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course, my son kept talking, shouting and playing all day
and night. He made all my family have a headache and my
house looked like a battlefield.”
Positive change
As well as calming unruly children, the courses also
encourage the less sociable to be more open. The pagoda
schools offer a special space where the children can learn
and play together without the pressures of school.
“I want the children to feel at ease. They should feel
that the pagoda is a relaxed place, not somewhere that
is mysterious,” says master monk Thich Thanh Phuong. “I
take time to take care of all children here; I can talk with
them and encourage them to be more self-confident and
enthusiastic in their learning.”
The monk’s courses include photography, arranging
flowers, cooking vegetarian cuisine and martial arts. One
night a week he also tells stories to guide children in terms
of proper thinking and good manners.
“I opened the classes with the aim of educating children
to help them live better and behave better; I’m interested
in honing their community spirit more than their religious
values. Religion will come to them naturally,” he explains.
The Vietnamese pagoda is also seen as the perfect space
to preserve the traditional and cultural identity of the nation.
“I like to teach children painting in this Zen space because
it’s a place where I can introduce thousands of years of Viet-
nam’s rich culture,” says artist, Pham Hoang Van. He believes
studying in the pagoda will help children feel pride and love
for their fatherland.
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