Exploring Curriculum as an Experience of Consciousness Transformation by Elise L. Chu

Author:Elise L. Chu
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030177010
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

4.7 The Implications

Aiming for the eradication of the karmic seeds of the afflictive and noetic barriers that originate from a dualistic subject–object worldview, the Yogacarian five-stage gradual spiritual path provides us with a panoramic view of the whole process of consciousness transformation culminating in the perfection of the four transcendental wisdoms of the full enlightenment of Buddhahood. This panoramic view not only reveals the existential significance of the spiritual path of consciousness transformation for human beings, but also provides answers to our questions regarding the main barriers to be overcome along a spiritual path, the characteristics of various stages of progress, the main disciplines and practices and their interrelationships in various stages, and the core approach to consciousness transformation. In contrast to the misunderstanding that the spiritual path entails only the accumulation of wisdom by means of cultivating meditative stability and serenity, and to the misconception that moral suasion and ethical doctrine per se can bring about a genuine uplift of ethics and morality and the resolution of various global crises, this gradual spiritual path illustrates the significance of following Buddha’s teaching of the Middle Way which emphasizes the simultaneous grasping of the ultimate and phenomenal aspects of self and reality and features the approach of negation and the union of wisdom and method in practice.

On the basis of the realization of the essence and purpose of education as the transformation of consciousness attained in previous chapters, the educational significance of this five-stage gradual spiritual path of consciousness transformation is threefold. Firstly, based on a profound conceptual understanding of the whole Consciousness-Only doctrine, including the concepts of truth, a panoramic view of the whole spiritual path, the cultivation of bodhicitta , the nature of the spiritual approach and practices, the obstacles eliminated by these practices, and the positive results brought about by them, this gradual path establishes from the very first a doctrine of the true nature of human existence, a vision of various spiritual goals, a selfless motivation, the recognition of the significance of the negative approach and the union of wisdom and method. In this way, this gradual path effectively protects practitioners from potential dangers and deviations from the outset of their pursuit of various spiritual goals. In deliberating how we might facilitate the transformation of consciousness in an educational context, such protection is of extreme significance.

Secondly, by virtue of uniting wisdom-side and method-side practices and including everyday experiences and phenomena as the entry points for developing spiritual discernments and overcoming the two barriers that originate from the dualistic subject–object worldview, the spiritual practices prescribed in this gradual path open up infinite possibilities in every moment and turn even trivial everyday experiences into transcendental opportunities. Moreover, the requirement of consistency between the view (wisdom-side ) and deeds (method-side) components of spiritual practices empowers practitioners to experience along the path a long-lasting and profound consciousness transformation that, as discussed earlier, connotes the real occurrence of education.

Finally, the panoramic view of this five-stage gradual path—which refers to both the phenomenal

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