This book analyzes the murals and texts of the Dunhuang Grottoes, one of the most famous sites of cultural heritage on the Silk Road in Northwest China, from an educational perspective. The Dunhuang Grottoes are well-known in the world for their stunning beauty and magnificence, but the teaching of Dunhuang advocates a philosophical perspective that cosmos, nature, and humanity are an interconnected whole, and that all elements function interactively according to universal and relational principles of continuity, cause-and-effect, spiritual connection, and enlightenment. Xu Di and volume contributors highlight the moral education and ethics found throughout the Dunhuang with numerous stories of the personal journeys and growth of the Buddha and bodhisattvas, discussing and analyzing these teachings, and their possible implications for modern education systems throughout China and the world today.

Autorentext

Xu Di is Professor in the Department of Education Foundations in the College of Education at the University of Hawai'i-Mnoa, USA.

Inhalt

1. Introduction2. Dunhuang's Infinite Connections with Education3. Dunhuang and Educational Philosophy4. Lessons in Moral Education from Dunhuang Murals5. The Philosophy of Aesthetic Education of Ch'an Buddhism: A New Interpretation on the Mandala Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch from Dunhuang6. West Meets East - The Interplay of Unity and Diversity7. Enlightenment from Body-Spirit Integration: Dunhuang's Buddhist Cultivation Pathways and Educational Applications8. Dunhuang as a Model for EthnoSTEM Education9. The Significance of the Dunhuang Mogao Frescos for Universal Education Today10. An Examination of Dunhuang Education from Psychological Perspective: Heart, Soul, and Our Lives11. Dunhuang and Contemporary Music Education12. Dunhuang and Basic Education13. Dunhuang Grottoes and Lifelong Learning14. Harmonious Coexistence with Nature: Naturalistic Education in the Dunhuang Frescoes