Welcome to
the Buddhist Retreat !
Our vision to encourage children to learn about Buddhism was the focus of
this retreat. Our goal was to make the retreat fun, educational, and
creative. Dharma school provides children with insight and brings great
beauty into their lives. We wanted to give this rare opportunity to
children, so they can embrace the Dharma and see the true benefits.
At
the retreat, children were introduced to the joy of stillness in day to
day meditation. This is a time to gain insight into the true nature of our
being. Self observation and a time to reflect was encouraged. The prime
objective of this practice was to instill a sense of unity and balance
between the inner subjective worlds and the outer objective worlds. As a
result, children learnt to create a balance in their lives. Coping with
stress and other factors also proved to be beneficial. Children were
taught the correct way to meditate and understand its benefits. When
teaching Dharma, we tried to create an environment that helps the
transition between home and school. We encouraged a caring approach
through group participation and children were appreciated for their unique
spirit. With the younger children from grade 1, 2 and 3, we allowed each
child time to learn and develop at their own rate. For children grades 4
and above, the curriculum consisted of acquiring basic knowledge such as
respect for oneself and others, learning about Buddhist principles and how
best to apply this for further learning. Teachers inspired children by
drawing attention to the beauty, originality and essence of their topic.
Basic moral discipline was taught by refraining from actions that are
harmful to others. We practice this on the basis of consideration for
others, gained through contemplation and meditation on love. Each lesson
used discussion, games and examples to lead the children through the
points of the teachings. We found this to be a very effective way of
teaching. Imagination in teaching was also encouraged, leading the
children to their own creative achievements. As teachers, our aim was to
instill values such as care, trust, courage, creativity, patience,
determination and responsibility.
After each lesson, children had their break time. They were able to play
outside, doing different activities and eating vegetarian meals. Here the
children practiced compassion by eating vegetarian food. They were taught
to appreciate the food and made aware of the efforts involved in cooking
such meals. All children sat together and chanted a small prayer before
eating their delicious meals. After meals were finished, the teachers
were encouraged to join in the fun and games. The games relate to Buddhism
and help build up their skills. Sharing lessons with children helped them
to develop an understanding of the Dharma far more effectively.
To
manifest the above objectives and goals requires steadiness of purpose,
knowledge of method, and great compassion. The Dharma school for
children strives to offer diversity wherever possible. To be able to give
this diversity we need ongoing support especially from the child’s
parents. Once school has finished, we advised parents to remind their
children of the essence of Buddhism and how best to practice everyday.
They must nurture and inspire their children with great wisdom and
compassion. They must also make them aware of the universal law of cause
and effect. The parents should live by example and help their children to
develop their own virtues. If this is done with love then our children
will see great benefits.
The
future is bright for the young children. It is our belief and purpose that
each and every child will recognise their own Buddha Nature. They already
possess this ability and have shown us their greatest potential. May
we continue to give them this opportunity to study Dharma and uphold
the Buddhist principles.
Day 1-Thusday
03rd Jan 2008
*Please note :
Both the Bhikkuni
and myself have prior experience in the areas of discipline and
involvement with children, on a weekly basis teaching Dharma.
I began the class by introducing myself, Bhikkuni
Nguyen Khai and Bhikkuni Hue Nghiem. I welcomed
all 38 children to the class. I asked all the children to stand and chant
Buddha's name three times. Then I wrote on the board two questions. What
is Buddhism ?
What is not Buddhism ?
I asked the children what they thought ? Than I wrote down all their ideas
on the board. The reason I did this was to brainstorm what they already
knew about Buddhism. Based on their ideas and creativity, I taught
accordingly. The aim here was to get as much information as possible,
giving me a good starting point, as I was able to judge their ability. I
was highly impressed as the children proved to have great ideas. Their
mind was vast, open and very intelligent. I now had many wonderful topics
to discuss and I found the children paid close attention, as they where
very much involved in this activity. We had an open discussion on each
topic about Buddhism with some of the topics being, Who is the Buddha ?
Why are we Buddhist ? What are the benefits of Buddhism ? What is Karma ?
Why do we promote eating vegetarian? After some great discussions, all the
children felt happy and motivated.
I went on
and explained the rest of the curriculum. Part of the curriculum was to
talk about
RULES.
The rules were a set of guidelines to abide by. I emphasized each rule and
how important it was to maintain them. Any child who misbehaved or broke
the rules, would be asked to leave the class. They will be escorted out of
the classroom with either a Bhikkini or a Bhikkhu. Here they would have
the chance to speak their mind and discuss ways that they can improve for
the sake of themselves and others. Life is about choices and if a child
chooses to misbehave, then they must see the consequences of their
actions. It would be unfair to have one child disturb the whole class. The
child must realise that misbehavior is an unskillful way and must be delt
with. Being Buddhist we don’t believe in any form of punishment.
