Learning from life lessons is also an important way to learn because many things that happen in life cannot be learned in a classroom.
Khun Tang – Ap Amphai Rattanaphanu is like any other student who grew up in the education system. However, studying in the classroom did not allow her to answer all the questions in her mind until the important turning point came from the opportunity in her career when she was assigned to be interviewed and talked with Professor Yak – Dr. Wivat Salyakamthorn. And that was the important key that came to open a new door that could clearly answer the questions she had had throughout her life.
Ms. Tang found a turning point in her life after quitting her full-time job and traveling to learn the Sufficiency Economy in both theory and practice with Ajarn Yak for a long time. This made her learn that the Sufficiency Economy is not just about agriculture, but is a way of thinking in life that can be practiced by anyone in any profession. Later, she was given the opportunity to share her knowledge and experience as a teacher at Pu Talay Mahawitthayalai School or the Maeb Ueng Natural Agriculture Learning Center to pass on the knowledge to others to jointly create changes on a larger scale.
On the day I found my inspiration
Khun Tang – Ap Amphai Rattanaphanu graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. She started her career as a creative in a company, which seemed like a path that would lead to a good life in the middle class that had cultivated knowledge from the curriculum of the country’s leading schools and universities. Until one day, she had the opportunity to meet Professor Yak – Dr. Wivat Salyakamthorn, who was like an important key that opened a new door, leading her to experience the world of endless learning.
Ms. Tang recounted an important turning point in her life:
“When I went to interview the teacher, it was just one of the tasks we were assigned. But when I listened to the teacher speak, it made me interested. It was something I had never known before in my life.”
In addition, Ms. Tang also told us that “We had heard about the Sufficiency Economy and the New Theory of Agriculture through various channels, but we just listened and passed it by. When we listened to Ajarn Yak explain, it was an explanation that was easy to understand and made us feel that it was closer to us than we had ever heard before. When we heard it, we were interested and wanted to know what the real thing was like.”
After that, Ms. Tang had the opportunity to follow Dr. Wivat to solve problems in many provinces. And finally, a new door opened for her. This is learning from life lessons.
“What I saw from going down to the field, going down to really experience the problems, seeing how deforestation and then planting monoculture crops affected people from the beginning to the end. The people who did that didn’t even think about how much of an impact what they were doing was, which of course wasn’t their fault. The economic system made them do that, forcing them to grow these crops in order to earn a living,” she recounted what she encountered, which made her think about the true value of life.
Decide to take action immediately
The doubts that arose in her mind were the key variable that pushed her to jump into the new world of learning. What she initially discovered was that if no one continued to create change, the efforts of those who had come before would be wasted. The idea of wanting to change everything for the better gradually formed in one person’s heart. Finally, she decided to change herself first by quitting her regular job and asking to follow Professor Yak to learn new things outside the classroom. The lesson she had been searching for the answer for had thus begun.
“At that time, we didn’t think about anything big. We just thought that we wanted to make ourselves more useful because we felt that after studying hard and doing everything until we graduated and started working, being just a player in the capitalist economic system made us feel less useful. At that time, we were still searching. We felt that we weren’t good at anything. Many people might have experienced this crisis like us. At that moment, when we saw something new that could really answer our questions, we were ready to jump in and fight. When we went out, we found that the world we grew up in, we thought was wide, but in reality, it wasn’t wide at all. The world we didn’t know was much wider. The wider the world we went into, the more we encountered and learned about new worlds.”
But sometimes the beginning is not always pretty. It is the same with the new beginning of the Faculty of Arts student who had to learn how to work in a new field. With little experience in field work, Tang had to learn almost everything new, from lighting a fire to cooking rice, holding a hoe, and learning how to dig the soil. Her university honors did not help her much. However, the hardship was not a problem because her heart filled with determination did not make her back down even a little.
Put into practice alongside theory
Throughout the learning process, sitting and reading or listening in a classroom cannot answer all the questions in her heart. Instead, it requires deep understanding through actual practice. Going to the field allows Tang to encounter various wisdoms and simple methods that surprise her because they are not things she would find in the classroom she is used to.
