she said, "Remember that distinctions are not divisive and there are many ways of opening the heart."
Singing is a common practice in Plum Village. Even though I'm a HORRIBLE singer I love to sing. Music and singing touch my heart in unexplainable ways. Last night as I was packing I came across my harmonium and electronic tabla. I spent 2 years during my time in India studying Indian music. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the time commitment needed to study seriously but I still have a deep appreciation and love for devotional singing. Shortly after I packed away my musical instruments I came across footage from a short musical recital I gave after taking music lessons for a few months. I combined the recital with a party I threw in honor of my parents visit to India in November of 2007 :) Below you can experience some of the recital/party I threw at my home in New Delhi almost five years ago! The audio doesn't always sync with the video...
Today is my last Saturday in Delhi :) As I was walking out of my yoga studio this morning I came across the above sign :) A beautiful reminder especially as I am in the midst of moving which can always be a little stressful. I also listened to a beautiful podcast from my favorite radio program as I was packing out! Krista Tippet interviewed Sylvia Boorstein on Mother's Day! If you get a chance, it is definitely worth a listen!
For the past five years I’ve gathered under the full moon with hundreds of others at Sanskriti Kendrain Delhi on Buddha Purnima. Buddha Purnima or Vaisaka is one of the most important festivals for Buddhists and it commemorates the birth, death and enlightenment of the Buddha.
The Buddha Purnima celebration at the beautiful artist collective, Sanskriti Kendra, holds a very special place in my heart and is my favorite evening in Delhi each year. After watering the Bodhi tree which is born from a sapling from the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, all of us engage in walking meditation, sitting practice and then light candles under a Banyan tree before we share a delicious meal together in mindfulness. My first Buddha Purnima was five years ago and I have participated in the celebration every year after. Three years ago I shared the writings about mindfulness and metta practice from my 9th grade students!
As a farewell offering to my Sangha I led a guided meditation. Thanks to my friends that videotaped you can experience the evening and the meditation below :) I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had in India and feel blessed to have had so many friends join in the celebration last night as I transition into the next phase of my life back in the United States.
Part one includes what we call in Plum Village, “Five Finger Meditation” which is a quick way to calm and relax yourself. I often use it as a warm up before my sitting practice.
Part two is my favorite guided meditation in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition. I adapted Exercise 18, “Looking Deeply, Healing,” from Blooming of a Lotus.
Part three includes my dear friend and mentor, Dharmacharya Shantum Seth’s Dharma talk on suffering, chanting by a beautiful Vietnamese Bhikkuni (Buddhist Nun), and offerings at the Banyan tree under the full moon.
Whether we know it or not, we transmit the presence of everyone we have ever known, as though by being in each other's presence we exchange our cells, pass on some life force and then we go on carrying that other person in our body, not unlike the springtime when certain plants in fields we walk through attach their seeds in the form of small burrs to our socks, our pants, our caps, as if to say, "Go on, take us with you, carry us to root in another place"…This is why it is important who we become, because we pass it on. – Natalie Goldberg (Author and Student of Thich Nhat Hanh)
Just hours before I left for Buddha Purnima my wonderful colleagues in our Student Support Team gave me the beautiful flowers pictured above and the card below. I feel blessed to carry so many amazing people “in me” to root in other places :) May the blessings of the Triple Gem always be with you.
My last batch of 6th graders completed their "Mindfulness Mind Maps" where they reflect on "WHAT" mindfulness is..."WHY" anyone would would want to be mindful and..."HOW" to be mindful. I love this assignment because I get to see their different perspectives and the Mind Map gives them an opportunity to tie everything together at the end of the unit. I found the reasons for being mindful very interesting, grounded and incredibly REAL for 6th graders :) Take a look! These kids ROCK!
