The two words, filial piety, are important to all civilized peoples, but they are doubly important to Buddhists. The actual words mean duties of children to parents, but there is a much deeper meaning in these words if we are faithful followers of Lord Buddha. The young are not only under a holy obligation to show respect and affection for their parents, but also to be considerate of all elderly persons and to be helpful towards them in such ways as to bring happiness into their lives. In some countries of the world the ideal of filial piety has been almost forgotten. We can see quite clearly that those countries are slipping backwards towards unhappiness.

It is so easy to call oneself a Buddhist and to talk about religion. Man individuals like to talk about Buddhist doctrines, to recite devotions and to be a Buddhist “on the outside.” Our Lord’s Dharma is for “the inside” of a person as well as for outside and is far more than just something to argue about or words to recite. If we really have respect for Lord Buddha’s Dharma in our hearts, then our “outside” lives will be right and will set bright examples to others.

This word perseverance means “keeping on.” That is, we keep on with whatever we start, such as coming to Dharma school, studying lessons regularly and well, and constantly and unfailingly doing whatever we know we ought to do. Of course, if we find we have mistakenly begun to do anything of an unwise nature, we must not persevere in such action as that. But, to know what is right and to begin to do it and then stop, usually means we are lacking in strength of character. This is certainly not our Buddhist way of living.

We believe our two artists, Mr. Andrew Lim and Mr. Teoh Eng Soon have succeeded admirably in creating line drawings that not only illustrate the meaning of each lesson, but also “tease” us into seeking much deeper meaning in each picture than we might find after a hurried glance. If we go through the lessons and study each illustrations, we are likely to find they encourage us to think, and that is one of the most cherished aims of any Dharma school. It is recommended by the compilers of this book that one or two lesson-sessions be devoted to a careful study of the illustrations. Each pupil should be encouraged to find his own meaning in each picture. If the children have exercise books or paper suitable for pencil or crayon sketching, then it is suggested that they be given a chance to compete for prizes for the best pictures drawn in each age group on an assigned subject or on subjects chosen by each individual child. Experiences has shown that some amazingly good talent is ofte

Every family ought to have its shrine, even if it is only a tiny one. It is really too bad that some families seem to think, because they cannot afford a costly shrine, they must go without any at all. When a small picture or image of the Buddha is given a position of honour in a home, that means the Blessed One has been invited to become a member of that family and to share the hosue. Quite often in Buddhist magazines or annuals or even on calendars, we find attractive coloured pictures of the Buddha. After everyone has finished reading the various articles, news items, etc., we usually throw away old magazines. Just think how easy it would be to cut out a picture of the Blessed One from such a periodical and put it in a frame. Such a picture could be the centre of the family shrine.

Ques. 1 What is your religion? Ans. I am a Buddhist. Ques. 2 What is Buddhism? Ans. Buddhism is the teaching of all the Buddhas. Ques. 3 What is a Buddha? Ans. A Buddha is a very wise man who has freed himself from all ignorance. Ques. 4 Is Buddha a God? Ans. No, He is far greater than any God or ordinary man. Ques. 5 Why is He greater than any God or ordinary man? Ans. Because of His own efforts He found the Truth.

The proper way to start any session of a Buddhist Dharma-school is by use of well-directed devotional exercises. The children should be taught the idea of reverence and the value of making personal devotions a regular part of every individual’s life, beginning in childhood. It is quite a good idea to introduce new formulas of aspiration, subjects of meditation, new songs and poems from time to time, but it is advisable to continue any practice until the children have committed that particular devotion to memory. As a rule, we carry with us all through life, the poems and devotions we learn as boys and girls. The importance of these devotional exercises to go along with each session of a Dharma-school cannot be over-estimated. Some classes have devotions only at the opening of the session each Sunday. In other cases there are both opening and closing devotions. The sample given here is rather a standard one, being widely used in many parts of the Buddhist world.

One fine day about twenty-six centuries ago, a son was born to King Suddhodhana and Queen Mahamaya of the country of the Sakyas in northern India. The child was named Siddhartha, Queen Mahamaya died. A hermit was called to the palace to predict the prince’s future. This sage foretold that Prince Siddhartha would become either a Buddha or else a ruler of the world. The hermit foretold that if the prince saw four certain sights he would renounce the world and become a Buddha. These four sights were declared to be an old man bent with age, a sick man in great pain, a dead man and a wandering beggar. The king desired his son to grow up to be a ruler of the world and decided to keep all knowledge of pain and sorrow from him. The Gautama family, into which Siddhartha was born, was very ambitious for the young prince.

The Lord Buddha had told us he had only one main teaching and all of it concerns the cause of unhappiness and how to think and act in ways that will bring us freedom from unhappiness. All living things want to be free from pain and other forms of unhappiness. Even little worms on the footpath feel pain and thus are unhappy if we step on them. There are many forms of life, some low, others high, but even the least developed living things seek happiness in their own ways. If we go to a river or a brook, we see that some fishes like to be close to the top of the water, near the sunlight. If something frightens them away from the surface and they have to go deeply into the darkness of the cold water, then they are unhappy and return to the upper, sunlit, warm water as soon as they feel it is safe. If the fishes that like the deep, dark, cold waters are frightened into the warm, upper waters, then they are unhappy because each of the many, many forms of life is seeking happiness in i

In order to become a Buddhist it is not necessary to go through any set ceremony or any form of “baptism” or to shave one’s head or adopt any special type of clothing. The followers of some religions require the male members to wear beards and dress their hair in a certain style. Still other religions require their followers to wear coloured marks on their foreheads and dress in a distinctive way. We have none of this in Buddhism. The only real way to be a Buddhist is to know Lord Buddha’s teaching and to follow it. But, as a rule, most people who decide to follow the Buddha’s teaching like to have some sort of simple ceremony to indicate that they have made this important decision. The ceremony we usually employ is known as “taking the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts.” This lesson will be about the Three Refuges and what they mean to us. It is not important whether the little ceremony is all in Pali, or Sanskrit or Chinese or English. What is in the heart is the important thing.