During this session we had the privilege to introduce Venerable Hanh Hieu,
who gave a talk to the class about Buddhism. The children were well
behaved and enjoyed the talk. The children also had the chance to ask many
questions.
Day 2
The children arrive to morning class on time. Everyone stood and chanted
Buddha's name three times. Today's topic was on meditation. I asked all
the children to sit in a big circle, which proved to a big challenge. They
kept running around and once again I told them to settle down. I
than began the meditation class with some nice relaxing music. I was able
to show them how to use their posture to sit correctly during
meditation. Both Bhikkini's where present and helped make sure the
children sat with their backs straight. I explained the benefits of
meditation. I advised them that meditation was very useful when you are
feeling angry especially to calm down. I also mentioned that meditation
could help make you a wiser person. The mind becomes balanced and
calm. This practice could be really useful in times of pressure and exam
times. All the children agreed that they wanted to do well in school,
therefore preparation of the mind is always a good starting point. Some
children later admitted that they did get angry. I asked them what in
particular made them angry ? Usually, the first thing they say was to
blame the other person. I went on and explained the dangers of anger and
how best to approach it. I encouraged the children to take deep breaths,
especially when anger arises. To focus on breathing, is a method to deal
with ones own anger. Anger is like a seed that we plant, and if we
continue to water it, more anger will arise. We must try and cultivate
kindness to ourselves and to others. Getting angry at your friends, or
enemies, means you get angry with yourself first. Anger is a negative
emotion which may lead to negative actions. It is also a sign of
weakness. We must try and control our emotions and take responsibility
for all our thoughts and actions. All the children understood and began to
share their stories and experiences on how anger made them unhappy. The
children where also able to speak about their past anger even giving
suggestions on different types of methods they used, for example having
compassion for the other person. Trying to stay calm, improved
communication with the other person and also speaking in a nicer tone,
with gentle words. Anger destroys our good karma, therefore should be
avoided. This proved to be a good exercise as the children were able to
reflect on their past deeds, and were able to forgive themselves and
others.
With regular meditation and mindfulness, one can gradually try to apply
this in real life situations. It is a slow process, but the change in
their life, and those around them, can profoundly change for the better.
As
His Holiness the Dalai Lama mentioned:
“When reason ends, then anger begins.
Therefore, anger is a sign of weakness.”
After meditation, I asked all the children to sit back on their chairs. By
now the children felt calm and more relaxed. I decided to do another
activity which involved group participation. I asked all the children to
step outside and form two groups. This game was called "The Buddhist
Amazing Race". The idea of this game was to see how well each group
discussed a particular question. This game involved sharing their ideas,
communicating well and showing creativity. I read out each question, for
example, What is the meaning of meditation ? I then gave each team 5 mins
to discuss the best answer. Each team had very convincing ideas and I
could see both groups giving good suggestions. I went on and asked many
more Buddhist related questions. Where was the Buddha born ? What is the
meaning of Karma ? What does Buddhism mean to you ? Why do try to eat
vegetarian ? etc. I judged the winning team by observing their
behaviors, team work, caring for one another and the use of their
knowledge. I gave each team a prize, as they all did so well.
The next activity was to instill compassion in their hearts. The aim of
this activity was to try and think of as many ways in which one can help a
person in need. I gave each child an activity sheet, which contained many
pictures of people who needed help. The children had to circle the
pictures and write how they could help the person in that picture. All
the children had very interesting answers, all were eager to show
compassion towards these images. They used positive thinking and
caring words to express their thoughts and actions. It was great ! All the
children showed me that they knew about love and kindness to others.
The
rest of the day was spent writing a letter to someone dear to them. Each
was given a sheet of paper to write on. The purpose of this exercise was
to express their love for their family members and friends. Each child
wrote beautiful letters to make heartful wishes. It was really nice to see
them thinking of other people.
Result
: I
learnt that Children listen better through activities and group
participation. When they are enjoying themselves and having fun they learn
better. Being actively involved in their conversations also proved to be
effective. Listening and sharing a common interest with them was just as
important.
DAY 3
This
morning the children went to a Dharma talk " Question and Answer". The
talk was given by Bhikkini Nguyen Khai, Bhikkini Hue Nghiem and Venerable
Thich Quang Ba.Their talks covered other areas of Buddhism. This was a
very good opportunity for the children to explore more about Buddhism.
After the Dharma talk, the children arrived back to the classroom. We had
a guest speaker Venerable Vien Tri who spoke about the values of
meditation. All the children sat in meditation again today. They all did
well, except for one child who tried to disturb the whole class. He made
unnecessary comments which hurt other children. My attention was now
focused on his behavior. I had the whole class stop while I gave a warning
to that child. The warning did not phase him, as he was stubborn and
continued to be naughty. I told him to leave the class, which he ignored
me and just sat there. So I told the whole class to get up and go to
another classroom and leave him there with another teacher. The child had
time to think about his actions. He also had the chance to speak his mind
and was taught some discipline. He later decided to join the rest of the
children with a new attitude. All the children warmly welcomed him back.
