Kassapa and the Fire Worshipers

This lesson was shared with children between the ages of 4 and 7.  However, I plan to use this again with upper elementary students.  Some of my older kids have been asking for more lessons that include art and projects.

Kassapa was the chief of a group of Brahmin hermits who worshiped fire.  In a sacred room they kept a fire burning.  The room also housed a great serpent that was rumored to be a monstrous fire dragon.

The Buddha visited the hermits.  He told Kassapa that he would like to sleep in the room of the sacred fire.  This concerned Kassapa.  He was certain that the serpent would harm the Buddha.  That night the Buddha sat erect in perfect mindfulness.  The fire serpent tried to attack the Buddha.  It spewed it's poison all over, but the Buddha was protected by his special powers.  The serpent was consumed in it's fiery rage.

In the morning, Kassapa entered the fire room, expecting to find the Buddha consumed by the serpent.  He was amazed to find the Buddha alive and the serpent destroyed.  The Buddha said to Kassapa, "His fire has been conquered by my fire."  Kassapa realized that the Buddha was an extraordinary man.  He decided to shave his head, put on robes and follow the Buddha's teaching.

When the other fire worshipers learned that Kassapa had become a disciple of the Buddha, they too decided to become monks.  The Buddha gave a sermon to the men who had worshiped fire.  He said, "The three most powerful fires are greed, ingorance, and hatred.  One must put out these fires to end suffering."

Keep it simple.
I wanted the children to  remember what the Buddha said about the three fires.  Our lesson activities centered around this theme.

Use what you have.
This story is an exciting one for the children.  Rather than reading it from a book, I recommend using props.  Using felt or paper images of the characters and the snake, or dolls and a toy snake would be a nice way to keep their attention.  I'd love to give a few of my son's Lego action figures a bit of a "make-over" for this lesson next year.

Reflection
After the story I laid out a felt cloth and placed three felt images of fire on it.  These were made by cutting brown felt into 6 strips.  Then I cut red or orange felt into the shapes of three flames.  You could use construction paper instead.

The children were asked to recall the three greatest fires.  As they called them out I placed an index card with the word underneath one of the flames.  My stepson is great at making "burning letters".  He made the index cards with the words GREED, IGNORANCE, and HATRED in fancy, flaming letters.

Then I asked, "What did the Buddha say we must do to these fires to end our suffering?  Do we have to make the fires bigger?"  The children all knew that my suggestion was silly.  "You have to put it out!"   Our group was small enough, that we had time for each child to take a turn labeling the three flames and then putting out the fires, by removing the flames from the wood.

We talked about each word in simple terms.
Greed is wanting more and more.  It's wanting things so badly that you are angry when you can't get them.  It's wanting things so badly that you're willing to hurt yourself or others for it.  

Ignorance means to not know about something.  When the Buddha speaks of ignorance he is talking about not understanding the Dharma, his teachings.

Hatred is being so angry that you want to hurt others or yourself.

To help the children remember these three dangerous fires we also did a little pasting project.

They were each given a paper with the words Put out the fires of: at the top.
At the bottom of the paper were the words Anger, Greed, Ignorance. 

 Each child was also given 3 pre-cut paper flames and 6 pre-cut paper logs. 

  They pasted the logs and fire above each word.  The final product looked like this:

When I do this project with my older students I will make a few changes to the presentation.  First, we will read the story aloud together.  Second, instead of a felt board, the three fires will be introduced with three actual candles.  The children will have a chance to label and light the candle.  Other children will then use a snuffer to put out the flames.  Also, when it is time to create the art, I'll give them the paper and scissors and let them create their own interpretation of the fires however they like.

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem!

Yasa's Parents & The Triple Gem

This lesson was shared with children between the ages of 5 and 8.

In the previous lesson, the children learned about Yasa, a wealthy young man who decided to follow the Buddha.  In this lesson the children learned about his father.