Ms. Tang told us that “We went to a school. The school had a pond that could not hold water. Ajarn Yak suggested that we solve the problem by using the wisdom of our ancestors, which was to trample cow dung to clean the pond. We had to trample it, let it dry, and then clean it again three times before we could store the water. When we finished, it rained that night. When we woke up the next morning, there was water in the pond. It made us realize that even though people had tried to solve the problem in many ways, such as using rubber, cement, and plastic to line the bottom of the pond, it still could not hold the water. But when we used cow dung, it could hold the water. It made us amazed at the wisdom. We came to understand this word clearly: wisdom that goes with knowledge, which means knowledge that is suitable for that area. After that, we were very interested in whether there was any other knowledge that was suitable for that area and what else there was. Why was it so exciting? What we knew and studied did not have this kind of answer.”
“So we followed to study further and found out what King Rama IX had done. In particular, Ajarn Yak often suggested that we try to search for interesting information. This made us go and read a lot of royal speeches, follow and see everything he did as much as possible, and study seriously. That made us feel that if we have a goal and set a flag in our hearts, nothing can stop us from studying. The more we study, the more we understand. The more we understand, the easier it is to communicate and pass it on to others.”
She told us about her field experience that made her question and wonder. That was another important thing that sparked a light to lead her to walk on a new path again, which is to learn from the life lessons of real people by actually doing it.
Ms. Tang told us that “Since childhood, I have always studied difficult things. To understand something difficult, we must work very hard. But what we practice in our lives with true wisdom is effective and does not require any complications. There is a saying that we read from the work of Dr. Saeng Ratnamongkolmat, who said, “Conception without Perception is Empty, Perception without Conception is Blind.” That is, if you have an idea but do not practice, it is empty. But if you only practice without knowing the concept or theory, you will have to grope blindly. These two things must always go together. You cannot do either one and truly get results.”
Passing on knowledge is increasing knowledge.
The decision to quit her full-time job to follow Ajarn Yak everywhere with determination made her learn in leaps and bounds. The first 4 years of working on creating sufficiency economy made her feel that it was very different from the 4 years in university. Learning with principles along with the intention to put it into practice made her understand the philosophy of sufficiency economy. Coupled with the feeling of wanting to live a meaningful life, she became a teacher at the Maeb Ueng Natural Farming Learning Center or Pu Talay Mahawitthayalai School, which is a new way of life school, teaching natural farming and the philosophy of sufficiency economy of King Rama IX.
Mab Ueng Natural Farming Learning Center or Pu Talay Mahawitthayalai School is a place that provides education based on the philosophy of sufficiency economy and natural farming methods that focus on those who are interested in learning about life through various activities that are designed to create a desire to learn from the students themselves. Students will be able to discover their own potential without being forced by anyone, with a teaching method that emphasizes the learning process through practice.
“We do not focus on creating children, communities and families to compete in a free trade world, always winning first and making the most profit. Instead, we teach children to know how to share, teach children to know how to give, teach them to be self-reliant. If they want to eat rice, grow rice, if they want a table, build a table. But we are not a backward economy where they have to do everything themselves or are cut off from their neighbors. Children have mobile phones, schools have Wi-Fi, and students travel to learn with different people all over Thailand and abroad.”
In addition to learning about theories and practical methods in various works related to the Sufficiency Economy philosophy and from working for society for 7 years, she also learned about herself and grew up with her role in society.
“Working on the sufficiency economy has made us know ourselves. Before, we misunderstood the term sufficiency economy. We thought we had to save money or farm or live in poverty. But in reality, it’s not like that at all. Meeting people who actually do it has changed our thinking. If I were to explain it now, I would say that sufficiency economy means just right. The word just right means that you have to know yourself first and do things that are just right for you.”
“Our sufficiency doesn’t mean that’s enough, that’s enough, no more. But it means knowing how many steps we have to take.”
And that’s the idea distilled from her experience, determination and systematic learning principles.
The story references an interview with Ms. Tang – Ab Amphai Rattanaphanu.
From the Transformative Learning Project
Supported by the Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth)
For more articles about the Transformative Learning Project, please visit:
Khun Ui – Natee Ekwichit Knowledge doesn’t need to be wasted time searching for it because learning can happen all around us.
