OASIS OF LEARNING: TEMPLE LEARNING
In the morning, if you are up early enough, you will see silent barefoot processions of novices and monks collecting alms from the laypeople. In the evening, you will see the same processions of novices heading to private schools. This time the novices are in sandals and carrying book bags rather than alms bowls. In the morning they collect food, in the evening, knowledge.
7.1 Learning provisions
Boys and young men from throughout the rural north go to Luang Prabang to be initiated in one of the 32 temples, sometimes on their own accord, sometimes sent by their parents. If their first choice is full, they must look for another. Many prefer the centrally located temples over the quiet mountain ones as many boys are more interested in getting an education than meditating in the forest.
Being ordained as a novice or monk is a major option for boys of poor rural backgrounds. Their food, board and education are all free. There are special monk schools for elementary and secondary school students and they can finish with equivalent qualifications. The curriculum is the same as the secular schools except for the addition of Pali-Sanskrit and Dharma teaching and the omission of physical education and sometimes biology.
Not only are basic provisions provided for, there is also greater access to books and native English speakers. Sop temple has a library and several other temples have small collections. Novices are free to leave the temple grounds to go to private schools, use the libraries and Internet shops. Luang Prabang is full of tourists and chances to converse in English. Xieng Thong temple, the Grace Cathedral of Luang Prabang, attracts a steady stream of foreign visitors.
Even at a lesser temple, visitors are soon greeted by English-speaking novices. Others will soon join and by the time the conversation ends, there will be a small crowd. Those with more English skills and confidence dominate the inner circle, shyer ones listen from the periphery and the youngest novices play in the back. Most conversations are a mix of serious stories and playful joking. The languorous social atmosphere reminds me of chatting in a small village.
The novices and monks in Luang Prabang and Vientiane are well known for their language skills. Many laypeople say that they have benefited from studying with them. A highly proficient female English speaker credits her ability to the teaching skills of the novices and monks. In three temples in central Luang Prabang, I talk to three novices who are quite fluent. In fact, they are satisfied with their English ability and are ready to start learning Japanese. They know who the other skilful speakers are in the neighbouring temples and the general estimate is that a temple of 13 novices has at least one or two proficient speakers. Those who don't speak well yet are young or recently ordained.
Novice B (16) is one of the top speakers. He is entertaining and likes to joke, complaining to me that dictionaries don't list the dirty words. Regardless of his small dictionary, his standard vocabulary is wide, his sense of structure strong and his pronunciation and intonation natural. He is ethnic Khamu and comes from a village of 200 households. He explains that he learned English after just one year of studying in a private school. He says he teaches himself, gets help from foreigners and reads a lot. Mostly self-taught, he focuses on structure, grammar and vocabulary by using English books, newspapers and dictionaries borrowed from the temple library.
7.2 Reasons for proficiency
Novices study at monk schools, but the highly proficient speakers all give other reasons for their proficiency. They have free time, exposure to native-English, a supportive learning community, free choice, access to resources and a monastic life that is based on self-regulated, ethical and communal principles.
Time: When asked directly why their level is high, most novices answer that they have a lot of time and study hard. They rise early for prayers, gather alms, clean and eat breakfast, but other than classes and evening prayers, much of the time is their own. The average TTC student will say that they don't have much time, but they also don't get up at four in the morning. I live near some TTC students, observe their daily routines and conclude that they are not terribly busy. I ask a novice to compare, but he declines to make a judgment by saying that it depends on the person. “Everyone has different skills and different reasons to study”.
Foreigners: Most novices come from provincial villages or towns such as T Town and likewise come with very little educational preparation. Nonetheless, after a few years, most speak far better than the best speaker in T Town. Their English reflects knowledge of grammar and structure that is very different from the pidgin of market/tourist English developed when working in guesthouses. They have a better foundation supported by solid instruction and the availability of resources. Their spoken English tends to be more polite and appropriate for their status as novices and monks. An ex-novice who is a successful guide explains that he knows the importance of using proper manners and respecting cultural differences when communicating with foreigners. Many novices can learn important social and communicative skills by observing senior novices. Novice B may be interested in dirty words, but in the meantime, he has learned proper and respectful English.
Chanting and rote learning: One ex-novice suspects that learning Pali chants in the temple helps when learning English because of the similarities in verb conjugation between these languages. If this is true, it discounts theories that rote learning is not effective. In a 1973 study, Wilder found that rural peasants were more highly literate than expected and that rote learning in temples was successful in raising these literacy rates (1973:20).
Monastic motivation: The majority of novices come from poor rural families and many say that this is a reason why they study so hard. Another observation made by an ex-monk is that boys who like to study gravitate toward monastic life. There is a combination of reasons, but it is clear that temple life centres around learning. I understand that Buddhist meditation cultivates a clear mind and ask a novice if it helps. Meditation is not required, but one who is practised in meditation admits that it helps with his concentration. “We have to consider in the heart. Nobody can make your heart peaceful”.