The following account is from Buddhism Key Stage II, page 35.  (You can download it here.) :

Yasa’s father had been searching for Yasa after he had

left home and entered the Sangha. Eventually, he came

upon the Buddha who explained Dharma to him. He

listened with growing enthusiasm and became the first lay

follower to take the Threefold Refuge in the Buddha, the

Dharma and the Sangha.

At the invitation of Yasa’s father, the Buddha and Yasa

went for a meal at his house. The Buddha talked about

Dharma after the meal and Yasa’s mother was also listening.

She was so impressed that she took the Threefold Refuge

and became the Buddha’s first woman lay follower.      

Keep it simple.

There were two main points I wanted the children to take away from this lesson:

1. Yasa's parents became the first lay followers of the Buddha.

2. As layfollowers, we take refuge in the Triple Gem.

I asked the children, "What is a gem?"  It was important for them to understand how precious a gem is.  We used examples of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, crystals...  I held up my ring.  "My husband gave this to me when he promised to marry me.  The stone is special because it is rare and beautiful and it has a special meaning for me.  It is a GEM."

In Buddhism, we have three special gems:  The Buddha, The Dharma (the Buddha's Teachings), and The Sangha (the monks and nuns who follow the Buddha in a special way).  We call these three the Triple Gem.

Reflection

I asked, "What does it mean to take refuge?"  They weren't sure.  "A refuge is a place you go to be safe.  If a tornado is coming, we are told to take refuge.  We have to find a safe place that will protect us.  When animals want to be safe from predators, they look for a good hiding spot.  This is their refuge."  In Buddhism we have special, safe, protective places to take refuge as well.  They are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.  So when we say that we are taking refuge in the Triple Gem this is what we mean.  When we have problems or worries or fears in our life, this is where we go for refuge.

Use what you have.

The children were encouraged to find symbols of the triple gem in our shrine room.  They enjoyed finding them.  Then I showed them this picture of the three jewels:

In front of them I colored each gem to represent the Buddha (blue), the Dharma (yellow), and the Sangha (red).  One of the kids noticed right away that the three jewels were placed in the shape of a bodhi leaf.  

Each of the children were given their own to color.

If time and resources permit, there are a lot of fun activities you could come up with for this symbol.  I considered having the children color foil with markers to make the gems shiny.  You could use glitter or sticker gems too.  Think about ways to make this a beautiful presentation.  Next year, I plan to do a lot more with this lesson, craftwise.

Any readers who'd like to share their pictures are welcomed!  I'd love to see and share your work here.

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem!  

       

  

Yasa & The First 60 Monks

This lesson was shared with children ages 5-8.
You can find a simple retelling of the story here.

Yasa was the son of a rich merchant.  Like Siddhartha, Yasa had plenty of material possessions.  Also like Siddhartha, Yasa was not satisfied by his life of luxury.  He felt he was missing something more important.  When he heard the Buddha explain the Four Noble Truths, Yasa felt as if he were awakened from a dream.  He decided to stay with the Buddha and follow his teachings.  54 of Yasa's friends decided to follow the Buddha as well.

Now the Buddha's followers numbered 60.  The Buddha sent his followers out to share his teachings.  His followers returned with even more people who wished to follow the Buddha.

Reflection
This is a good lesson for emphasizing that material goods and an easy life won't ultimately bring you peace and eternal happiness.  Ask the children to tell you about things they have and enjoy.  You'll get fun answers about toy cars, video games, ice-cream, etc.  It is important that the children understand that it is not wrong to like and enjoy these things.  Then ask how these things might disappoint them someday.  Maybe the toy will break.  The game system won't play newer games.  Too many sweets can give you a tummy ache.  Reflecting back to the lesson on Samsura, we can remind the children that all things eventually die or go to ruin.  So while it is nice to enjoy them, we have to try to not be so attached to these things that we become angry and sad when they are gone.

Keep it simple.
My fellow Sunday School teacher read this story from a book in The Buddhist Series: Life of Buddha.  You can find more information about these books in the Resource Section or by clicking here.

Use what you have.
The children colored pictures of Yasa pictures of the Buddha commissioning his followers to spread his teachings.  You can find simple coloring pages for these stories on pages 43 and 44 of buddha.nets book here.

