An Introduction to Buddhism (Guide Notes and Ideas for Teachers and Youth Leaders) Junior Level

An Introduction to Buddhism (Guide notes and ideas for teachers and youth leaders) Junior Level

The bead representing Buddhism is the orange one on the first rainbow of the double rainbow Peace Mala.

Peace Mala Double Rainbow bracelet

In your Peace Mala booklets you will find this message next to the Buddhist symbol.

ORANGE: This is for Buddhism.

Buddha Shakyamuni taught that we should be mindful of our thoughts, words and actions and show loving kindness to everyone. All beings by nature are one.

Peace message: I will act towards others exactly as I would act towards myself.

Place a Buddha rupa or a picture of the Buddha on a table.

Does anyone know who this is?

When did he live?

Where did he live?

Why is he called „The Buddha‟?

What is a Buddha?

What do we know about Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya clan?

So, how did Prince Siddhartha become „The Buddha‟?

At this point the teacher or youth leader should tell or read the story of the Buddha. There are several good books around on the life of the Buddha. A film like „Little Buddha‟ by Bernardo Bertolucci is also an excellent way of introducing Buddhism.

Pupils from St Helen’s Primary School in their Peace Garden inspired by the Peace Mala project Photo by Dalleen Jones

What makes us happy?

Why did Prince Siddhartha leave all his great wealth and luxurious lifestyle behind?

What had he seen that disturbed him? (Old age, sickness and death)

Do these things disturb us?

Are we afraid of getting old, of becoming ill and of dying?

Remember that Prince Siddhartha was brought up in the Hindu faith so his beliefs about life and death were influenced by this.

Prince Siddhartha knew about reincarnation and the law of karma. Let‟s find out what this means.

For Discussion

What is reincarnation?

Have you ever wondered if you‟ve lived before?

Perhaps you‟ve had a feeling that something you are experiencing has happened before?

Or it could be a place that you know you have not visited before but somehow you recognise where you are.

Perhaps it feels as if you have been to this place or in this situation before.

This experience is quite common and is called ‘Déjà vu’, meaning „already seen‟ in French. This feeling usually comes with a sense of „eeriness‟ or the „unexplained‟.

Old age Rebirth or reincarnation Reincarnation or Rebirth

These are not exactly the same and mean different things to Hindus and Buddhists

Life Birth

We will have many experiences in our lives – some happy and some not.

What is the law of karma?

Practical demonstration: use a pack of dominoes and stand them on end. Ask the children what will happen if you knock the one at the end – then do it!

Explain the law of cause and effect.

For Discussion

Do you think the law of Karma makes sense?

Is it fair?

What did Prince Siddhartha do?

Prince Siddhartha wanted to find out why we suffer.

He wanted to know if there was any way that the cycle of rebirth could be broken.

In order to find out, he left the palace and began his great quest.

As Prince Siddhartha was brought up in the Hindu faith, he was familiar with the belief in reincarnation. Hindus believe that the soul moves from one being to another after death. In other words, we are born, we live, we die and then we are reborn again for many, many lifetimes until we are pure enough to return to Brahman (The Great Soul of everything in and beyond this Universe or what some people call „God‟)

Prince Siddhartha wanted to know if it was possible to break this cycle of rebirth and not return to life with its suffering on this earth.

Did Prince Siddhartha find out the answer to his question?

Buddhists believe that Prince Siddhartha did find the answer, but not straight away. It took him a long time and he made lots of mistakes.

Prince Siddhartha and the ascetics

To begin with, Prince Siddhartha joined the ascetics. These were Hindu holy men who gave up everything. They believed that if you lived a strict life without pleasure or comfort, you would eventually discover the truth about life. Men like this still exist today and can be seen in countries like India and Nepal. They are strange to look at because they are often almost or completely naked and do not cut their hair or shave.

Prince Siddhartha spent many years fasting and praying in the forest with a group of men like this. He often fasted (went without food) and prayed for hours. Some people claim that he slept on thorns, ate mud and tried to live on no more than a grain of rice a day.

For Discussion

Do you think this worked? Give reasons for your answer.

One day, Prince Siddhartha heard a music teacher talking to his pupil. He said, “If the strings are too tight, they will break and not play. If they are too slack, they will not play either.”

Is this true?

Does anyone here play a stringed musical instrument like a violin or a guitar?

Suddenly, Prince Siddhartha realised he had been wasting his time. His former life of luxury as a prince did not give him true happiness or the answer to his question. Neither did his extremely strict life as an ascetic. In fact, the lifestyle of an ascetic made him very ill and he nearly starved himself to death!

