Winter School 2020 again attracts Global Attention
To benefit the Earth by triggering a positive cycle via the awakening of people's heart and mind through religion.
The Winter School program is a manifestation of synergy between the Ling Jiou Mountain (LJM) of Taiwan, the Human Science Center of Germany’s Ludwig Maxmillians University in Munich, and many other academic bodies the world over as a pilot project of the planned University for Life & Peace in Myanmar. Winter School 2019 saw the participation of 10 world-renowned professors and 25 students from various professional disciplines gather in Yangon, Myanmar to test-run a curriculum designed to drive thought-provoking and result-inducing interactions focused on the theme of 'New Strategies to combat Ecological Crises'. Local media in Myanmar took a keen interest in the pilot project, which was accredited by many academicians around the world as well.
The above-said curriculum ran for a span of two weeks, but interactions continued well beyond its wrap-up. The faculty and the student body carried on their in-depth discourses for a good half-year in spite of time-zone differences. A total of 15 reports by individuals as well as by groups passed scrutinies for awarded credit respectively. A historic chapter and a milestone of the future University for Life & Peace were thus achieved for its solid foundation.
Both the faculty and the student body of Winter School 2019 paid a visit to Dharma Master Hsin Tao as the founder of the future University for Life & Peace almost one year after the pilot project. Primarily they wanted to share what changes the Winter School program has brought into their lives one year after the fact. Joseph from Taiwan cherishes his experience of a spiritual awakening during the course of the program, but the time since has made it amply clear to him that the challenge comes in the form of an on-going effort to keep up the motivation for perseverance - such realizations by personal experiences are in effect part and parcel of the core value of the future University. On the other hand, Evgeny Parfenov and Elizaveta Parfenova from Russia have a word of advice to fellow students who are about to start their participation in Winter School 2020: vigilant mindfulness and a focus for every moment will be the key to fulfillment as the curriculum is both challenging and demanding.
The two-week curriculum of Winter School 2019 enticed self-studies, encouraged interactions and group discussions, as well as induced public sharing. Education with such an approach gives rise to changes from within, and group dynamics accelerate solution-finding and action-taking. Quite different from the tradition of one-way knowledge-sharing, the Winter School program puts more emphasis on the way to spiritual awakening and the global movement of facing up to ecological crises. Moreover, hopes are being pinned on the future University for Life & Peace as the true harbinger of awakened spirituality.
The theme of the curriculum for Winter School 2020 has been set to 'Healing the Earth - Transformative Action for Ecology and Technology' . Based on experiences with, and feedback from, the program the year before, the focus is now on how best to yield a positive overall impact on the ecology by putting technologies to work as referenced off best practices the world over. Venerable Master Hsin Tao is hopeful that Winter School 2020 will likewise generate positive energy of wisdom to benefit the Earth while contributing to actual action-taking.
The United Nations Summit on Climate Change issued in September 2019 a warning that 'the climate crisis is the most severe threat to mankind ever, that no countries, organizations, and decision-makers should just look on and do nothing.' The 16 years old environmental activist from Sweden, Greta Thunberg, also appealed to the effect that 'the world is being destroyed, people are suffering, and the ecological system is crumbling apart. If you are aware of all these and still fail to do anything about it, you are evil.' The appeal has a strong sense of urgency attached to its message of saving the Earth. The duty falls upon everyone, and it must no longer stay empty words. No one can entertain the notion any more that we as individuals matter little, if at all.
Education is one of Ling Jiou Mountain's main concerns and the emphasis on spirituality marks a unique feature of the Winter School program. Dharma Master Hsin Tao says that ‘What LJM is about is to benefit the Earth by triggering a positive cycle via the awakening of people's heart and mind through religion. We then hope to alter the magnetic field of the Earth by virtue of people's awakened spirituality for a means to help restore Nature. At LJM we aim at uniting spirituality and academics to ultimately establish game rules of interdependence and co-existence fit for the human society.' The creation of the University for Life & Peace is for yet a further concrete manifestation of the ideals of "Love & Peace", which rides on educative objectives of humanitarian care for lives and awakened spirituality via religious practice. The logic is clear: LJM works to awaken the world and the awareness of the crises can help curb the deteriorating climate change. Changes in people's lifestyles can literally help turn lives around. Here on its way out to you is our sincere invitation to join in our campaign of "Loving the Earth / Loving Peace" and sow the seeds of Love & Peace all over the world to enrich the Earth's soil for a co-existence and shared prosperity. Such is the LJM message for a sustainable symbiosis.