This lesson was kept short and simple.  We followed it with the story of Yasa's Father.

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem! 

Children's Meditation

Here's a simple guided meditation that can be read to children as they sit quietly.

Our monks encourage the children to sit with their legs crossed, hands on their laps, with open right hand over open left hand.  A gong, bell, or chime can be used to begin the quiet.

The children take a deep breathe in and then out. They're encouraged to concentrate on their tummies moving out and in as they breathe in and out.    

Then the leader can peacefully recite the following for the children to hear as they breathe:
May I be free from suffering.
May I be free from anger.
May I be cured from illness.
May I be free from fear.   
May I be free from hatred. 
May I reach peace and tranquility.

For older children this can be extended universally:
May my parents be free from suffering.
May they be free from anger.
May they be cured from illness.
May they be free from fear.   
May they be free from hatred. 
May they reach peace and tranquility.


May (my teachers, relatives, friends, enemies, all living beings) be free from suffering...


Keep the silent meditation time short.  Maybe one or two minutes at most.  That's a long time for little wiggle worms.  A gong, chime, or bell can be rung again to end the meditation.  We usually begin our Dharma Sunday School this way.

Keep it simple.
Lighting a plain candle, burning some incense or offering flowers before an image of the Buddha is nice.  But don't go overboard.  The less pomp and circumstance surrounding meditation with young people, the easier it will be for them to turn to meditation for peace throughout their day, where ever they are.  This can become a wonderful tool for parents to help their children during challenging times.

Use what you have.
I've found some very nice, simple chants and meditations for children on the net.  Here are a few of them:

Buddhanet has The Loving Kindness Chant broken up in simple lines in both English and Pali here.

Gregory Kramer has a beautiful version of this chant for children here.

May I Be Well, Happy and Peaceful chant can be found here. (WorldPrayers.org)

If you're looking for a simple book to introduce meditation to children, I would recommend Each Breath A Smile, by Sister Susan, based on Thich Nhat Hahn's teachings.  It's beautifully illustrated.  The text is simple enough for 3 year olds but rich enough for older children.

Savor this experience.  There is something very special about meditating with kids.  Perhaps, if we as adults approached meditation with the same simplicity as our children, we would move more quickly to emancipation.      

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem!

The First Sangha

Do you remember, that before the Buddha became enlightened he fasted and meditated with five friends?  Well after his enlightenment he returned to these men.  How do you think they reacted to his visit?  Do you think they were happy to see him?  


I read to the children an account of this story from the book titled Prince Siddhartha: The Story of the Buddha by Jonathan Landaw & Janet Brooke.  A simple retelling of the story can also be found here.

This story chronicles the beginning of the Sangha.   The Sangha is a group of monks or nuns.  They have dedicated their lives in a special way to following the teachings of the Buddha.  
The names of these first five monks are:

Kondanna
Vappa
Baddiya
Mahanama
Assaji
We wanted the children to become familiar with these five monks for future stories so we had them write the names on paper while we spoke the pronunciation over and over again.  I am very thankful to have a teacher with me who speaks Sinhalese.  I would be at a loss for knowing how to say these names without her.


The five monks were not thrilled to see the Buddha at first.  They thought he had given up his quest for enlightenment.  They planned to not even speak to him.  But as the Buddha came closer to them a radiant light shone around him and the monks completely forgot their plans to ignore him.   They were so impressed by his mere presence that they took his bowl, prepared a seat and washed his feet.  The Buddha told them to no longer call him Gautama.  From now on he was to be known as the Buddha.  The monks asked for forgiveness for thinking badly of him.  Then the Buddha began to teach them.  Once they understood his teachings they shaved their heads, put on robes and formed the Sangha.

Keep it Simple.
This was the Buddha's first teaching.  It is often referred to as The Turning of the Wheel of Truth or The Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.  There is A LOT of rich teaching in this first discourse, far too much to address individually in one lesson for children.  Rather than addressing the details of the Buddha's first discourse, we wanted to expose them to the basic story.  The points of this important discourse will be explained to the kids in smaller bites in lessons throughout the year.

