| Name: | Callum Mintzis |
| Country: | Australia |
| Project Name: | Teaching English at Buddhist Monastery |
| Join Date: | 15/05/2022 |
| End Date: | 11/06/2022 |
Articles
- Callum Mintzis- Teaching English at a Buddhist Monastery
- Volunteers Initiative Nepal What is love? This was the first question I asked when I took a class at Khawalung Tashi Choeling Monastery in Kathmandu
- Nepal. After two weeks of Covid
- I had finally been able to teach. There were about twelve students
- mostly between the ages of eleven to thirteen. Their eyes lit with excitement as they heard the words
- and many of the monks called out things such as family
- feelings
- and the heart. All I’d come in to do was gauge their English level
- but already sparks of enthusiasm seemed to be flying throughout. We had a beautiful conversation about love
- and what it means to love. I didn’t feel like a teacher
- but as much a student as them. Perhaps my role would be more analogous to an aeroplane director
- holding batons to direct the aeroplane after having landed. I was guiding the conversation
- but I was not giving any answers. We came down to an idea which stayed with me for the remainder of my teaching. The idea of process. What is a process I asked? Process is change. Process is impermanent
- and process is energy. We had a few ideas to get us started
- and the monks seemed determined to investigate the nature of this word. ‘Is running a process? Is talking a process? Is breathing a process?’ We looked into it very deeply
- until we came to realise that everything in the universe is a process
- because everything is change. I asked them
- if anyone can tell me over the next few weeks something in this universe which is permanent
- I will buy them chocolate. Over the next few days
- I had young monks coming up to me with all manner of suggestions. ‘A stone is permanent
- the sun is permanent
- I am permanent!’ No matter what they came up with
- I was sadly always able to find an exception. I really wanted to buy someone chocolates
- but for what I could see
- it wasn’t going to happen. A few days later we got hooked by the idea that life is a process. We kept going down the garden path and their enthusiasm only mounted. ‘If life is a process
- and process is change
- and change is energy
- then we are energy!’ The excitement imploded. ‘So where does energy come from?’ I asked. The answers ranged from food
- to exercise
- to the sun. These answers were all correct of course
- but finally someone shouted out that energy comes from nature. Nature became our focus
- and I asked them after this
- what is the difference between us and nature? The most common answer was that we have a mind
- and nature does not. They said that nature makes themselves
- and that nature makes humans. This was an interesting line of thought to follow. If nature makes humans
- are humans nature? Yes! The overwhelming majority voted in agreement. Somewhere along the line we have started to divide ourselves from nature herself
- and I believe this to be one of the biggest causes of our mistreatment to our environment. In a class of eleven to thirteen year olds
- the truth seemed clear. Enthusiasm bubbled inside of me. What do we share the most in common with nature? I posed this question to them
- and once again they thought deeply about it. Nature is always creating because it is the source of everything in the universe. We contemplated this and realised that humans are also always creating. We are creating thoughts
- feelings
- emotions
- art
- actions etc. What is another word for creation
- I asked? They sat and thought long and hard. Someone said process. I felt as though creation is a process
- but it still has some major differences. We sat and pondered for a long while
- until someone stood up and exclaimed ‘love. Love is creation.’ And so the children laughed and the mountains smiled.
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