ROOTED EDUCATIONAL TOOLBOOK

A comprehensive guide to a Buddhist-based universal education.

The author, who uses the pen name SAMO, is nothing if not ambitious; the subtitle of this book calls it a “framework to redefine universal education,” and the work explores Buddhist concepts over more than 500 pages. The author draws connections between education, virtue, and wisdom. SAMO in fact identifies Five Illuminating Wisdoms: linguistic clarity, artisanal enlightenment, medical insight, casual intuition, and inner enlightenment (“the universal light of education because it is adaptable to all levels of education.”) The first chapter of the book outlines a history of the study of Five Illuminating Wisdoms—subsequent chapters are dedicated to, among other things, the Five Illuminating Wisdoms as they relate to the theoretical foundation of education, the practical methods of education, and the practical value of education in secular society. The final chapter details how “The Link between Buddha Dharma and the Study of Five Illuminating Wisdoms is the Ultimate in Human Education.” But the book doesn’t end there; the text includes 40 pages of annotations that further explore the sometimes-difficult-to-follow concepts that SAMO has introduced throughout the book. The work appears to be comprehensive and well researched, though that’s difficult for readers not steeped in Buddhism and SAMO’s concepts to fully determine—the layperson is going to be lost from the get-go. However, this may serve as a guidebook for people who have been introduced to these concepts and want to learn more. (Having an expert on hand to lead them through the work would be a great help, particularly when it comes to understanding the basic tenets of what SAMO is writing about.) The author appears to assume readers have a significant basis of knowledge of these difficult theories, but many are sure to get lost along the way. There is some fascinating stuff here—it just isn’t presented in such a way to allow the average reader to understand it.

Novices might be lost in this discussion of Buddhism and education.