Mondō: Japanska filozofija u praksi

What sound does a single hand clap make? The Japanese Zen teacher Hakuin asked his students this question almost three hundred years ago, and in the Mondō workshop, children deal with it: they suggest answers, explain them, listen to others and change their minds. The starting point is a koan, a short ancient text that encourages thinking rather than offering one correct solution. The leader lets the children come to their own conclusions, and through conversation they practice how to clearly state what they think, explain why and continue searching after the first answer. Three Japanese concepts • Mondō is a conversation in which the question is as important as the answer; shoshin denotes a beginner's mind that is not afraid to admit that it does not know something, and wabi-sabi is recognizing beauty in the imperfect, the truncated and the transient. Children learn these ideas through conversation and can apply them outside the workshop. Leaders and working methods • The workshop is led by Filip Škifić from the Young Leaders Academy, using the Philosophy with Children (P4C) method, with elements of learning through challenges and project-based learning. Children explore the problem together from multiple perspectives. • The workshop will also feature Sonja Jeremić, the head of the Japanese language course for children at the Rijeka Youth Club. What you need to know • No prior knowledge is required; children need curiosity and the will to express their thoughts in front of…