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Can we radically reconceive education? In the pages of his book, education as enlightenment is what Avraham offers.
Avraham is inspired by the classical Eastern philosophies—notably, Daoism and Buddhism—and sees a great potential in them for turning education into an emancipatory project. However, here, we need to be careful to not confuse culture with philosophy. A philosophy loses its original soul and impetus when a culture seizes it and turns into an unconscious social force as dominant ideology, morality, and customs. Culture changes all the time, and soon the philosophy that once inspired the culture is forgotten or dismissed. Anyone who traveled to the Far East knows just how prevalent and vital Eastern philosophies are in these countries: not much. What Avraham is interested in is living philosophy. It is through pedagogical practice that centralizes the human dimension and its integration with curriculum that Avraham makes philosophy come alive, hence his daily sitting and engagement with other contemplative and inner work practices. These are my daily practices, too. As Avraham’s partner in life and a fellow educator on the trackless path in the Dao-field, education as an enlightenment project is our mutual, cocreative work. We are together committing our lives to the project of elevating education to its proper stature and scope of enlightenment work. What this means is that he and I have to do our own enlightenment work—to become awake and aware. Indeed, we see our relationship as a crucible for our enlightenment work. This book that Avraham produced has been, through the transformative process in our relationship, crucible. Being intimately and integrally involved has been most exciting and personally gratifying.
In closing, I wish to draw the reader’s attention to the significance of this work in the field of education. Today, education in the form of schooling, from kindergarten to university classes, is heavily focused on the transmission and transaction of content knowledge. There is nothing wrong with this focus, and it is a necessary focus. But what should be of concern to us is what is missing: primary focus on the quality of human beings. Avraham shows that education could and should play a major role in cultivating the fullest humanity.