Co-learning with All Beings Program 2021
Co-learning with All Beings (full name: Co-learning with All Beings On Air Program), is created based on the spirit of traditional Confucian Academy and Ashram, for the purpose of pilgrimaging to meet the enlightened great teachers and achieve the unity of the nature of universe and human. it is an ashram for the students to awaken to see the center of life and thus raise his or her Ecological Self. Here we have teachers or facilitators to help nourishing his or her intention and spirituality, co-learning friends to communicate with and learn from each other, classical sutras of different spiritual schools to read, and the real world of real work to test our learning progress.
The purpose is more spiritual, emphasizing subtle influence, while in channeling it onto the ground, we need to have specific courses, for the convenience of the teachers and facilitators to guide and connect with the students and participants.
We set sutra reading course for verifying with the sages to solve our doubts at spiritual and life level, not for writing popular articles of flowery languages to show off. We set Deep Ecology course for verifying with the bioneers to free our heart from the bothering questions, not for getting praise from others with the so-called leading-edge subject. We set Ecovillage Design Education course to learn the skills the elders who've fought for social and ecological justice created for experiencing the track they've left so as to empathize and resonate with their intention and compassion, thus empower ourselves from what they take as the source, not for running after the fashion of eco-civilization or sustainable living.
Whether sutra or skills, we shall take them as assist source for self-cultivation. Sutras directly lead us to the truth, while skills indirectly lead us to the Tao. Either way we are on, the key is to stay with authenticity and honesty in the center of self-transformation as well as social transformation.
All those who has the intention to learn to unlearn for the Self, so as to unleash the potential of life, to heal the trauma with the wholeness and to achieve day-to-day renewal with inner transformation, whether poor or rich, of lower or higher rank, are welcome to apply via the process and learn together.
▍Curriculum Design
Now, The program sets Regular Courses, those guided by the teachers including: Tao Te Ching, I Ching, Deep Ecology and EDE(some modules of EDE to be exact).
P Pracha will guide the course on Tao Te Ching. It is planed to have 1 course which lasts 2-3 days every 3 months. The detailed information including exact time and location etc. shall be announced in the specific course announcement.
Mr Kim Jaehyung will guide the course on I Ching. It is planed to have 1 course which lasts 2-3 days every 3 months. The detailed information including exact time and location etc. shall be announced in the specific course announcement.
P Om will guide the course on Deep Ecology. It is planned to have 1 course which lasts 2-3 days every 3 months. The detailed information including exact time and location etc. shall be announced in the specific course announcement.
The participants will have regular co-learning (for example once every week), on such topics as: classical reading, deep ecology, the topics covered in EDE, etc.
Co-learner Being also has started to share on Worldview dimension of EDE, 2-3 times every month. Other students can also listen to the broadcast.
Apart from the regular courses, we will invite teachers and facilitators to open courses on relevant themes according to the needs.
▍Teachers and Facilitators
Pracha Hutanuwatr
Pracha Hutanuwatr is a facilitator and author passionate on integrating contemplation and social action. A former monk with a socialist background he was trained under the guidance of the renowed Buddhist master and influential intellectual teacher. Pracha released his role as director of Wongsanit Ashram in 2002, which he held for 10 years, and founded Young Awakening to bring holistic education to young people and later co-founded Ecovillage Transition Asia in 2012 to promote ecological community reconstruction in Asia. He has been facilitating a number of Ecovillage Design Education in Burma and South China with a lot of social change workers and officials as participants for more than 20 years.
For more than a decade Pracha co-directed the Grassroots Leadership Training program, a successful sustainable community initiative in Burma and South East Asia. He has long been enabling holistic organizations and promoting participatory leadership in service to the community; and have written and co-written many papers on Engaged Buddhism and ecological politics from Asian perspectives.
Since 2016 he has co-directed “Awakening Leadership Training” an annual 6 month-long program based at Wongsanit Ashram for social change workers around Asia and beyond for spiritual cultivation, integrating ecological perspective in their works and sharpening socio-political awareness for social justice, sustainability and cultural integrity.
Kim Jaehyung
Eastern Asia humanist, Representative of Yihe Confucian Academy(Korea), teacher of Sunshine Eco-academy. I Ching teacher of Co-learning with All Beings Program.
