A new Shaolin Cultural School has been ebstablished recently near Songshan of Henan province. It will provide an education for youngsters all the way from pre-school up to junior high. A college will be opened next year to provide for further studies, & a university is on the drawing board. Whereas in the past kids sent to Shaolin were only taught martial science now they are also taught english, math, science, PC knowledge as well, to make their education more complete. There are 46 Wushu Schools around the Shaolin Temple at Songshan. Kids from all over China are sent here by their parents to seek a bright future through the martial arts industry.

It has long been my view that Education is the key to creating a better world for us & our future generations. All the global problems that humans face in the world today can inavoidably be traced back to the self-centred thinking of each & every Man. And the only way to lead that thinking to a positive direction is through a complete education. The ancients were much wiser than us today in the sense that they advocated young people to learn both the arts of the pen & the sword since the time of Confucius. Most importantly, they had to study the 4 Classics & the 5 Books - The Way of the Sages. Through this education they learn the right thinking to uphold themselves, harmonize their families, contribute to their country & finally return peace to the whole world. No matter what was their trade they always followed this model of personal conduct. They understand their role in society as well as their relationship with the world around them. This is what the ancients called a true education.

Sadly this kind of education is long gone in our world today; which explain why it is so chaotic & full of natural & man-made disasters. Today kids are exposed to all kinds of negative & unwholesome influences through the TV, & when they get older, the internet. In school they are only taught how to make a living, but not how to live. There is way too much emphasis on commercial subjects in all levels of school & too little on humanity subjects. To worsen the situation both parents are usually too busy working to teach values to their children personally. So it is the maid, the TV or the PC that actually feed their little minds. In this kind of enviroment children grow up with a a lot of knowledge but very little wisdom. They become pampered, soft & worse, self-centred & hedonistic. All these become the breeding ground of many of the social ills existing today. This can be corrected, however, through changing the education system.

The Shaolin Cultural School can provide a model for what constitutes a complete education in the sense that it represents 2 legs out of a tripod that makes a complete Man. Besides developing these kids physically with martial science & mentally with academic subjects they should also nourish their spirit through the teaching of Buddhism. I hope that besides being adept at both the pen & the sword the Shaolin kids can also grow up to be morally upright persons who understand their role in the whole world as well as the universe. If all the schools in the world learn from this model of education - martial, academic & moral, the world would very soon be transformed into a better place to live in. This is very true. The key to changing the world lies in changing oneself. Let us make it happen.

  Next Section

Back to Main Page