萬佛城金剛菩提海 Vajra Bodhi Sea

金剛菩提海:首 頁主目錄本期目錄

Vajra Bodhi Sea: HomeMain IndexIssue Index

《敎育專欄》

 

FOCUS ON EDUCATION

師父上人創校與教學之法
HOW THE VENERABLE MASTER ESTABLISHED SCHOOLS
AND THE WAY HE TAUGHT STUDENTS

易瑞華一九九五年七月二十七日講於萬佛聖城宣公上人贊頌追思法會
A talk by Shari Epstein on July 27, 1995, at the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

我今天只要談一下師父創立學校與教導學生的方法,因為我每次看他的遺言, 看到最後幾句,就會覺得非常感動,他說:「你們大家要組織起來,把小學辦好,把中學辦好,大學更要辦好!」為什麼我會覺得非常感動呢?這是因為我很幸運有機會在師父身邊長大,也有機會在育良小學與培德中學受教育。

我五歲的時候,就是一九七五年,育良小學設立那一年,我從那一年到十八歲高中畢業,都是在這裡上課,有機會觀察這兩個學校的演變,更幸運的是:有機會親自體驗師父教導學生的方法。大概在座的人,都曾經聽過許多師父的開示,許多關於教育的開示,因為我們都知道他常常強調教育的重要性,常常鼓勵人當義務老師。可是近幾年來,人所可能不知道的是,他談教育的時候,不只是談空空的理論而已,因為他自己年輕的時候,十八歲,在東北,也當過義務老師,有三十幾個學生,他自己教的。

育良小學、培德中學設立以後,他也幾乎每個禮拜,不管他多忙,會從舊金山來到萬佛城,給我們學生上課,這是我不能夠忘記的。

他上課的方法,是非常活潑有趣!你都不知道那天他會做什麼新的事情,一點都不無聊。我記得有一陣子,師父告訴我們學生說:「你們不管多小,都要練習,要學習怎麼演講。」所以有幾個月,每個禮拜五,男校、女校都要選一個代表,到大殿坐在師父旁邊,不管懂不懂雙語,都得用中、英語在台上給演講。對一個小孩來講,八歲、九歲、十歲、十一歲,這是非常難得的機會與經驗。

過了一會兒,我也記得有一陣子,他給我們上「論語課」,他用什麼方法呢?平常我們上課,坐的方法,是法師坐在前面,然後坐著穿海青的居士。不穿海青的居士,學生可能在最後面,可是那個時候呢?他說:「這堂課是特別為了學生開的,學生坐在前面。」那時我們以為坐在在家居士的前面,可是事實不是!師父要我們坐在最前面!喔!那個時候很小,覺得好光榮,可以有機會坐在最前面。我長大以後才想到由一個老師的角度來看,這是多麼好的方法。我們不單比較靠近師父,所以他可以看著我們。也有那麼多法師與居士、家長坐在我們後面,沒有一個學生敢搗蛋,我們又覺得是非常光榮。

他上課的時候,總是有很多變化。不單只是專門為學生上課的時候,他會跟學生講話,他總讓學生覺得自己很有價值。平時給大眾上課的時候,他也鼓勵學生參加「對聯課」,這是他每個禮拜上一兩次的課。每次他都鼓勵學生對對聯,如果我們不對,他都會特別提出我們的名字,「安安、果陀,你們有沒有對對聯!」或者有的小孩不夠高,不能夠在黑板上寫他們的對聯,他會說:「你不要怕你太矮,我把一個椅子搬上來,你站在椅子上對。」上人就真的搬一張椅子上來,讓四歲的小孩站在椅子上,在黑板上寫對聯。他對小孩對的對聯和對大人對的對聯一視同仁,平等看待。

