A Musician and His Trumpet: A Story from India
From Long Ago and Many Lands
In order to answer the soldier’s question, Kassapa told this story.
In olden times a certain musician, carrying his trumpet under his arm, stopped to rest on a bench in the market place of a small village. He laid his trumpet down on the ground beside him. Nobody else seemed to be anywhere around, for all the villagers were at home having supper.
Being lonely, the musician picked up his trumpet and began to play. He blew it three times, and then set it on the ground again beside him.
When the villagers heard the trumpet blowing, they were puzzled, for none of them had ever seen or heard a trumpet before. They said to one another:
“What is it that is making that charming and delightful sound?”
They rushed out of their houses and gathered in the market place. There they found the musician. They asked him :
“Sir, what was it that made that charming and delightful sound?”
“Friends, it was this trumpet that you see lying on the ground here beside me that made that sound.”
One of the villagers then picked up the strange instrument which had been called a trumpet. He looked it all over. He put it down on the ground again so that it stood up on its large round end. He called to it:
“Speak, O Trumpet! Speak, O Trumpet!” But the trumpet did not make a sound. Another villager turned the trumpet over and put it down on its side. He also called:
“Speak, O Trumpet! Speak, O Trumpet!” But the trumpet did not make a sound. Another man put the trumpet down on its other side and spoke to it. Another shook it this way and that way and called. The crowd began calling too:
“Speak, O Trumpet! Speak, O Trumpet!”
But no! The trumpet did not make a sound! The trumpeter smiled and thought to himself:
“How foolish these villagers are! How can they hope to hear the sound of the trumpet by trying other ways to play it than the right way?”
Finally, with the villagers watching him, the musician picked up the trumpet and again blew it three times. After this he walked off with the trumpet under his arm, and disappeared down the path.
The villagers were left to think things through for themselves. Everyone began talking at once. Finally, they agreed on the right answer to their puzzling. This is the way one of the men explained it:
“When the trumpet was connected with a person who blew his breath into it, it made a sound! But when the trumpet was not connected with a person and no breath was blown into it, then the trumpet made no sound at all.”
Kassapa then turned to the soldier and said:
“It is precisely so with us and our bodies. When the body is not connected with Life then it can not walk forward or walk backward. It can not stand or sit or lie down. Then, too, it can not see things with its eyes, or smell things with its nose, or taste flavors with its tongue, or touch things with its hands. Then it can not understand with its mind. We say the person is dead.
Conversation and Story for Sabbath
Tell the children,"The Sabbath is a very old Jewish celebration. Long, long ago, when the Jewish people worked hard for many hours everyday planting in the fields and caring for their farm animals, the seventh day of the week was set aside so they could rest from their work and worship their god. For the Jews, the seventh day was their day of worship and they called it Shabbat. Do you know what day of the week Jewish people worship’" Pause for answers and comments.
Continue by saying, "Yes, the Jewish Shabbat began at sundown on Friday and ended at sun-down on Saturday. Today Jews celebrate Shabbat in many different ways. Some customs include setting the Friday evening Shabbat table in the home with the best dishes, with wine, with sweet braided bread called challot and with candle-sticks. A blessing, or special words, is spoken to mark this time as holy before the meal is eaten.On Shabbat morning, the family attends services in the synagogue. On Saturday evening a special blessing is said thanking God for the Sabbath and a new week has started.
"But others observe Sunday as their Sabbath,their day to rest and worship their god. Who are these people! What is their religion called?" Pause and invite responses.
Introduce the story, The Creation. Say, "Making the seventh day of the week a day of rest and worship comes from an old, old story of how the world was made. We think that when this story says a ‘day,’ it is really talking about a long period of time–maybe even thousands and thousands of years! This is the story."
Read the story, The Creation.
What do UUs believe?
Borrow the following Dr. Seuss books from your local library. Discuss UU values and principles as they appear in the stories.
Horton Hears a Who
Lesson/UU value: Every person counts, every person has the same rights. Cooperation gets things done.
Questions for discussion:
Did you ever have someone give you a hard time because you were smaller than that person?
Did you ever have to help someone who is smaller than you?
Have you ever accomplished something big because you cooperated with someone else?
