CHAPTER 15: Service-Learning Research: Returning to the moral questions
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Published:2010
Peter Levine, 2010. "Service-Learning Research: Returning to the moral questions", Problematizing Service-Learning: Critical Reflections for Development and Action, Trae Stewart, Nicole Webster
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It is a very old idea that we are morally obliged to learn from service. Buddhism, for example, emphasizes that true wisdom comes from serving others: “The Buddha himself bathed and clothed sick bhiksus [monks], cleaned their rooms, attended their daily routines, comforted their bodies and minds, and threaded the needle for aged bhiksus to relieve the pain of their poor eyesight” (Yun, 2010, p. 3). The Buddha’s enlightenment came from his compassion, which grew from his service.
About 500 years later, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses the example of a woman who has washed his feet—an act of service—to teach his disciples about the forgiveness of sins (Luke 7:38).
