The development of mind and intellect for teaching social studies

Abstract

      Mental discipline and the cultivation of wisdom are ways to promote good health. This must be accompanied by eating nutritious food from all food groups, getting adequate rest, and exercising regularly to keep the body strong. This is called physical exercise, which makes the body healthy and free from illness. Our mind is similar. Each day we think about many things, and the mind inevitably becomes fatigued. If we do not maintain or discipline our mind to be strong, clear, and pure, it will become weak and easily shaken by surrounding events. For example, some people may display inappropriate behavior when they are startled, overjoyed, saddened, angry, or overcome by desire, because their mind is weak and clouded. Maintaining the mind so that it is strong, clear, and pure is called mental discipline. This differs from physical exercise: physical exercise requires the body to move constantly, while mental discipline requires training the mind to remain calm and focused on one particular thing. Training the mind to be calm is essentially meditation. Making the mind clear or training the mind means practicing mindfulness—controlling the mind to stay focused on what one is doing, always being aware of what is happening, how it should be done, and being careful to avoid mistakes. Meditation is the practice of controlling the mind to remain firmly concentrated on one object without distraction, until the meditation session ends.