The Sneetches
Lesson/UU value: Everyone is valuable; our differences are valuable. Be yourself. Don’t try to change to copy others—it won’t work.
Questions for discussion:
What made Star-Belly Sneetches better than Plain-Belly Sneetches? (Only their belief that it was so.)
Imagine a situation in which people think peole with curly hari are better than those with straight hair. How would you feel if you had straight hair? Would you really be different if you got a perm?
Is trying to look like other peole a good way to get along with them and make them like you?
What is a good way to be a friend? What do you like about your friends?
The Lorax
Lesson/UU value: We are all responsible for caring for the environment. We are part of an interdependent web of all existence.
Questions for discussion:
Why did the Lorax leave a pile of rocks with the world “Unless?” What can be done? What do you do to help take care of the world we live in?
Discussion Questions
The Fall of Freddy the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia
• How does Freddie know that summer is coming to an end?
• How do the leaves feel as the wind begins to tug at their stems?
• Why do you think Freddie doesn’t get scared when spring passes into summer, or summer into
fall?
• How do you feel when Daniel lets go?
• When you look at the pictures in this book, what signs indicate that the seasons are changing?
• What happens to the leaves once they fall to the ground?
• What is the meaning of the last two words of the story?
• How does this story relate to the UU principle that says "We need to take care of the earth, the
home we share with all living things"?
Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
• People have at least one thing in common with any living object. What is it?
• What do we call the period between birth and death?
• Why is the lifetime of a bird different from the lifetime of a tree?
• What else affects how long something or somebody will live?
• What happens when an insect dies? A field mouse? A family pet?
• How does this story relate to the UU principle that says "We need to take care of the earth, the
home we share with all living things"?
Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles
• What does the Grandmother mean by "I will go to Mother Earth."
• How does she know this?
• How does Annie feel about her grandmother’s death?
• Why doesn’t she talk to her grandmother or mother about this?
• What does she do to prevent her grandmother’s death?
• What eventually happens?
• How does this conversation help Annie to accept her grandmother’s death?
Background for "Being with God in Prayer"
All people need to communicate, with someone or something beyond themselves about their joys and their woes. For some, communication with other people, or even with animals, is enough. However, many people feel the need to express their deepest thoughts and concerns to that which is the source of all, to God, and they need to feel that God hears them and responds. There are many ways in which such communication can be expressed: through worshipful viewing of God and Goddess sculptures as the Hindus do in their worship; through the inner or spiritual eye as the mystics do; through silence as the Quakers and Buddhists do; through dreams; through body movements; and through words. All of these can be forms for prayer.
There is a great variety of types and methods of prayer in the world’s religions. In some religions, such as in many of the indigenous African religions, the God who created everything, becomes very distant and unavailable after creation is finished and people who wish to speak to a spiritual power, pray to the more familiar village Gods and Goddesses who care about them. In other religions, God is so powerful that it is dangerous for women and men to speak to God directly and it is necessary for there to be some kind of an intermediary such as a priest or priestess. Sometimes, one can only reach God through prescribed words, movements, or rituals. In other cases, however, humans are encouraged to speak directly from their hearts, in ordinary language, to God.
In some religions, it is believed that prayers are more pleasing to God or more effective if the one who is praying accompanies the words with certain body movements. In many religions, the one praying bows his or her head, sometimes accompanied by special placement of the hands. In Islam the faithful turn to face Mecca, kneel, and then lower their heads to the ground. Catholics enhance prayers by tracing the outline of a cross over their chests. At Shinto shrines, prayers are accompanied by hand clapping. Some Jews stand during prayers, rocking back and forth.
Many primary age children are likely to have experienced grace at a meal, a bedtime prayer, or a prayer in church though these prayers may not have been said on a regular basis. The idea that people can share thoughts and feelings with God, as well as with those who are close to them, may be appealing to many children. There are times when the people you are close to may not have the time to listen or, for a variety of reasons, they may not be an appropriate choice of a listener. It is comforting to know that there is a power that transcends ordinary relationships that is always available to listen and to respond.
