Education
Believing in people, believing in some rich undiscovered quality and drawing it out―that is the vigorous spirit of education.
Education is a process of stimulating and awakening people from the very core of their being, enabling them to unlock and develop the power within them to create happiness. For this, passion is key.
Education is to ignite a flame. When teachers burn with a passion for truth, the desire to learn will be ignited in their students’ hearts. When teachers are excited about culture and beauty, the creativity of their students will leap up like a bright flame.
Education makes us free. The world of knowledge and of the intellect is where all people can meet and converse. Education liberates people from prejudice. It frees the human heart from its violent passions.
Education must be based on the fundamental rhythm of life itself―the wish to grow, to extend oneself, to break out of one’s shell. It must seek to place people on the track to self-improvement. It cannot be authoritarian; it must seek to enhance a person’s progress with his agreement and to his satisfaction.
Education must inspire the faith that each of us has both the power and the responsibility to effect positive change on a global scale.
Education should not be based on or limited by a nationalist agenda. Education must cultivate the wisdom to reject and resist violence in all its forms. It must foster people who intuitively understand and know—in their mind, in their heart, with their entire being—the irreplaceable value of human beings and the natural world. I believe such education embodies the timeless struggle of human civilization to create an unerring path to peace.
It is through education that we are liberated from powerlessness, from the burden of mistrust directed against ourselves. To awaken the abilities that have been lying dormant within. To arouse and extend the soul's aspiration to become full and complete. Can there be any more sublime experience in life?
Knowledge alone does not produce wisdom. Transforming knowledge into wisdom requires input from the heart.
Nothing is more crucially important today than the kind of humanistic education that enables people to sense the reality of interconnectedness, to appreciate the infinite potential in each person’s life, and to cultivate that dormant human potential to the fullest.
The fundamental task of education must be to ensure that knowledge serves to further the cause of human happiness and peace.
The heart of education exists in the process of teacher and pupil learning together, the teacher drawing forth the pupil’s potential and raising the pupil to eventually surpass the teacher.
The more knowledge one gains, the more important becomes the question of what that knowledge will be used for. Knowledge without wisdom and philosophy produces nothing more than talented beasts.
The proud mission of those who have been able to receive education must be to serve, in seen and unseen ways, the lives of those who have not had this opportunity.
There is no genuine education without earnest life-to-life interaction and inspiration. People grow through their interaction with people.
True religious commitment and the true spirit of education are actually two manifestations of the same ideal of the complete liberation of the human being.
Universities exist to benefit those who are unable to attend them.
Unlike political and economic programs, educational initiatives do not bear fruit immediately; thus it is hard to convince people of their importance. But in the long term, education cannot be overlooked as a key to bringing stability and prosperity to society.
