APPLIED ANICCA TO EDUCATION

Definition:
There are varying translations of the term of Anicca as such “Impermanence, temporary, change and transience or transiency”. It is basic feature of all conditional phenomena involving material and mental things which existing on the worldwide.[1]
Anicca its self is one of Dhamma category consisted in the Three Essential Characteristic things, impermanence, suffering and egolessness (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta) which taught by the Buddha over 2552 years ago. If one who knows Anicca correctly, he or she will know suffering as its corollary and egolessness as ultimate truth. He will knows and understands the truth of the World as it is.[2]
Anicca is a situation or process in which something becomes different or is replaced, or the result of this process.[3]
Based on three sources of the definition which combined the two aspects, Buddhism and Worldliness backgrounds, It makes me be confident enough to draft my writing according to my own understanding and practicing. I am willing to focus on five aspects in education field, namely (1) Foundation of Studies, (2) Human Resource Management, (3) Human Resource, (4) Knowledge and (5) the Impact of the Processing of Appling Anicca to Education, to the whole topic of “Applied Anicca to Education”. I also have got the intention to bring audience about the impermanent processing on five aspects from the pass up to now. Anicca we can believe in. It must be changed if it is necessary for proper reasons of all things regarding with Modern lifestyle. We change for better. It involves the evolution and revolution of other fields that existing in this world. I have the message to contribute to the Educational field in detail for whom would may concerned.
Foundation of Studies:
Foundation of Studies hereby means that the proper places which enable to do educated activities as such Royal Palace, Buddhist Temple, School, University, Centre involving NGOs. It must be concerned with good transportation, quiet ground, enough equipment and entertainment garden. It always motivates accordance with its reasons and conditions from time to time. We look back to the history of education in Thailand. It was separated into three periods. They never stop their processing in order to change;
Firstly, they set up Royal Palace as the main Centre for educating literature to people and training army. There was only one Center located in the Capital for Country. We went to study on foot. Environment kept quiet all semesters. We studied under big tree and went around slow down while doing a hard learning. For equipment was very simple with text book, ancient pen. We used brain as computer remember. We could take environment for our sensation relaxation. The technique of cultivation of modern garden not yet arises in the system of people thinking. Everything seems very natural. And it ready to change for the second period.
Secondly, educational place had been removed from Royal Palace to Buddhist Temple. The transportation condition is more easier than the Rogal Palace because of the increasing of numerous Buddhist Temples in every region and Province. Keeping in quiet is the characteristic of Buddhist Temples. Chairs, tables and other furniture were more completed. Surface ground applied to our need based on the good standard of each Temple.
The last period called modern one, school was spread to outside of the Buddhist Temple. The system of education was controlled by the Ministry of Education. Schools lied down nearby the communication. Environment was a little bit noisy. Educational things have been improved. Students could used the ground in front of school building as their own relax place although it was so narrow.
Until now the foundation of studies still removes from place to place because of students’ increasing. And some places need to be separated. Suppose MCU has been replacing to Wangnoi Compus, Ayyutaya Provice effectively.
Human Resource Management and Human Resource:
Regarding to the management of human in University, people will think of duties that provide the processing of one’s University going on smoothly. In this we will discuss in brief on the facts and roles of changes of ones who function as rectors and teachers of a specific University.
In one University, a rector plays a main role as Human Resource Management Staff, He/ she must graduated in the higher education at least he has graduated one majority in Doctor Degree and good in human morality. But nowadays it seems no any human morality in rector’s reactions. He needs only Doctor Degree. He is chosen by the system of policy. He comes to work with his feeling not with his consciousness and mind. His adjudgement is not justice. He allows his employees to collect money from student examinations for his sensation desire. The dignity of rector has been changed based on this bad form. The system of education will flow up this damage destiny.
Based on VOA, Cambodia has no justice for poor students. If students have no money for rector’s requirement, students will not pass exam with their own abilities directly. A rector tried to gain profits from students and put it into his own pocket. This point rector was changing from good situation of education to the bad.
Human Resource covers the term of teachers or lecturers in one University. They must fulfill at least three skillful basic needs; (1) Standard Knowledge, (2) Willing to transfer their background to students and (3) Playing the rules as students’ parents.
I am very sorry to say what concerns with standard knowledge of a lecturer. And let me not to mention his name. My lecturer was not skillful in English at all, but he entered my class as International Program. He could not do any explanation to students. So that the ability of transferring his background to students including the different techniques of the soluble problems for students break down and go ahead to the end of learning nothing. He changed me to be a boring and non-motivation Buddhist student in his class.
So doing that, It was not a right direction of education. I was an uneducated person. I spent my own time coming to class for training myself as a noble person. But I didn’t gain any method of the academic objectives. I knew myself changing for bad thing at that time. There is the positive meaning of Anicca herein saying by the Most Venerable P.A. Payutto in his sermon in Thai language:
Anicca must applies to all physical and mental things at the present movement. It has to changes for better, If is necessary. It must not change for the bad. If it is , it is not its real meaning of Anicca. It will be other phenomena like death of Anicca state (Marana), the death of the original Dhamma. The human beings, animals, plants could not be saved with the wrong change.
