The students in my Classical Asian Philosophies class really seem to enjoy the lesssons I give them in how to play the game of Go, in Chinese calligraphy, and in writing Sanskrit.

Some say that college should focus on job skills, but I’m busy over here teaching the liberal arts, fostering delight in learning, and having my heart filled by the smiles and laughter of my students as they learn to use a brush pen and explore ancient ideas that still have life in them.

It might just be that the “job skills” my students most need are found in the practices of wonder, attention, curiosity, love of neighbor, rigorous thinking, reading closely, learning others’ words, examining their own lives, sitting still with texts, developing skills of conversation about great ideas, living lives that include contemplation and not just busy action.