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24 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

THE MIRACLE OF

EDUCATION AND A

DHARMIC APPROACH TO

FACE SOCIAL ISSUES

By Sergio León Candia

Sergio Candia was born Santiago de Chile, South America. He Holds
a Bachelor in Education degree and is a P.E teacher and Personal
Trainer. Later he studied English in New York, USA, and became a TEFL
teacher. In 2011 he came to Thailand and went on different meditation
retreats. He holds a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies from the
International Buddhist College in Thailand. He got a Permaculture
Designer Certificate and is the founder and director of an ecological
project in Chile. He currently facilitates meditation workshops and
Buddhist studies.

The Buddhists teachings have a of the technologies of information intensity and some new problems
strong individual soteriological and in general, have had a deep have appeared.
sense but that doesn’t mean they impact on the development and
leave the welfare of society aside. empowering of the citizens of The ever-changing world culture
On the contrary, it is recorded the world in terms of solving has faced us, as humans, with many
in the early Buddhist texts that some material needs and health new critical questions regarding the
the Buddha constantly adviced issues. But many issues remain rights and duties of our fellow world
lay people on the matters of how unsolved, and some of them have citizens and their relationship with
to deal with a more just society, actually been worsening. The the planet we live in.
from personal relationships to gap between rich and poor and
bigger social concerns. One of the the difference of development How the Buddha´s teachings
qualities attributed to the Dharma between countries have widened. can contribute to this challenge?
the Buddha taught, is that it is The fast development of the Greatly. The wisdom contained in
timeless, not dependant on time or society has a dark side, and its them have a wide range of tools to
culture. From this, we can infer that secondary effects are getting more face the current critical social issues
the wisdom found in the Buddhist noticeable day by day. Some of this we are facing.
teachings could contribute deeply to issues are ancient, and while the
solving our modern world deepest humankind has improved in many Current critical social issues
problems. aspects regarding the challenges According to the U.N website, there
of organizing the people and are some critical problems that
The world is developing at an distributing the goods, some of must be faced urgently if we are
incredible speed rate. The impact these problems have increased in to keep society safe and secure a