Children can begin to understand "that power" as both greater than ourselves and yet also within us. The answer which comes to the girl in the story comes, not so much from a personified being as from within her own consciousness. It can be very helpful for children to learn to tap into a kind of "spiritual energy" which can provide support and encouragement. William James writes in The Varieties of Religious Experience, "the fundamental religious point is that in prayer, spiritual energy, which otherwise would slumber, does become active, and spiritual work of some kind is effected really." This kind of energy promotes the courage to overcome fears, as the girl in the story does.
At the same time, children, and all of us, should learn to avoid asking God to do something which is clearly impossible or which would only satisfy egotistical needs. They need experiences with prayers which express gratitude, concern for others, and otherwise promote spiritual growth. They, also, need to heed the advice offered by the grandmother in the story that the response to a prayer usually calls for listening, waiting, and being prepared for surprises; prayer does not guarantee instant gratification.
The importance of learning about prayer is supported by our Unitarian Universalist principle which encourages us to spiritual growth and by the source of direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life.
Who was Jesus? What is Easter?
& uu&me! by CLF
Goal:
To understand the meaning of Jesus’ message of love and to explore the meanings of the traditional story of Easter.
Preparation: Read Background for Who was Jesus?
Read Background for What is Easter?
Materials:
Copies of The Colors of Easter for each person
Crayons, including a black one
Paper clip
Activities:
Conversation and Hosanna Story
Read “The Origins of Easter”
Read and draw “The Colors of Easter”
Open Your Circle
What is Prejudice? Prejudice is a word that describes the way people sometimes feel toward other people. It is a liking or, more often, a dislike of one person over another without reason.
Prejudice gets started in a person for lots of different reasons, but usually it has to do with feelings that person has about himself or herself. In the story Mark and Paul, we met a boy, Mark,who felt good about himself and what he thought was right. He didn’t need to be a part of the group who teased Paul to feel good about himself. In fact, his strong and caring action led others to see their prejudice — their negative feelings about Paul — as unfair and hurtful.
Your circle grows.
When we are born the circle of people around us, the group we belong to, is very small. As we grow,this circle grows too. Some of that growing is like getting bigger feet — we have no control over it! But some of it we do have control over. At different points along the way we open our circle to let new and different people in, or we close it. It is when we close others out of our circle that prejudice has a chance to grow.
Keep Your Circle Open
In the story Mark and Paul, one way of thinking about what Mark did is that he "opened his circle" of friends to include someone who was different from himself. If your circle is closed it is easy to develop negative feelings for those outside it. You may feel afraid of them or confused by their behavior because you don’t know it very well. If you open your circle to include new and different people, it is very difficult for prejudice to grow.
Usually ideas about a person or group of people, which are not true, are used as reasons for the feeling of prejudice.These ideas are called stereotypes.
For example:
Blonds have more fun.
Black people are better at sports than White people.
Fill in the next page and see how your circle has grown already!!.
The Very Short Rule: A Story from Palestine
WHEN JESUS CAME INTO TOWN, someone who knew him was sure to pass the word around. A plan would be worked out for him to be at a certain place when evening came and the day’s work was done. Then men and women who had to work during the day could gather and listen to what Jesus had to say.
Sometimes they would find him in the house of a friend. And the number of people who would come might fill the whole house and the street outside, too. Other times they would follow Jesus to the lake. He and some of his fishermen friends would step into a boat. They would anchor it near the shore. The people would sit on the rocks and grass near by, and Jesus would stand up in the boat and talk to everybody.
Often they would go home after listening to Jesus, and they would remember just one little story or one short sentence that Jesus had said. But that little bit they remembered a long, long time, because somehow they liked to remember it.
Sometimes there were men and women who listened to Jesus who were very much discouraged. Some were so poor they did not get enough to eat. Some had sick children to take care of at home. Some were old and crippled and always in pain. Some felt that nobody cared for them. They were always given the meanest jobs to do and they were always being scolded because they did not do them well enough.
There were others who felt it was scarcely worth while trying to be good at all. No one as ever pleased with what they did no matter how hard they tried.
These people went regularly once a week to the synagogue on the Sabbath. They heard the Bible read to them, but they could not remember all that they heard, so they did not do all that they were told they ought to do. They knew they were not praying as often as they were told to pray, but it was so hard to remember the words to say. They knew they were not giving as much as they were told to give to the synagogue, but they had so little to live on, how could they give more. They admitted that they did some work on the Sabbath while the teachers said they should never do any work at all on that day. But the hours in the week were not long enough to get everything done that had to be done to keep the children from starving.
