"It is the most basic of practices in making merit. Giving of material gifts include food to the hungry, medicine to the sick, and so on." This quote comes from the essay, "The Ten Ways of Making Merit". You can find the full essay by clicking here.
Preschool and Early Elementary
For my youngest students we began this lesson by discussing what gifts we as lay people bring to the monks. We bring them food, robes, and medicine. We also make sure that they have shelter. The children were able to recall the many times that they have personally offered food to monks during community celebrations and family visits to the Buddhist Center.
They pasted symbols of the four needs we help supply to the monks. Then they labelled each symbol.
I asked them to consider other people to whom we could give material gifts. How can we show generosity at school? At home? In our neighborhood. They volunteered sweet examples like
-sharing their pencils and crayons with someone at school who forgot theirs
-sharing their toys with a sibling
-sharing a treat from their lunch
-giving food to the homeless
We talked about how our gifts help people. A classmate could finish their assignment. A sibling had a chance to enjoy a toy. Someone would no longer be hungry. These are physical affects. I wanted them to see the mental and emotional affects their generosity would have on people too. So I asked, "How do you think people feel when you are generous towards them?
Smiles all around as children called out words:
HAPPY
LOVED
CARED FOR
THANKFUL
Then we discussed the blessings that we as givers receive when we are generous to other people.
-Affection from other people - they love and appreciate us
-We feel good about ourselves
-Happiness, knowing that we've helped
-Good company - because nice and kind people want to be friends with other people who are kind
-Heavenly rebirth - remembering these good things gives us peace both now and when we die.
To help the children leave this lesson with resolve to practice generosity, I gave them a simple art project.
Each child was encouraged to close their eyes and think of someone they could be generous to this week. "Picture in your mind who you could help. Picture yourself doing something for someone. Think of how it makes them feel. Think of how it makes you feel." Then the children drew pictures of themselves showing generosity.
Middle School and High School
Taking turns, the older students read the text on generosity aloud.
Here are the questions we used for discussion:
-What is dana?
-Why would craving be called "the house builder of suffering"?
-How could dana help reduce our craving?
-What material gifts do we as lay people give to the Sangha (monks & nuns)?
The pasting project could be done here if your older students still enjoy projects like this. Mine do.
-How else can one gain merit (purified, stronger mind) through giving material gifts? Who else could we help? How?
-What blessings does the giver of food receive? Have you noticed these benefits in your own life or in the lives of others?
-What are simple ways that you can practice dana in your own life?
-How as a group can we practice dana?
 |
| Children offering food to monks at a ceremony. |
-When are you most compassionate?
-When are you least compassionate?
-Are you more compassionate with yourself or others?
-What is the most loving, compassionate thing you could do for yourself right now?
-What do believe about yourself and life that keeps you from doing this?
-Similar questions concerning compassion directed toward others.
The most important point I wanted to drive home to the students was that generosity is a form of merit. It makes our minds stronger and more pure. The merit we gain by practicing generosity can never be taken away from us. We can recall it time and time again, even at our final breaths and continually receive all the benefits of our actions.
May all be free from suffering by the power of the Triple Gem.
No comments:
Post a Comment