Mentor Metta
I wrote the following poem to capture my teaching philosophy. It is inspired by the Metta Sutta, a Buddhist text about loving-kindness. Since my mother tongue is Hungarian, I am providing both the original Hungarian version and an English translation.
Hungarian Version
A testem részem, de nem én vagyok.
A gondolataim hozzám tartoznak, de nem én vagyok.
Érzem érzéseim, de nem én vagyok.
A felhők nem sodorják el az eget.
Legyek boldog és szabad, amerre megyek.
A tanulók nem az ellenségeim.
A tanítás türelem, nem büszkeség.
Az igazat mondom, de építő szándékkal.
A tudáshoz több út vezet,
az enyém csak egy lehetőség.
Megmutatom az utat, ha kérik,
de elfogadom, ha más irányba indulnak.
Bárhová tartanak, legyenek boldogok és szabadok.
Nem élek vákuumban,
mindenki tanított valamit.
Több út vezet a tudáshoz,
az övék csak egy lehetőség volt.
Nem haragszom a viharra,
de félreállhatok az útjából.
Minden tanuló tanít.
Minden tanár tanul.
Legyenek boldogok és szabadok.
English Version
My body is a part of me, but it is not me.
My thoughts belong to me, but they are not me.
I feel my emotions, but they are not me.
The clouds do not carry away the sky.
May I be happy and free wherever I go.
My students are not my enemies.
Teaching is patience, not pride.
I speak the truth, but with constructive intent.
There are many paths to knowledge,
mine is just one possibility.
I show the way if they ask,
but I accept if they choose another path.
Wherever they go, may they be happy and free.
I do not live in a vacuum;
everyone has taught me something.
There are many paths to knowledge,
theirs was just one possibility.
I do not resent the storm,
but I allow myself to step aside from its path.
Every student teaches.
Every teacher learns.
May they be happy and free.
Elaboration
I also created a line-by-line elaboration of the poem, which you can find here: Elaboration. There is an AI generated podcast about this, which you can listen to here.
Praxis
Here I iterate some practical ways I implement the principles of the Mentor Metta in my teaching and mentorship. All cases are drawn from my personal experience, and I do not claim that these are universal truths. I also anonymized any identifying details to respect privacy.