|
In Laos, I completed fourth grade. For the most part, I could read and write quite
well. |
| Although I
don't have a lot of access to Laos reading materials, I have an Enlish to |
| Lao dictionary
and a Laotian version of the Christian Bible. Those are my reading |
| materials.
Absolutely, I'm a Buddhist at heart in case someone wonders about the bible. |
|
To me, education is the process of learning. Education is not just about acquiring |
| knowledge and
remembering facts from text books. Education is about discovering the |
| truths in every
aspects of your life. There is a saying, "The truth will set you free." |
| With a curious
mind, you will discover ocean of knowledge and wisdom to discern |
| what is real and
what is not. You will not believe things blindly. If you do, you will have |
| reasoned it
through to some degree. |
|
With an open mind, you can learn anything. With enough encouragement and positive |
| feedback, you can
accomplish more than you give yourself credit for if you only have |
| faith in your own
abilities. I have read many success stories on successful people. |
| To achieve good
results, you need to have good frame (positive thinking) of mind. Here |
| is the successful
people's traits: set goals, work day/night for it, never lose sight of end |
| result, see
failures (learning from mistakes) as stepping stones to success, have faith |
| in oneself, have
patience, and be persistence (never quit) until goal is reached. To sum |
| it up, anything
worthwhile requires a lot of hard work. It is the 90% perspiration and |
| 10% inspiration
rule. |
|
Education should teach us not to be ignorant. As for me, I will forever be a
student |
| of life until I
have drawn my last breath. I have always tried to treat others as how |
| I want to be
treated. With a simple act of kindness in all my approaches and be forever |
| humble, I
have found that people are willing to share the treasures of theirs lives that they |
| have experienced.
On many occasions and many more to come, I have learned a great |
| deal with open
ears and heart where I can avoid the mistakes that they have gone |
| through. Of
course, I will use my own judgment which lesson will benefit my life. With |
| its time and
place, some experience may not apply; however, some idea will hold true for |
| all times--like
act of kindness will be paid with kindness. |
|
With the advent of language, we are able to pass down knowledge from generation |
| to generation.
Without it, we will most likely repeat the mistakes of our forefathers. |
| At times,
unfortunately, when we ignore history, then we repeat the mistakes of our |
| forefathers
again! You only need to look around to see all the signs. Giving enough |
| time, somehow
history tends to repeat itself. That is why it is paramount we must not |
| be ignorant in
all aspects of our lives. |
|
Of utmost important, we have different talents and abilities. However, we
should |
| always strive to
use our intelligence to better our lives and extend our helping hands |
| to the ones in
needs as well. As a result, our soul will be fed. Look to the great sages |
| for inspiration
in any religion, for they sacrifice their life for the benefits of others. |
| Interestingly,
the good and kind things you do for people are ageless and timeless. |
|
Above all, we all need each other for different information. As human being, our |
| lifespan is not
forever, so we cannot possibly do everything. For the greater good, |
| we should share
our knowledge. Interestingly, we do that all the time, like always |
| asking each other
for advice and information. We just don't think about it, for it is so |
| routine. |
|
In summary, education is the road to freedom of thought and choice. Before we can |
| help build a
peaceful world, that seed of peace and wonder must germinate and grow from |
| within the
wellspring of our thought and heart. The source is never external. Everyone |
| always sees the
world through one's life experiences and education. That is why it is |
| paramount that we
have the proper thought through education to get rid of ignorance |
| in order to build
a better tomorrow. |
| |
|
Haak Pang Pea Nong Lao Tuk Kon! |