At that time I applied the term of Anicca to my freed-mind. I don’t be attachment to him, just observe him as his real behavior. I really understood and saw him. I tried to motivate myself from the bad situation by the reading more text books and find out the resolution in different ways to fix my problems according to the majority responsibility at private activity. At the end, my course has passed and the new semester replaced it.
Knowledge:
Buddhadada Bhikkhu said;
Education in the world can be likened to a dog without a tail,
because only academic and vocational subjects are taught but how to be a righteous human being is not.The world wastes so much time studying things such as art, archaeology, history, geography, science, and other forms for material civilization, which have little to do with the quenching of humanity’s dukkha. And we tend to get lost in them. We ought to research and study correctly only those Subjects concerned with dukkha’s quenching.[4]
I absolutely agree with his idea. Education system has become a moving target. While the science has grew up and became popular in the Public Relation. People run up to the theory and physical thing, then throw away the human morality. They got the high education but could not succeed in the way of life. It called knowledge being lack of human morality is a useless subject in society and it will destroys the world immediately. Vietnamese Proverb saying:
Tiên học lệ hậu học văn:
Studying morality first and then literature comes along.
I have finished High School in Pali, Khmer, Vietnamese involving English, but I cannot solve my physical and mental problems indirectly. University never taught me how to solve the problems perfectly. It just response on the theory only. My Aunt said:
Knowledge providing from the real life, It was completely different things from what we have learnt in class. There are many kinds of competition to another for all time work. There are many rude persons existing in one’s company. It caused by their own evil mind and school never concerns with this point at all.
We have to change the system of education. We try to took back the Buddhist Studies expectation. Buddhism has taught people the knowledge of the truth. Teaching people know how to realize the suffering. Then Buddhism makes the cultivation at the right point of suffering directly. No need to waste much time for the useless method as archaeology, history, geography, science, and other forms have done as nowadays. In this main point I would encourage Buddhist and Non-Buddhist come and see how Buddhism maintains his ways of education by the method of the Buddha’s Teachings.
Anicca can applies to the daily life. It has its own dynamic power to overcome all kinds of bad situation. Anicca helps us to cultivate the calm and peace in mind and fulfill our duties with motivation, concentration and enjoyment. I would tell a short story about my aunt:
My aunt is a Khmer girl. She was born in Southern of Vietnam. She has been staying in US for 18 years. The fire years at the starting of her new style life in US, she worked with a low works. Her Aunt’s family did look down her. She had cried for 5 years full. She tried to motivate her hard life in the different ways. She absolutely applied Anicca to her own bad situation. She has believed that her life would be changed once day. She realized Anicca will provide her the power of mind to overcome her obstacle and the deeplyhole of Suffering. After 5 years of training herself under her Anicca applied to the real hard life, she had got a proper work as a layout design engineering. She has worked for four companies at the same days. She almost works 14 to 16 hours per day. Now her life is more balance with her experience in understanding Anicca. She deeply believes in Anicca and continuously to apply Anicca to her close friends.
The Impact of the Processing of Applying Anicca to Education:
Actually Education nowadays is changing to reach the right direction of its meaning. I have watched Thai TV they said that:
Thailand education has been starting to change at least 7 years up to now, but the good conducts of educational project not outcomes yet. However, the current president of the Ministry of Education tries to keep it changing until succeed.
When I was a student at High School in Vietnam, I tried all my best to change myself. I took a mental noted that learning has to progress and improve the knowledge day by day according to its levels. I never allowed my brain stop to motivate at any point. Once day my Vietnamese lady teacher said that:
Knowledge that we are learning has been developing from the basic to the higher as A, A+ up to Z. So It makes us to sense that we skill nothing sometimes. Students don’t worry about that. Just try to study hard. Once day our knowledge is perfect, we are reaching the revolution from our ignorance instincts of literature and wisdom.
To conclusion, based on the message mentioned above through the five aspects of Anicca applied to Education, It makes us clear and knows that Anicca enables to apply to Education and others effectively. We have to spend a very long time to apply Anicca in the right direction. I strongly think there are not any doubt about how Anicca can applies to Education because the Buddha himself used to emphasize that:
“Sabbe san.khaaraa aniccaa ; All conditioned things are impermanent.[5]”

Writen by Ven. Munijoto Keo Viasana Thach
[1]http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/​authors/khema/allofus.html
[2]http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib​/authors/khin/wheel231.html
[3] Macmillan, 2003, Essential Dictionary, Printed and bound in China.
[4] Koffman J. P. and Liamsiriwattana T. , Practical Buddism, 2006, Amarin Publishing, Thailand, P. 82.
[5] Payutto P.A., 1995, Dictionary of Buddhism, MCU Pubisher, Bangkok, Thailand.