After listening to the music teacher, Prince Siddhartha now knew that the answer to his question must be somewhere between the two extremes. Later on, he called this „The Middle Way‟.

As soon as Prince Siddhartha realised this, he decided to give up being an ascetic. He went to the river and met a village girl who gave him a drink and some food. The other ascetics were disgusted with Prince Siddhartha and said that he was no better than a traitor to his spiritual path.

Why did the ascetics call Prince Siddhartha a traitor?

What did they think he was betraying?

How Prince Siddhartha became ‘The Buddha’

After Prince Siddhartha left the ascetics, he went to a place called Bodh Gaya. There, he sat under a bodhi tree and started to meditate. He believed that if he meditated for long enough, he would find the answer to all his questions. It is claimed that Prince Siddhartha meditated for 49 days and 49 nights.

For Discussion

Has anyone tried to meditate?

Is it easy? Why not? What usually happens when we try? (Often, lots of thoughts keep popping into our minds or we become drowsy and fall asleep).

Let’s try some meditation

Sit with a straight back. You can use a chair or a cushion. Make sure you are comfortable. Remove your shoes if possible. Close your eyes and take in three deep breaths to relax your body. Now concentrate on how your breath comes in and out of your nose. Notice that as the air comes in, it is cold. When you breathe out, the air is warm. Notice how this feels at the tip of your nose.

Now try to count your breaths, each time you exhale, from one up to ten. If a thought comes into your mind do not worry, just let it go. Do not follow it. Imagine that your thoughts are like clouds passing in the sky. When you reach ten, count your breaths backwards until you reach one.

Try this for a few minutes. Discuss how easy or difficult it was.

Prince Siddhartha also found it difficult to meditate. He did not fall asleep, but many visions appeared in his mind. He believed that a devil called Mara was trying to stop him from finding out the answer to his question. Mara was trying to prevent him from finding out the truth.

Mara sent four visions to try and break Prince Siddhartha‟s meditation.

Vision One Three beautiful girls appeared to distract Prince Siddhartha. They were the daughters of Mara and represented lust, ignorance and greed. Prince Siddhartha ignored them and kept meditating.

Vision Two Then Mara sent a terrifying storm that surrounded Prince Siddhartha. He ignored it and it went away.

Vision Three Next Mara sent a great army of demon warriors to attack Prince Siddhartha. He ignored them and they disappeared.

Vision Four Finally Mara appeared as an image of Prince Siddhartha himself. He was not fooled by this. Prince Siddhartha ignored it and Mara finally gave up.

As Prince Siddhartha continued to meditate, he learned about his former lives and came to understand why we suffer.

Finally he found out that it was possible to be free of suffering. When he realised this, he knew he had discovered the truth. He was fully awake. It was as if all the lights had suddenly been switched on. He was no longer in darkness or gripped by fear.

Now Prince Siddhartha was fully „enlightened‟. He had become „The Buddha‟ – the awakened one. Now he could see everything clearly. Finally he knew the truth. He touched the earth as his witness.

Statue of Prince Siddhartha, as the Buddha, showing him touching the earth as his witness

Shakyamuni Buddha (which is what Prince Siddhartha came to be known as) is called „The Buddha of this Age‟. There were other Buddhas before him and there will be others to follow in the future.

What is a Buddha?

Can anyone become a Buddha?

What did Prince Siddhartha find out?

If we have this answer and follow his example, do you think we can also become a Buddha?

After he had gained enlightenment, the Buddha started to teach others what he had discovered. This teaching is called the dharma.

The first thing he taught is called The Four Noble Truths. Buddha said

1 Human life has much suffering. Everyone is born, gets ill, and if we live long enough we get old. Death is certain for all of us. All of these experiences are painful.

2 This suffering is caused by greed because most people are never happy with what they have and always want more.

3 It is possible to find an end to this suffering if we learn to let go of desire or self-grasping. Being able to achieve this is called „non- attachment‟.

4 The way to end suffering and learn non-attachment is to follow Buddha‟s teaching called the Middle Way.

For Discussion

Do you think Buddha‟s explanation of suffering was correct? Give reasons for your answer.

Many Buddhist also call this the Noble Eightfold Path because the Buddha taught that there are eight steps on the path leading to enlightenment.

The eight steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are:

1 Right understanding – firstly we need to understand the Buddha‟s teaching

2 Right attitude – our thinking must be clear and positive.

3 Right speech – we must speak wisely and truthfully and not tell lies.

4 Right action – when we do something good, we should do so for its own sake and not in order to gain a reward or praise.