這不過是個例子,表示上人如何用出人意外的方法和智慧來教導小孩。

師父還有一次,我記得有一陣子他鼓勵大家背經,那個時候特別是《楞嚴經》,他也鼓勵我們背《地藏經》,還有其他的經典,大家都很用功背經。所以為了鼓勵大家,晚上在大殿,他會讓人上台背經給大家聽。用這樣子的方法鼓勵人,所以每隔一兩天,就是一個一個人,一個個的上台背經。可是過了幾天,他就改變了方法了,他說:「好!現在我們要用新的方法,今天是三四個人一起上去背。」可是他們所背的不是一樣的經,一個人背《地藏經》,一個人背《楞嚴經》,一個人背〈楞嚴咒〉,我們都覺得很驚訝!如果有那麼多人念那麼多不一樣的東西,怎麼行呢?他就解釋給我們聽,他說:「一個人上來背,很容易。如果你真的背得很熟,即使有人坐在你旁邊背別的經典,如果你很專心,背得很熟,你一定還是能夠背得出來,我要考你們!」這個時候他也讓小孩上去背。這是很好玩的!

當然,師父他是因人施教,看情況,他教人就是完全適合那個時候的那個人。有的時候他可能會很嚴肅,我記得我小的時候,大概兩三歲的時候,那個時候還沒有萬佛城,師父講完經,我爸爸媽媽每天載師父回他住的地方。我那麼小也不懂事,可能有一天在吵,說:「嗯!我要先回家!為什麼我們要等那麼久?」他那個時候我記得很嚴厲很嚴厲地罵了我一頓:「你這樣不行!你要懂禮貌!」那個時候我覺得非常慚愧,我永遠不會忘記!我那麼小的時候他罵了我一頓。

可是多半的時候,他是苦口婆心,很慈悲的。我長大的時候,我記得我給演講那天,講完以後,他叫我到他身邊,他就說:「你要記得!隨時你有什麼事情要告訴我,你都可以跟我講。」他是非常慈悲,像一個人祖父一樣。

所以我們可以看,他教人花了那麼多心血,他不要人被動的學習,不管是美國人、中國人,小孩五歲的、兩歲的、三歲的、七十五歲的,他都給所有的人機會發揮他們的潛能。

師父已經全心全力教導我們,所以現在我們需要負起責任來,繼承他所開始的工作,「組織起來,把小學辦好,把中學辦好,大學更要辦好!」

Today I just want to say a few words about how Shr Fu (the Venerable Master) established schools and the way he taught students, because every time I see his final instructions, I feel really moved when I get to the very last part where he says, “You must organize yourselves. You must manage and administer the schools well, both the elementary and the secondary schools and even more so the university.” Why? Because I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to grow up near Shr Fu and to be educated in Instilling Goodness Elementary and Developing Virtue Secondary Schools.

When I was five years old, in 1975, the year Instilling Goodness Elementary School was established, until I graduated from high school at eighteen, I attended these two schools. So I had the opportunity to watch the evolution of the schools. I was even more fortunate to personally experience the methods that Shr Fu used to teach us. Probably many of the people who are present have heard Shr Fu’s instructional talks. There are many instructional talks on education, because, as we all know, he emphasized the importance of education and encouraged people to be volunteer teachers. I think some of the people who have come in recent years might not know that when Shr Fu talked about education, he wasn’t just talking about empty theories. When he was eighteen, in Manchuria, he also taught as a volunteer teacher. He had over thirty students, and he taught them all himself.

And then, after Instilling Goodness and Developing Virtue Schools were established, no matter how busy he was, he came up to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas from San Francisco almost every week and taught us. This is something I can never forget.

His classes were always extremely lively, very creative, and very interesting. You never knew what new things he would do. It wasn’t the least bit boring. In particular I remember once there was a period of a few months during which he told us, “No matter how little you are, you should all practice giving speeches.” So for several months, every Friday we’d pick a representative from the girls’ school and from the boys’ school. You’d have to go up onto the stage and sit next to Shr Fu and give a speech in Chinese and English, whether you knew both languages or not! And when you’re a little kid of eight, nine, ten, or eleven years old, it’s a very rare opporunity and special experience.