He used to live in the ecovillage and has been part of the New Village Movement for decades and an active activist of it. During this time, he started to study the classics of Confucianism and Taoism.
Now still lives in a sustainable way as an eco-farmer.
He publishes book(s) on classics and tour around Eastern Asia to give lectures.
His works so far including: Poem and I Ching；The Heart of Universe, Earth and Humanity in Eastern Study；Eastern Asia Tao Te Ching.
Sunisa Jamwiset Deiters (Om)
Om is an experienced facilitator. She has been facilitating workshops on Deep Ecology, Ecovillage Design Education course for over ten years now doing teaching inside and outside of Thailand. She has is a key person that set up NextGENOA and has been its trainer and mentor. She is also co-founder of Gaia Ashram learning center in Northeast of Thailand where Deep Ecology, Ecovillage Design and Permaculture is practiced and taught.
Being
Being, born in Jiangxi Province, Coordinator, Student and Facilitator of Co-learning with All Beings Program. Learning "EDE, Deep Ecology and facilitation" from the facilitators of Global Ecovillage Network. The study of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism classics is inspired by the great teachers past and now, not yet found the gate to enter.
▍Learning Methods
The Co-learning program is now more online based, at the same time combined with some offline curriculums.
From the perspective of the course facilitators, we have Classes of the Teachers, and the Sharing of the Students.
The Classes of the Teachers are facilitated by the teachers. They could take the forms of lecture and workshop, etc. Classes of Teachers is an important way for the teachers to nourishing students spiritually in the name of teaching.
The Sharing of the Students are facilitated by the students. They could take the forms of lecture and workshop, etc. Sharing of Students are important opportunities for the students to exchange ideas and inspirations, and support each other in learning in the name of sharing.
From the perspective of learning methods, we have lecturing, presenting, participatory, experiencing, and etc.
Apart from the learning via courses, the students will also undertake the housework of this learning community, for example: running the WeChat Public Account, taking care of the WeChat group, sharing some off-stage work of the courses, and etc. And they are some other programs to be chosen to participate in. We believe that to test our learning in actual things and learning from experiencing is n great way to unite knowledge and action, so as to verify through working and identify the Ecological Self position of us.
▍Location
The Co-learning Course can be online and offline. The specific location shall be announced before the specific course takes place.
▍Time
Term One is from May 2021 to January 2022, 9 months in all.
▍Contribution
Learning Fee: Make offering with Honesty and Respect for oneself
Brief Explanation：According to the etiquette, the students shall come to learn with self-awareness and self-determination, and the teachers shall never manipulate or facipulate the students to. There are no other ways to learn to awaken the Self but a just heart; and there are no other ways to avoid hurt or harm in learning others like skills without self-honesty. Only with a just heart will the comer go forth without worries, not be attached to either the higher purpose or the normal daily life, and not either flatter the higher rank or bully the lower rank; Only with self-honesty will the comer be centered in the middle way, not losing balance between inner and outer transformation, and not growing hatred to the universe or humanity in suffering and confusion. The Confucian Academy receives the comers in accordance with etiquette, neither for free nor with fixed learning fee, but allows them space to contemplate on their own situations and make offering based on his/her personal reality, regardless of rank and amount, so as to protect and nourish the precious and sacred gift.
▍Participants
Target Group: Over 18, Come for Learning with Honesty and Respect, Apply following the Process
Language: Because of the needs in learning communication and running this program, we require that the learners be fluent in both Chinese and English, better if also fluent in Korean.
▍Application
For Term#1, from April 2021 to January 2020, we are open to receive applications.
After reading the information handed in, the Co-learning Team will give reply "suitable" or "unsuitable" according to the factual situations of both.
We will have an interview online with those who get a "suitable" to confirm some details and clarify questions. If there is no more doubt, then it means yes to progress.
Co-learning hosts a Welcome Meeting every three months. After receiving a "suitable", the applicant will wait to attend the next Welcome Meeting, then enter the 3 months Exploration Phase. If we find each other "unsuitable" for now, the process will stop here.
Co-learning hosts a Commencement Ceremony. Having passed the Exploration Phase, the applicant will wait to attend the next Commencement Ceremony to officially become a long-term participant.
To apply or consult, please add WeChat: 18720729346 小园子, Noting: Name + CoL#1