Never Too Late to Learn

ဒီေန႕ The Korean Times, Opinion က႑မွာ ပါလာတဲ့ Article ကို ၀မ္းေျမာက္စြာနဲ႕ အန္ကယ္ျကီးအတြက္ ဂုဏ္ျပဳျပီး အားလံုးဖတ္ႏိုင္ေအာင္ ေ၀မွ်လိုက္ပါတယ္။

Never Too Late to Learn

By M.M.Lay

Some middle-aged and older persons would like to learn all sorts of subjects, but they think they are too old to do so. In this computerized age of globalization, it is never too late to learn.

Some university students, due to various problems, including financial or family, quit their studies in order to earn their living. I always encourage them not to lose hope but to pursue their studies while working. They can get a university education by joining the University of Distance Education or various other correspondence courses. In the old days there was a University of Adult Education in my country, Myanmar, which produced many graduates who became high-ranking officials.

In many countries there are evening university courses for adult workers. In this ``IT Age'' one can also learn some higher studies via the Internet ― though often at a price. The majority of people living in developing countries cannot afford to do so. Although more than 80 percent of the Korean people use computers, this is beyond the means of many poor families in other Asian developing countries.

The other day I found the April issue of the magazine ``The Dongguk Post,'' the campus English magazine of the Seoul-based university, in which I read an article entitled ``Mr. Cho Is Always Passionate.'' This article drew my attention. He is a professor teaching trade services at the university.


In the article he said, ``There are a few reasons why I became a professor here. When I was a college student, I studied hard for a scholarship. I had to work part-time at college. When I was 45 years old, because I always had a lingering affection for learning, I continued and completed a master's degree. Later, while working for a trading company, I completed my doctorate degree when I was 60 years old.''

I appreciated his comments very much. Middle-aged adults should take his example by following the proverb ``Where there's a will, there's a way.'' In June 2004, Mr. Dowee, a former east-end vicar earned a Ph.D. degree at the age of 93 years from the London School of Theology in Northwood Middlesex. It took four years to complete his Ph.D. after earning six degrees in Biblical studies.

In May 2007, an American woman, Nola Ochs, 95 years old, graduated with a history degree from Fort Hays State University. She made history herself as the world's oldest college graduate. She has 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She said, ``I am always satisfied when I am in a learning situation.'' Right now she is pursuing a master's degree in liberal studies.

The oldest man in Kenya, Kimani Maruge, started school at the age of 84 years. He said, `` I have not stopped studying, school is too important.'' He was honored by the UN as the most senior schoolboy alive. He has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest person in the world to start primary school.

In Myanmar, during the reign of King Kyaswa (A.D. 1234-1250), there was a monk scholar named U Kyi Pwai, which translates into English as ``pestle.'' He was very late in higher learning. Later, he became so famous that the people called him ``Shin Dithapamoukha,'' which means ``Monk Professor well known everywhere.''

When he was over 60 years old, he became aware that a four cubits deep pit into which he has discarded bamboo toothbrushes he used everyday had filled up. He thought to himself, ``I have been idle for the last 60 years without realizing that I have been so indolent. Had I learnt just the amount of each bamboo tooth brush a day, I would have mastered many religious treatises.'' Then, he decided to start learning higher literature.

He went to see the king seeking some support. After observing the old age of the monk, the king told him that he was too late to start learning. He added, ``Pestle and mortar may burst forth green shoots, but you old monks would never become learned in religious treatises.'' So saying, the king gave him some writing materials ― a slate and pencils.

The old monk returned to his monastery and tried hard relentlessly learning days and nights. Eventually, he became a learned and well-known scholar. He wanted to respond to what the King had said to him. He wrapped a mortar and pestle with green shoots and sprouts, and with them he went to the king. The king laughed at him with amusement. Showing the king what he had brought with him, the old monk said, ``Your Majesty, behold them, this mortar and pestle has now burst forth green shoots. Like them, I have now learnt many treatises.'' The king asked the monk many questions on the religious treatises and received satisfactory answers from him. The king apologized for what he said to the monk before and supported him with the four requisites of a monk ― food, robes, a shelter (monastery) and medicine.

The old monk wrote a book, ``Thinpongyi'' (Commentary on Myanmarese primer). He became famous as the most learned monk during his lifetime and was given the title ``Dithapamokkha'' (Learned Professor well-known everywhere). But he was commonly called U Kyi Pwai (Mr. Pestle).

These stories inspire us to learn even when we become old. Psychologists say that older people are able to learn foreign languages. We should let our brains work even after our retirement; otherwise, we may suffer from Alzheimer's.

It is never too late to learn!

Row until you are dead!

The writer was a professor in Myanmar. He also attended the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and has been living in Seoul for a year. He can be reached at xxxxx.