Afterwards, I also remember there was a period when he had a class on the Analects. What method did he use? Ordinarily, in a class, the Dharma Masters sit in the front, then the laypeople with black robes, the laypeople without robes, and then the students at the very back. He told the whole assembly (it took the assembly several times to realize he was really serious), “This class is for the children, and so the children are going to sit in front.” We thought, “Well, this must mean in front of the laypeople. We couldn’t possibly sit in front of the Bhikshus and Bhikshunis.” But no, he wanted us right up in front! Oh, we were really little then, and we felt so special to be right up in front. As I got older, I thought about it from a teacher’s perspective: what better method than to have the children sit in front! Usually we sit in the back of everyone and play and write notes and talk. But here he had us right up close to him and he had all the Dharma Masters in back of us and all the parents, so nobody dared to goof off. It was a really, really good thing to do with us at that point. At the same time we didn’t even realize that we were being watched. We were really happy!

It wasn’t just in these classes that he had especially for students that he paid attention to children. He always treated the children like we were really worthwhile, and even when he gave classes for the adults, he encouraged the children to attend. For example in the matched couplets class that was held once or twice a week, he always encouraged us to write couplets. If we didn’t write couplets, he would notice. We thought we’d get away with it, but he’d call people out by name, “An An, Guo Tuo, did you write couplets?” Sometimes there were children who were too short to reach the board, so then he would say, “Don’t worry if you’re too short. I’ll put a chair up by the blackboard for you,” and he would—he’d bring up a chair and you’d have four-year-olds standing up there matching couplets! And he paid just as much attention to the little kids’ couplets as to the adults’.

These are just a few examples, but they give you a taste for the amazing wisdom and creativity and enthusiasm that he brought to teaching children.

I also remember there was a time when Shr Fu encouraged us to memorize Sutras, especially the Shurangama Sutra. He also encouraged us to memorize the Earth Store Sutra and other Sutras. We all worked really hard at memorizing Sutras. In order to exhort us, in the evenings in the Buddhahall he would ask people to go up to the stage and recite Sutras from memory for the assembly. Every one or two days, one by one people would go up to the stage to recite Sutras from memory. But after a few days he changed his method. He said, “Okay, now we’re going to use a new method. Today three or four people are going to come up and recite Sutras from memory.” However, they would all be reciting different things. One might be reciting the Earth Store Sutra, one would be reciting the Shurangama Sutra, and another would be reciting the Shurangama Mantra. We were all very surprised! How could so many people recite different Sutras at the same time? He then explained, “For one person to come up and recite is very easy. If you have truly committed the Sutra to memory, then even if someone is beside you reciting another Sutra, if you are very concentrated and have memorized it well, you will still be able to recite it from memory. I’m testing you!” During that time he let children go up to recite, too. It was a lot of fun.

Of course, Shr Fu taught according to people’s potentials and the situation. He based his teaching entirely on the person and the time. Sometimes he would be very stern. I remember when I was about two or three years old, which was before we had the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, after Shr Fu finished lecturing on the Sutras every day, my parents would drive him back to where he lived. I was very little and didn’t know anything. One day I was making a fuss and complaining, “I want to go home first. Why should we wait so long?” At that time I remember he scolded me very, very sternly, “You can’t act this way. You have to know your manners.” I felt very ashamed, and I’ll never forget it. I was so little, and yet he scolded me.

But most of the time he was very kindly and very compassionate. When I got older, I remember that one day after I gave a speech, he called me to his side and said, “Remember, anytime you have something you want to tell me, you can come and talk to me.” He was very compassionate, just like a grandfather.

So we can see, he spent so much effort in teaching people. He didn’t want people to learn passively. Whether it was Americans; Chinese; a child of two, three, or five years old; or a seventy-five year-old, he gave everyone a chance to exercise his potential ability.

Shr Fu exhausted all his mind and strength to teach us. Now we should take responsibility to continue the work he started, “organize ourselves, manage and administer the schools well, both the elementary and the secondary schools and even more so the university.”

◆上人鼓勵學生參加「對聯課」。
The Venerable Master encourages students to participate in Matching Couplets class.

▲Top

法界佛教總會 Dharma Realm Buddhist Association © Vajra Bodhi Sea