Such people as these were naturally discouraged. They felt all the time that their teachers were not pleased with them. If their teachers were not pleased, then probably God was not pleased either. This thought made them feel even more discouraged.
One day as Jesus was sitting in a boat and the people were squatting on the rocks along the shore, one of these discouraged men asked a question.
"I am a shepherd," he said. "I have to spend long hours in the open fields. When eating time comes, I cannot always find a brook where I can wash my hands before I eat. It is the rule, is it not, that a man should always wash his hands before eating? Do you think, Jesus, that I am a bad man because I have to eat my lunch without washing my hands?"
"Certainly not," said Jesus with a smile. "You are not a bad man simply because you eat without washing your hands when you are in the fields and cannot do so. Unwashed hands cannot make a person bad anyway. Goodness and badness are inside of you, not in your skin." Then another man spoke up and asked another question.
"There are many of us here, Jesus, who have never learned to read. We have not gone to school. We have not been able to study the laws in the Bible. We can’t remember all the laws the preachers in the synagogue tell us about. There seem to be hundreds of laws the preachers say we must follow if we want to please God. But we simply cannot remember them all. Do you think, Jesus, that we are bad because we can’t remember all the laws? Our other teachers seem to think we are no good just because we don’t know much." Then Jesus could encourage these people. He would say:
"For many years, our teachers have been adding more and more laws to the ones that are in the Bible. They have meant to help us but what they have really done is to make living a good life so hard that none of us can be counted good.
"I say to you, friends, that being good is not just obeying a large number of rules. You could obey every single one of the rules the teachers have made, and still not be really good. Whether one is good or not depends on how one feels inside in one’s heart. Do you feel hateful or loving toward others? Do you feel angry or patient with the person who hurts you? Those are the things that count."
"That kind of talk sounds good, Jesus," said a man who had been busy all day long hauling stones for building a road. "But I wish you would tell us in just one sentence what is most important so that we can’t forget." Jesus smiled at this and said:
"Your wish reminds me of what someone once said to Hillel, that great teacher of ours of whom you all have heard. The story is told of how a man one day said to Hillel: ‘Tell me, Master, what all the laws put together mean and tell me so simply that I can hear it all while I stand on one foot.’ " At this everyone laughed.
"Hillel gave the man a very good answer and a very short one," said Jesus. "Hillel said: ‘Never do to anyone else the kind of thing that is hateful to you. This is all the laws put together. All the rest is just an explanation of that one short rule.’ " Then Jesus added his own thought.
"I would say this rule in just a little different way. I would say it this way. Do those things to others that you would like to have others do to you."
"That’s a good rule," said the workman who had asked the question. "I could have stood on one foot easily while you said that."
Do all UUs believe the same thing?
Goal:
To become aware that Unitarian Universalists treasure each person’s special way of looking at things.
Activities:
1. Doodles: Make enough copies of the doodles from these pages (Doodle 1, Doodle 2, Doodle 3, Doodle 4) so each person has a copy. Ask everyone to make a picture out of the scribble. After you complete them all, share your drawings. Talk about how the same scribble suggested different ideas to different people. Suggest another way of completing the picture that most would not have thought of because it is not part of the daily world.
2. Play The Big Picture Game (this is a large image)
3. Play “What in the world?” National Geographic website link: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/world/games/whatintheworld/0203/witw.html
Discussion:
Everyone has their own special view of the world. Your experiences, interests, tastes, and personality all influence how you see the world. Unitarian Universalists treasure this fact of life. We celebrate our differences. We believe the world is a better place because we each have a special way of looking at things. This goes for religion, too. Not all UUs believe the same thing, and we like it that way.
Does everything die?
Goal:
To help children see that change exists throughout nature.
To recognize that change represents the end of the way things were, and usually involves a loss of some kind.
To understand that change affects everybody, and is impossible to avoid.
Preparation:
Read the Develpmental information from Lessons of Loss
Find one or more of these three books in your local library or bookstore:
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by Leo Buscaglia
Lifetimes, by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
Annie and the Old One, by Miska Miles
Activities:
Read one or more of the stories.
Use discussion questions to engage in discussion about each story
