Development of a Buddhistic Death Education Program in Public Education

Abstract

This article will explore the development of Buddhistic death education that could be practiced in the sphere of public education. I will examine the necessity of death education as a possible response to recent social phenomena in South Korea, i.e., the high suicide rate (especially among teenagers) the lowered quality of life and the collapse of public education. Consequently, I will examine the emergence and growing interest in thanatology, studies of death and dying, along with a brief assessment of the current trend in death education. This article will also discuss how Buddhist thoughts on death could be included in the field of education and will argue the need for having an interdisciplinary approach to thanatology, death education and Buddhist studies. Lastly, I will explore ‘the design of a Buddhistic death education program that could be practiced in the sphere of public education. Furthermore, if Buddhism’s concept of the mindfulness of death can be combined with thanatology, death education and a social scientific methodology, we could see the possibility of a new method of death education.