Reflection
There were two main points we wanted the children to take away from this lesson.  First, in this first teaching, the Buddha explained that many problems come from wanting things in a selfish way.  We can become wiser and happier if we stop wanting things so badly that we become attached to them.  Second, there is a symbol we use for The Turning of the Wheel of Truth.  It usually looks like this:

Once the Buddha began teaching the Dharma, the wheel of truth was set in motion.

Use what you have.
The children were given a picture of the Wheel of Truth to color.  Some chose to color it gold.  Others colored it one or all of the colors of the Buddhist flag.
The older children will be learning more about the Buddha's first discourse and the meaning of the Wheel in weeks to come.

Next time:
Yasa, His Father, and the Triple Gem

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem! 

The Buddhist Flag

The children have been very interested in the colors coming from Buddha's aura upon his enlightenment.  They quickly connected these colors to those on the Buddhist flag.  I decided that this would be a good time to teach them a little more about the Buddhist flag.

Each of the colors represent a quality of the Buddha or the Buddha's teaching.

Blue: Compassion - having loving kindness for all living beings and wishing that no being should suffer
Yellow: The Middle Path - avoiding extremes
Red: Blessings - following the teachings of the Buddha bring good things to our lives
White: Purity - the teachings of the Buddha are clean, without any flaws
Orange: Wisdom - the teachings of the Buddha are wise 
Blend of all five colors: UNITY - the teachings of the Buddha are good for everyone, everywhere and unite us together


Keep it simple.
After we introduced the flag, its colors and their symbols, the children used crayons to color a picture of the Buddhist Flag.  They used small cards to make theirs, but you could also use a print out like the one here.
  
Use what you have.
I made a simple matching game for the kids with index cards and coiled pipe cleaners.  You could use painted rocks, legos, bean bags, anything really in the flag's colors.

For very young children (five or younger) I would recommend matching the colored coil to an index card with the word the color symbolizes written in the same color ink like this:

For our class, the children took turns matching a colored coil to an index card with the word the color symbolizes written in black or brown ink like this:

Then we made a game out of it.  We laid the index cards out in a row on the floor.  The children lined up for a relay race against the clock.  One at a time, the kids were handed a coil to take to the floor and match with the proper card.  We timed ourselves.  Then we tried to match them faster, and faster.  By the end of the game, all the kids had memorized each of the colors of the flag and the word it symbolized.

Reflection
The children were encouraged to think about what the flag represents whenever they see it.
Simple lessons seems to stick.

May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem.

Leaving the Palace

This lesson was shared with children between the ages of 4 and 7.

This is the story of Siddhartha's decision to leave his family and his palace life to become a renunciate.
I have to admit, I had no inspirations for this lesson.  The story is an important one.  I just couldn't think of any special presentation or project for it.  I decided to simply retell the story and have the children create their own illustrations.

I read the story from Buddhism Key Stage II.  It can be downloaded for free here.

Keep it simple.
There were 3 main points I wanted the children to remember:
1.  Siddhartha left to find an end to Samsura.
2. Cutting his hair was a sign that he was giving up a worldly lifestyle.
3. When Siddhartha became a renunciate, he had a new name: Gautama

First the children were reminded of last week's lesson on Samsara.  It was important for the children to understand why Siddhartha left the palace.  It was not for selfish reasons.  He loved his wife and son, parents and friends.  In fact, it was his love for all living beings that inspired him to leave.  He HAD to search for an end to suffering.

Early in my discovery of Buddhism I didn't know that after his enlightenment, Buddha shared his teachings with his own family.  His wife, son and father all reached enlightenment as well.   I wanted the children to understand this from the beginning.  Siddhartha did not abandon his family.  All of their needs were met in the palace and at times they communicated through messengers while he was away.