5 Right work – when we get a job it should not involve anything which causes harm to other beings, including animals.

6 Right effort – we must always try to do good deeds and not bad ones.

7 Right mindfulness – we should always think before we say or do something.

8 Right meditation – we should learn to develop a calm and happy mind. This will bring us great inner peace and an ability to cope with all of life‟s stressful situations.

The Eightfold Path is represented in the Buddhist symbol which is a wheel with eight spokes.

What do you think of Buddha‟s Eightfold Path?

Do you think that by following them you would have a better and happier life?

What is a Buddha?

Do you think that following the Eightfold Path would help you to become a Buddha?

Lotus flowers are often used to symbolise our ability to become a Buddha because they grow out of the mud at the bottom of a pond and manage to reach above the water to the sunlight.

Most people who follow the Buddhist path have a small shrine in their home. This place is kept clean and separate from everything else. Buddhists use the area in front of the shrine to meditate and chant mantras (something like prayers).

The photo above is of a small Buddhist shrine that has Tibetan influence. On it you will notice a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni placed in the centre of the top shelf. Next to it are statues of other Buddhas of the Tibetan tradition.

In front of each Buddha statue there is a lit candle. On the lower shelf you will also notice offerings of water, light, food and incense.

On the extreme right hand side of the top shelf of the photo of the shrine there is a small stupa. A stupa is an architectural representation of Buddha Shakyamuni meditating on a lion‟s throne. Each part of the stupa also has a symbolic meaning.

 the moon represents the end of all suffering  the sun symbolises a thousand lights of compassion  the jewel at the top represents fulfilling your wishes  the lion throne represents power over the universe  the harmika represents the Eight-fold Path to Enlightenment

Stupas can be massive. Some are the size of buildings. The one placed on this shrine is a miniature version. Stupas were built after the historical Buddha died. They were built to mark the great deeds he performed and to hold his relics. Stupas are said to promote peace, a long life, good health and harmony. You will find lots of them in Buddhist countries like Tibet, Thailand and parts of Nepal and India.

This is a very famous stupa found in Bodnath near Kathmandu in Nepal. Notice that the „all seeing eyes‟ of the Buddha have been painted on the stupa. Also notice that Tibetan prayer flags have been hung from the top of the stupa. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the prayer flags carry blessings in all the directions that the wind blows. Mantras, prayers and images are woodblock printed onto the flags.

Tibetan prayer flags

Copyright©Pam Evans 2007 www.peacemala.org.uk 19 The prayer flags come in sets of five different colours. These colours are important. They represent the five elements and are always hung from left to right.

First colour is blue – this symbolizes the sky and space.

Second colour is white – this symbolizes water

Third colour is red – this symbolizes fire

Fourth colour is green – this symbolizes wind and air

Fifth colour is yellow – this symbolizes earth

Prayer flags are flown on stupas, temples, houses and mountain passes. It is considered auspicious to hang them in the northern corner of a building or garden. Tibetan Buddhists say the best time to put up prayer flags is in the mornings on sunny, windy days. Mondays are especially good. Offering prayers are also made when the flags are put in place. The prayers ask that all beings be blessed and free from suffering.

Some people believe that prayer flags were first used in the Bon religion; the original religion of Tibet. Yungdrung Bon is represented on the final red bead of the Peace Mala bracelet.

A very powerful and much loved Tibetan mantra that you can learn and chant is

Om Mani Padme Hum

Copyright©Pam Evans 2007 www.peacemala.org.uk 20 When translated into English, this mantra means, “The jewel of compassion is in the heart‟s lotus.” „Om Mani Padme Hum‟ is the mantra of Chenrezi, the Buddha of Compassion in the Tibetan tradition. The mantra reminds each one of us that everything is possible when our hearts and minds are united in love for all living beings. Tibetan Buddhists will chant or sing this mantra as many times as possible. It is found carved into large temple prayer wheels and „Mani‟ stones. It is also printed on prayer flags and onto small scrolls placed inside hand prayer wheels.

Temple prayer wheel

Hand prayer wheel

Buddha Chenrezi

The Dalai Lama is probably the most famous Buddhist in the world. He is believed by Tibetans to be a human manifestation of Chenrezi, the Buddha of Compassion.

Go to the Peace Mala website and find out how the Dalai Lama is linked to Peace Mala: www.peacemala.org.uk

His Holiness The Dalai Lama of Tibet

The Dalai Lama often uses this simple prayer: “May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.”

Buddhists of all traditions throughout the world would agree with the message of this prayer.

When people have asked the Dalai Lama what is religion is he often answers, “Loving kindness.” The Dalai Lama also describes himself as a Buddhist monk.

Many people who are not Buddhists respect the teachings of the Buddha.

The Buddha left the world many wonderful teachings. Being kind to each other, the environment and all living beings is one of them.