Later on we decided to play another game. This time Bhikkni Hue Nghiem
introduced the game, which was lots of fun. Everyone had to blow up
balloons, then she stuck a note with a question relating to Buddhism onto
each balloon. The children took it in turns to pop a balloon and read the
question out loud. All the children had a chance to answer it. Who ever
answered correctly would get a turn to be in the middle popping the
balloons. The game was enjoyable and there where a lot of laughs.
At
this stage the children were very tired. Luckily my fiancé had brought ice
creams the day before, so we shared lots of ice creams/lollies with all
the children. They really enjoyed it ! It was a really nice treat and they
all deserved it !
I
also prepared many gifts to reward the children who performed well in
class. A boy name Timothy won the first prize. Every one clapped and
congratulated him. He received a set of pencils and a big block of
chocolate. I gave him this reward because throughout the class he listened
and behaved very well. He knew how to share and how to respect others. He
knew allot about the dharma.
When class was about to end the children all dedicate their merits to all
sentient beings. This is very good practice and the children were all
aware of this positive action.
Below is some more activities that we
have done : These are just a few things to help bring mindfulness into
family life.
Mindfulness Game
Play the mindfulness game. Sit quietly. Have the children listen for just
a few moments. Ask them to them name some of the things they can hear.
Keep listening. See if they are aware of more and more things that we are
normally unaware of -- the sound of the wind in the trees, a bird chirping
etc. This game was repeated with sight, touch and smell.
Mindfulness Walk
Take a Mindfulness Walk. Walk through a park or take a hike. Walk quietly
and slowly. Try to be aware of the things around you that you would
normally be missed for example : moss growing on a rock, the sound of
water moving and the smell of flowers.
Food Connections
At
dinner, try to name all the people and things that go into making the food
you are having for dinner. Easy things to name is the cow that gives the
milk, but what else is involved. The cow eats grains: earth, sunshine,
water help the grains to grow. Microorganism living in the soil help break
down manure used for fertilizer to help the plants can grow. Farmers plant
the grains, milk the cows. Manufacturers make the milking equipment, the
trucks that carry the milk to the bottling facitity. People working at a
factory make plastic bottles that we buy the milk in. So much is
interrelated in just bringing a glass of milk to the table.
DAY 4
Question and Answer time with Bhikkini Nguyen Khai ,
Bhikkini Hue Ngiem, Venerable
Pho
Huong, and Venerable Hanh Tri
All
the children chanted Buddha's name three times before class began. The
children looked rather restless so I decided on a different way to
meditate, lying down meditation. All the kids laid down in different areas
of the room. I played a beautiful piece of meditation music,
which inspired compassion and a positive mind. I went through the
meditation process and by now all the children where familiar process. I
encouraged the children to relax their mind, then to try and radiate their
loving kindness towards other people. This proved to be quite relaxing,
as most of the children fell asleep. This wasn’t quite the way to
meditate, but considering it was a really hot day, I allowed them a little
extra time to snooze. After the meditation music had stopped, I woke them
up. We all had the chance to discuss what experience they felt. Most
children said it was great because they had felt more relaxed while others
where simply happy that they had extra sleep.
The next activity was to play another game and it was called "The blind
fold guessing game." I asked all the children to sit in a circle. I chose
one person to be in the middle. I asked the child in the middle to close
their eyes, then I gave them an object relating to Buddhism. For example,
a lotus flower in front. The child was blind folded and had to touch the
lotus flower and guess what it was. If they guessed correctly, I would ask
them whether they knew what the object symbolized. Do they know what the
lotus flower is used for ? I further explained the meaning of the lotus
flower. Many children had a turn in guessing each unknown object. Some of
the objects they guessed correctly were the Buddha statue, a Buddhist text
book, the Matraya Buddha statue and the Buddhist bell. I also explained
that the Buddha has 32 unique and beautiful features. It was really great!
All the children looked amazed.
For the next activity, I allowed the children to watch a Buddhist cartoon
on the big projector screen. The movie was quickly setup by my fiancé, who
used his technical skills to put it all together. The children loved the
movie and were so happy. They loved the cartoon of the Buddha.
Later that evening, a concert was to be held. I managed to get a group of
girls together and performed a fan dance. The rest of the other children
leant songs and other activities.
The concert was a great success and was both fun and enjoyable to
watch. The children all felt proud and happy with themselves, as they had
contributed to something for the Buddhist community. This was my happiest
moment !
By
Quang Huong Le Ngoc Tram
See
the photo:
http://www.quangduc.com/photo/khoatu/kt2007/giang-3-1-08/index2.html
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Cập nhật 9-3-2008
