Author(s): Jiraporn Phansawang, Phrakhru Sudhikhambhirayan, Prayoon Saengsai, Panjitr Sukumal, Panya Klaydesh
Buddhist Education is a training system based on the Tri Sikkha, the Three Principles of Training, namely, Precept, Concentration and Wisdom. The precept or Sila is laid down to train and develop physical and verbal behaviors, the concentration or Samadhi for training and developing the mind, and the wisdom or Panna for developing human’s intelligence. The practice results in achieving both global peace and the internal peace of human’s mind.
Even in the matter of peace, Buddhism always teaches, ‘Peace cannot be achieved merely through a word of requests as chanted and prayed by followers of the Theistic religions, but peace can be attained by following the path that leads to peace.’ The path leading to peace is called the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ or ‘Majjhima Patipada’ in Pali term, which can be summarized as Tri Sikkha.
As Buddhism holds that inner or mental peace is more important than external or outside peace, i.e., the absence of wars and public uprisings. This is because the root causes of all the external wars are the mental defilements dormant in the bottom of human mind. If all the defilements can be eradicated partly or completely, the world will be in peace. The more defilements are destroyed, the more peaceful the world becomes. The Noble Eightfold Path must be brought into practice. That is why Buddhism is the noble path to peace. And this path is widely open for, and welcome to, all human beings.