Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2015 An Ontological (re)Thinking: Ubuntu and Buddhism in Higher Education David Wayne Robinson-Morris Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Robinson-Morris, David Wayne, "An Ontological (re)Thinking: Ubuntu and Buddhism in Higher Education" (2015). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2440. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2440 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. AN ONTOLOGICAL (RE)THINKING: UBUNTU AND BUDDHISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Education The Department of Education, Leadership, Research, & Counseling by David W. Robinson-Morris, Jr. B.A., Loyola University New Orleans, 2006 M.P.A., University of New Orleans, 2011 December 2015 ©Copyright David W. Robinson-Morris, Jr. All rights reserved ii This undertaking is dedicated to the giants on whose shoulders I stand and to the ancestors—genetically, spiritually, academically—who dreamt, hoped, and prayed me to this space/time. Most especially, this dissertation is dedicated to my first teachers and perpetual guides: Josephine Wells Robinson, Jo Ann Robinson, and Shalonda B. Robinson. These women—my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother—taught and continue to teach me everything worth knowing about life, about living with courage, growing with grace, and engaging with love all of the human family. My gratitude for them and of having been born of them overflows. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is a proverb that states, “I come as a one, but I stand as ten thousand.” Truly, I come as a multitude of one, but I bring along with me everyone both living and dead who has loved me to this space/time, who has prayed me to this space/time, who has dreamt, thought, sacrificed, and hoped me to this space/time. I think on them all with gratitude and I carry them— the ten thousand—with me each and every day. I could not have begun or continued on this journey without the love and support of my family. My mother, grandmother (Grand), and sister Delisha who have been for me a constant support. Their love and encouragement pushes me beyond limits once thought impossible to surpass. I love them and they me with a depth and breadth that will surely breach the great divide of time. Thank you. To my mother, thank you for your sacrifice, for your love, and your courage. To my Grand, the rock of the Robinson clan, thank you for modeling for all of us the courage to be and live in the face insurmountable obstacles. Thank you for modeling humanity for me— loving-kindness, compassion, forgiveness, courage, joy, acceptance, equality, and justice were learned at your feet. I am grateful for you and I thank you. To the Mays family, my great aunts Brenda and Laurie, the Brooks family, the Washington family, and all of my family and friends in Galveston—thank you. I am immensely grateful for the guidance of my committee: Drs. Danielle Alsandor, Petra Hendry, Petra Robinson, and John Henderson. All of your advice, encouragement, and everything that I have learned from you will abide in me. You all have modeled for me what it means to be a being-human being-living-doing in the Academy. Thank you for your example, for listening to me, and your thought partnership. iv My friends have been a constant support and a grounding refuge of laughter in a space/time consumed by reading-thinking. To my best friends: Tanjulan Holloway, Norma Miranda, Fr. Daniel Green, Shon and Charlie Baker, Malana Joseph, and the Mayor’s Office crew—thank you. Rashanda Booker Topp, Maria Wallace, Julie Thibodaux, Melissa Gulden, Kathy Jones, Josh Dean, Benterah Morton, Aariel Charbonnet, Brandi Roberts, Amaris Guzman, and too many more to name—thank you. You all have kept me grounded and encouraged throughout this journey; I could not have done this without you. “Be with those who help your being,” says Rumi. I want to acknowledge my colleagues in the Higher Education and Curriculum Theory programs, the professors of the LSU School of Education, my friends and colleagues at Loyola University New Orleans, and all those I have come in contact with over the past few years. Thank you for being and helping my being- becoming. I am immensely grateful for the grounding of my undergraduate education at Loyola University New Orleans. It was in this space/time that the lessons regarding humanity learned at the feet of my Grand, mother, and great-grandmother were reinforced and where I was provided the tools to use in service of my vision. More importantly, it was where I, in a very real way, learned the importance of a being-ness and a world imbued with love. Finally, to those on the other side who have guided me and interceded to the Universe on my behalf, I thank you. Josephine Wells Robinson, C.C. Robinson, Shirley A. Robinson, Charley Robinson, Lee Ester Marshall, Geneva Wells Jones, Sue Brooks Washington, Hattie Bluitt, Fr. Paul Banet, SSJ, Fr. Jerry Fagin, SJ, and all of the ancestors—I thank you. Wherever I go, I bring you with me. My cup runneth over with gratitude. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................. viiii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................. ix Background ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTERStatement of Problem ONE: TURNING ...................................................................................................................................................... REALITY ON ITS HEAD, (RE)IMAGINING A NEW WAY .................... 10 1 The Necessitation of an Ontological Turn .......................................................................................................... 12 Philosophical Frameworks ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Research Questions ........................................................................................................................................................... 20 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Concluding Thoughts ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 Ubuntu Defined ............................................................................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTERThe Evolution of Ubuntu: A Historical Analysis of Written Discourses TWO: UBUNTU: THE GREAT GIFT OF AFRICA ................................................................ ................................................... 2345 The Philosophy of Ubuntu ........................................................................................................................................ 45 The Great Gift ................................................................................................................................................................. 63 History and Origins ...................................................................................................................................................... 70 CHAPTERBuddha’s Teachings THREE: BUDDHISM: ..................................................................................................................................................... AN ENGAGEMENT WITH AND IN THE WORLD ...................... 7267 Buddhist Philosophy ................................................................................................................................................... 94 Buddhist Ontology ....................................................................................................................................................... 95 Engaged Buddhism ...................................................................................................................................................... 97 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 100 (re)Thinking as (non)Method ................................................................................................................................... 105 CHAPTERAbstract Machine