The Rumor: Getting Carried Away by Fear and Gossip

This lesson can be shared with very young children OR upper elementary/middle school students.  

I used the book The Rumor: A Jataka Tale from India by Jan Thornhill.  It's still in publication.  We checked it out of our local library.

There's lots of repetition and brightly colored illustrations which will instantly engage the very young child.  But don't let Jan Thornhill's beautiful and simple retelling of the story deceive you.  Here we have another Jataka Tale with an important lesson that can easily be overlooked as a story exclusively for little children.  

The heroin (or should we say hare-oin) of the story is a worrywort.  She allows her anxiety to take her away from reality without ever looking back.  Her fears quickly spread to other creatures until a stampede of thousands is running without anyone stopping to question her words.

In the end, it's a young and wise lion who settles things down by simply investigating what he hears.  

We took turns reading the story aloud before discussing the following questions:

What are some modern day examples of how we sometimes act like the hare?  

• We talked about rumors at school... making assumptions about people out of fear or ignorance... 
• The abuse of Muslims in Sri Lanka and Myanmar from Buddhists who have become so afraid of another religion overpowering theirs, that they voluntarily lay the teachings of the Buddha down to engage in acts of hate and violence... 
• We talked about Black Friday shoppers, so concerned about getting a bargain that they neglect manners and special time with their families....
• One kid was reminded of the people in New York freaking out when they tuned in late to the War of the World broadcast...

Why is it so dangerous to let our minds be consumed by fear?

• The kids mentioned that it can cause us to make assumptions that aren't true.  
• It can make us forget what's important.  
• It can make it hard for us to see reality.  
• It can endanger ourselves and others.

How can we turn off the anxious thoughts in our mind?

• We talked about meditation, especially focusing on our breath.  This brings us into the present moment rather than what might happen in the future.  Meditation helps us discipline our minds.
• I also reminded the kids about the Eight Fold Path that Buddha shared with us.  By staying on this path, we are less likely to let our imaginations and emotions carry us away.

In many Jataka Tales, the Buddha is one of the characters.  Who is the Buddha in this story?

How does he speak to them?  

How does this story mirror the Buddha's teachings for us?

• Of course, the Lion is the Buddha in this story.
• He calms the creatures, investigates, and brings them to reality.
• He corrects them kindly.  He is not harsh with the creatures.  His concern is their well-being and he speaks to them with compassion and understanding.
• The Buddha's teachings help us to see things as they really are.

It made me happy to hear one of my students mention that she is very fearful at night and planned to start trying to meditate before she goes to sleep from now on.

With younger children the message can be simplified to one thought:  Don't let your fears carry you away.  This story also lends itself well to a little play.  My youngest students love acting out stories.  Simple paper headbands with different animal ears are all that's needed.  Like all stories from the Buddha, as the children grow older this story will take on deeper meanings. 

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

The Black Bull: Treating and Speaking to Others With Kindness

"Treat others with kindness and your deeds will be rewarded."

This lesson can be shared with children of any age.

Buddha Stories by Demi beautifully illustrates 11 Jataka Tales. Most local libraries have a copy to lend.  It can also be purchased from bookstores in the US.  I pulled this week's story from these sweet pages.

The black bull is dearly loved by its master.  As a calf it was given the name Beauty.  In an attempt to repay his master for his kindness, Beauty persuades him to enter a bull race with a handsome reward for first place.

Beauty is startled and heartbroken at the start of the race when his master whips him and shouts curses upon him.  Shocked by his master's behavior, Beauty loses the race and costs his master a great deal of money.

It is only when both Beauty and his master remember the importance of kind actions and words that they are reconciled and richly rewarded.

Here are some questions I asked the youngest children as we read along:

1.) How did the master feel about Beauty before the contest?

2.) What did the master do to Beauty to try to make him go fast in the race?

3.) Why didn't Beauty win the race?

4.) What did Beauty ask the master to do at the next race?

5.) What happened when the master kindly asked Beauty to race fast?

The older children used the following questions for discussion after the story:

1.) Have you ever had someone tell you to do something in a rude way?
How did it make you feel?

2.) Have you ever asked someone to do something in an angry way?
Did they comply with your request?

3.) How does speaking kindly during conflict help both ourselves and the people with whom we disagree?

4.) How can using Beauty's tactic help us resolve quarrels with our siblings?  friends? teachers? parents?
(We then created some hypothetical conflicts and discussed the best way to speak to those involved.)

After our discussion, we decided to make simple duct tape bracelets to help us remember throughout the week to speak and act kindly.   We folded duct tape over twice longway.  Then using dark fabric markers, the kids chose their own words to write on the tape.  Some decorated their words with stripes and flowers.  Others kept it very simple.  I hot glued the ends with a thin strip of velcro to make them easy to put on and take off.

Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone with me so the pictures are not great.

It's nice to close this lesson with a brief Loving Kindness Meditation.  Invite the children to sit comfortably, close their eyes, and focus on their breathing.  Then guide them in these thoughts:

May I be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my parents be well ,happy and peaceful.

May my teachers be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my family be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my friends be well, happy, and peaceful.

May those who are unkind to me be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all living beings be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all living beings be freed from suffering by the power of Triple Gem.

The Courageous Captain: Trusting in Our Actions, Not Superstitions

This lesson can be shared with all ages.

Sometimes Jataka Tales are reserved for our youngest children.  Why?  The Buddha used them to convey important morals and truths to his followers.  Most of them were adults.  My older students always gobble up these lessons, even when I use books clearly intended for younger readers.

Before they can roll their eyes and say, "OMG, this is a baby story," I call myself out for using it.  "Obviously this book is intended for younger readers," I'll say, "but I learned so much from it when I was working on it for the little kids, that I knew y'all would appreciate too."  And they do.

We used a book titled, Courageous Captain, A Jataka Tale.  You can find it here.

Before we read the story, I invited the kids to share any superstitions they knew.
Their list included things like:
     A black cat crossing your path
     Athletes spitting on bats or wearing the same socks
     Breaking a mirror means 7 years bad luck
     Carrying a lucky rabbit's foot
    Women on a Pirate ship was bad luck...

Then I asked, "When we trust in superstitions, do we keep control of our fate?"

I wanted the kids to come away from this lesson knowing that we must rely on our actions, not our luck if we want to be successful.

After the story I asked the following questions:

1.) Why did the captain want Supuraga on board?
2.) Did they listen to his wisdom, or just rely on the good luck his presence would bring?
3.) What made Supuraga such a good navigator?
   (his presence, or his skills, wisdom, insight, etc...)
4.) When the crew trusted in Supuraga as a good luck charm where did their ship travel?
  (closer to danger)
5.) When they trusted his words and acted upon them, what happened?
 (they took control of their ship and gained treasures)
6.) How is this similar to the Buddha?
7.) Does keeping a Buddha statue or picture nearby keep us safe and protect us?
8.) Why do we keep statues of the Buddha around?
9.)When will we find refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha?
 (When we follow his teachings)

After the discussion I had a small pasting activity for the younger children to do.  It tickled me that the older kids wanted to make this too.  Thankfully I had enough supplies for everyone.

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