On Tibetan Buddhist Learning Methods
Visitors to the Sera Monastery in Tibet can observe the afternoon sessions of the younger Buddhist monks. The session is a cacophony of shouting and slapping that defies immediate explanation.
On closer inspection it becomes apparent that the monks are in fact testing each other. They are taking part in each other’s education. One monk throws questions at a seated colleague, who must recite or explain some aspect of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. More senior monks then walk amongst the conversations, offering guidance and further testing.
Subject matter aside, it strikes me that the combination of student responsibility in testing their peers with the vivid, gamified excitement of testing and correcting (stamping and clapping) is a worthy candidate to break up the monotony of our industrial schooling.
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