Child's drawing of Siddhartha riding his horse, Kanthaka
away from his hometown of Kapilavatthu 

When Siddhartha cut his long hair, the remaining hair coiled up in tiny curls all around his head.  The text we used didn't mention that but I wanted the children to hear this.  More than once I have been asked by one of the the kids why our monks have no hair when the images of Buddha show him with tight curls.  That's the answer.  I hoped that adding another snippet (pun intended) to this part of the story would make the importance of Siddhartha's hair cutting stick in their memories more.

I made the children say Siddhartha's name several times, "Say it after me, Gautama."  In retrospect, I could have written his name out for them and instructed them to include the name Gautama on their pictures to help them remember this point.  Hopefully, they'll still remember his new name when I ask them next week.

She drew a picture of Gautama and his begging bowl.

Short lesson.  This actually worked out perfectly.  A late afternoon Puja had been planned at the Buddhist Center so we had to end our lessons early.  Anything special I could have planned would have been cancelled.  This experience was a good lesson for me about worrying unnecessarily.  

The Four Signs

The Four Signs

This lesson was shared with children from age 5 to 7.
We began by recalling the sadness Siddhartha had felt when he witnessed suffering by people and animals at The Plowing Ceremony.

Then the story of Four Signs was read.
The books I have listed in the resource section all have a simple retelling of this story for children.
You can also find it by clicking here.

As the story was read, children took turns laying out the following symbols:

The First Sign

The Second Sign

The Third Sign

The Fourth Sign

After reading the story, children were asked to try to remember one of the four signs.  They took turns matching labels to the correct felt symbol.

I like using felt boards with children in this age group.  Being able to place a felt piece on the board or label a felt piece is a big treat for the kids.  It encourages even the youngest in my group to stay focused on the story.

Keep it simple.
For the youngest children, I avoid getting too fancy or having too many things on the felt board.
I ask myself, "What do I really want them to remember?"  In this lesson I wanted them to remember the 4 signs so those were the only symbols I laid out.  I didn't even include Buddha or Channa, his chariot driver, in the illustrations.


Use what you have.
I've got a lot of felt and it's cheap, but paper, cloth, clay, anything you have on hand can be used to make a simple visual aid.

Reflection
Looking at the first three signs, we discussed how sad Siddhartha was about the suffering of others.
We discussed that everyone gets sick, everyone grows older, and eventually, everyone dies.  That's a heavy theme for a young child.  Heck, that's a heavy theme for an adult.

After talking about all the things in nature that get sick, suffer and die, it was important to point out the fourth sign.  This is the child's hope!  Yes, the first three signs are sad, BUT the fourth sign brings happiness.  Choosing to become a renunciate was how Siddhartha eventually found enlightenment and a way for everyone to end this cycle of suffering!  Let this lesson end with that promise.

If there's time left, the children could take turns acting out the story.  My kids love performing and it's one more way to make the story stick in their memories.

Our classes always end with chanting in the Pali language led by one of the monks.

May all be free from suffering with the power of the Triple Gem.

Queen Mahamaya's Dream

The story can be found HERE.

This lesson was shared with children between the ages of 5 and 12.  That's a diverse audience.  The challenge was to keep the lesson simple enough to hold the little one's attention without boring the older children to tears.

The solution:  A play.
This story lends itself well to a dramatization because there are lots of characters involved.  The older children were all assigned roles.  As the story was narrated, they acted out the story for the younger children.

They enjoyed this activity so much that we actually did the whole play four or five times, with children switching roles.  This helped embed the story in the little one's mind while keeping my older students completely engaged.

After the story, the youngest children drew pictures of their favorite part of the story.  As they colored, the older children were prompted to discuss questions from Margaret Lisa Buschmann's book (see Resource Section).

Keep it simple.
The play was last minute idea when I realized that I would be working with both older and younger children.  I didn't have any props or costumes.  They didn't seem to mind.

I also scratched a more involved art project I had planned for the little ones.  I keep lots of blank paper and crayons on hand for emergencies like this.  By giving the tots directions to just draw their favorite part of the story, I could devote my attention to the older kids for a deeper study and application of the story.