By Thomas F O’Neill
In all my classes, I have students that stand out from the
rest, primarily due to their questions or sense of humor. It reminds me of my
college days before most of my students were born, and I had the same curiosity
and thirst for knowledge that I am witnessing in my students.
I find, however, that many students in China seem more
sophisticated than I was at their age. They are not shy about pulling out an
iPhone in the middle of a classroom debate to back up the facts to their side
of the argument. They seem to be putting their technological gizmos to good use,
and today’s technology is progressing education in leaps and bounds.
Religion comes up quite often in my classes, and it’s always
a hot-button issue. At the beginning of each semester, a new student will ask
about my religious beliefs, and I always tell them that I was born and raised
Roman Catholic. Several students will then bless themselves to evoke a laugh
from their fellow students or me.
I tell my students that I am no longer a practicing Catholic
but am always open and honest about my spirituality. I was surprised at first
about how knowledgeable they are about the current problems facing the Roman
Catholic Church worldwide. They always bring up the decline of the Church's
influence worldwide.
Students always ask me if I’m an atheist, and my response is
usually – “Life and god are the same to me, and I can’t separate my life from
the life of others.”
In 2011, a young female student said, “so you are a
Buddhist.”
I told her, “I don’t have religious beliefs,” and tried to
the best of my ability to explain that “we are simply sharing god’s life. I
experience my existence and the existence of all things as the subtle altruistic
outreach of god’s love.” I said, "I have a deeply intuitive awareness of
my spirituality and the spirituality within others.”
“But that is religion,” a male
student said with frustration.
“I don’t believe in religion,” I told that class once again.
“I cannot contain god in religious beliefs, buildings, creeds, dogmas, or
religious institutions because god transcends all religions. The love within us
cannot be contained in our beliefs or faith in what god ought to be in our lives.
God is the eternal sustenance that sustains us and all things. God is the
essence of our eternal love, transcending all human beliefs and faith.”
“How can you say that when such
atrocities exist in the world? If what you believe were true, then we would all
be living in paradise,” another male student said.
I said, “many of those atrocities were committed in the name
of religion. It all comes down to beliefs and free will. Evil is the result of
a perversion of the human will. We are all free to think and do as we please,
but every action has a reaction - whether good or bad, the consequences of
those actions will always come back to us.”
“A lot of people in China believe in Karma but not as a
religion,” a female student said.
“I may not be religious, but I am spiritual by nature.” I
told that class in 2011, “my spirituality is what I experience each second,
minute, and day.” I try to explain to my students, “spirituality is not
something I believe in or have faith in - it’s something I experience and come
to know within me. It’s simply life itself because I experience it as a living
being. We are not set apart from god because god is the intimate and eternal
life within us and around us.
Questions and debates on whether there is an afterlife always
come up in my classes. I always tell my students, "I’m not an expert on
death but rather an apprentice in life. With each second, minute, and day I am
learning how to live. I like to think of humanity as our significant other. We
may come into the world as separate human beings, but humanity is never truly
apart from us. When we reach out and touch others, we touch a part of our
humanity that is within us. We allow ourselves to be loved when we open
ourselves up to love others. When we care for others, we allow ourselves to be
cared for. We are not just human beings on a spiritual journey. We are also
spiritual beings on a human journey. We need others to learn and grow in
knowledge and greater self-awareness.”
“America is a Christian Nation,” a
male student said, “so I’m sure many people in America don’t think like you.”
I said, “there are only two opposing views regarding the
reality of life. One view is that there are no miracles in life, and the other
is that life is a miracle. It is within these two opposing views that I have
chosen to live my life. We are the hands of god — one hand is used to build a
better life for ourselves, and the other hand is used to create a better life
for others. I do not seek to be understood by words alone because I believe it
is best to teach by example.”
“In China, many don’t believe in
Religion,” a female student said, “but many believe in Karma. When you do good
– goodness is returned to you.”
“I have experienced that in my own life,” I said. “A truly
spiritual person does not seek conformity from others by imposing their will or
beliefs on others. A person with a deep spiritual understanding will bring
about positive change in the world by becoming the change they would like to
see in others.”
“That is an idealistic way of
thinking,” another female student said, “but there are many problems in the
world.”
“If the world has become a dark place, then it is our
responsibility to become the light so that others can see more clearly,” I then
went on to say, “positive change cannot come about by forcing or imposing our
way of life on others, but rather, it is achieved by living our life as we
would want others to live their life; in doing so, others will embrace and
emulate our way of life.”
“Religion in America tends to
impose their ways on others,” a male student said, “the slaughter of the
American Indians, your previous wars in Vietnam, Korea, and now your wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Isn’t that an example of a Religious Nation imposing its
will and beliefs on other Nations”
“I can see many of America’s mistakes throughout history,” I
said. “That is why it is best to live your individual lives as genuinely and
authentically as possible. We are all spiritual by nature, and by nature, we
are all uniquely endowed with extraordinary gifts and talents. The more
self-aware we become, the more aware we become of all we have to offer. We must
also learn from history so that past atrocities’ will not be repeated.”
“Average is a dominant gene
trait,” a female student said jokingly, “ the average peoples short-sightedness
causes the world's problems. The world’s spiritual problems will always be
beyond your pay grade no matter how far the value of the U.S. dollar drops.”
That statement got a huge laugh from the class.
She then asked me, “where do you find your inspiration?”
I said, “my inspiration comes mostly from my quiet time and
my interactions with you, the students. The thought of knowing I am where I’m
supposed to be and doing what I’m doing can also be an inspiration.”
I told the class, “I like to remind people that when the
mind draws a blank to the world’s riddles, it turns to the soul for answers,
for the soul knows what the mind seeks. Some people may call that intuition. I
suppose my intuition and the gift of imagination are my greatest abilities in
expressing my perspective on life to others.”
That particular class in 2011 quickly turned to the state of
the global economy and the current cultural issues facing the world that year.
Osama Bin Laden's death also became a hot topic in my class.
Every semester I tell my students, “when it comes to life,
what we learn in the classroom will not define our lives. But rather, how well
we live our lives in communion with others will, in the end, define our true
character and our true worth.”
My students are brighter and more informed than I was at
their age, which is a good thing. They have vast amounts of knowledge at their
fingertips with their iPhones and various other gizmos. The questions they ask
in class also reflect their curiosity about the deeper dimensions of life,
their nation’s future, and the future of the world, which is undoubtedly a good
thing.
Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O'Neill
Email: introspective7@hotmail.com
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