A self-regulated life: Life in the temple is regulated more by Buddhist precepts than by a watchful abbot. The presence of the abbot is minimal and though individual characters differ from temple to temple, it is rare to hear of one who is a tyrant. Because of the regulations, novices are protected to some extent from the primary distractions of adolescent life. If they are interested in sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, Buddhist non-attachment is encouraged through the discipline of meditation. If a novice feels bored with the restrictions of monastic life, he only has the choice to study. Supported by peers and the community, many seem willing to do so.
Free time, a supportive learning environment and the freedom of choice enables novices and monks to regulate their learning. They are less constrained by class schedules, work and social obligations. Self-regulated learning is a part of Buddhist philosophy. Through meditation, people learn to observe, monitor and control their emotions. A mind free from the domination of ego and emotion enables one to discern between truth and illusion. A novice or monk's vow to monastic life is basically a commitment to a life of study, of mental and spiritual cultivation and self-regulation.
What is clear in principal does not always translate into reality and there is no clear empirical evidence that Buddhist philosophy translates into skilful second language learning. Yet, laypeople readily agree that many of the best English speakers are novices.
Communal learning and community integration: Though empirical correlations are difficult to make, there is evidence that communal ethics cultivated in the temple can contribute to positive learning, especially when resources are scarce. Learning English is not a requirement when learning the Dharma. Novices choose to do so themselves. When they are motivated more by personal goals than by grades, they are less inclined to cheat. They are more likely to share their knowledge. Personal and informal learning facilitates a means of scaffolding.
Older novices and monks often laugh and call the younger novices naughty. Essentially, they replace the older brothers or even fathers that the young novices have been separated from. They provide emotional support and life counselling. The younger novices, in turn, learn much from observing their seniors. They can learn social and communication skills. The aggressive student in T Town, on the other hand, lacked these skills and is reputed to have chased tourists away.
A key is still needed to keep track of the books in the library, but a deposit is not required. Good books are coveted, but life is intimately communal and there is less of a strategic scramble over resources than in T Town. Knowledgeable novices and monks can offer education services to the general public and sometimes receive financial support from donors and sponsors in return. Principles of co-operation are similar to those in a village and the novices, mostly country boys themselves, are familiar with this social system.
An ethical education: Communal ethics are not restricted to the cloistered world of the temple, but can be integrated into the secular world. Many employers favour ex-monks or novices because of their discipline and honesty. Even after disrobing, Novice A claims that he will keep Buddha in his heart. A tour guide in Vientiane says that he is often praised for his gentle manners and says that he will never be corrupt. Another ex-monk who works in a five-star hotel in Luang Prabang credits his experience in the temple for being able to control his temper with customers. A man in Vientiane guides his business activities on ethical principles, establishing weaving co-operatives for villages, designing electric cars and training graphic designers. Ethics are not sacrificed for profit and he complains lightly that he will never be a rich businessman.
Integrated into society, practical learning is promoted rather than compromised by ethical and communal principles and defies the assumptions that competition in institutions is the best way to promote learning.
7.3 Not in it for life
Most novices do not commit their whole life to the temple. Being ordained is part of a larger plan. There is no Buddhist university in Laos, so Novice A says that he may need to disrobe to continue his studies. By returning to the secular system in the last years, he can also qualify for scholarships. Most novices disrobe before reaching the age of 20 when they would automatically become a monk, a point at which the number of precepts increase dramatically from 10 to 227.
The ceremony of disrobing is done without fanfare, far different from the celebratory ordination. Leaving the temple only means shedding robes, not the Buddhist teaching. As students would not be expected to stay in high school forever, many novices know when it is time to move on. In any case, they are solely responsible for making this important decision.
Girls, however, do not have the chance to make this decision. There is no equivalent community for nuns and no other systematic system to provide safe housing for rural girls. Ethnic minority boys who follow animism rather than Buddhism must convert and though there are many cases of Khamu novices, Hmong student R claims that the Hmong ordain only when they have exhausted all other options.
7.4 Temple learning: Looking back
Though institutional learning in the monk schools provides a strong foundation, most novices and monks admit that their language learning has come from outside sources and inside self-regulation. The supportive community, the resources, the instruction and the free time contribute to effective learning. The temple environments are rare examples in which a balance between motivation, resources and learning spaces is achieved.
Temple learning in Laos is also significant in the way it is integrated into social systems, both within the temple and in the wider community. They offer important options for poor rural boys and provide a means for them to return something to the community. This community, however, is based in Lowland Lao culture and though not institutionally exclusionary, offers fewer options for girls and some ethnic minorities. In this culture, boys are expected to ordain at some point in the life to make merit for their mothers and though there are some older nuns in temples, I have never heard of a young woman becoming a nun. Temples will accept other ethnic minorities if they wish to ordain and there are many cases of midland Lao novices. For highland Lao, however, the cultural and social traditions are more distant and it is uncommon for them to ordain.
