The Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths were the essence of Buddha’s first sermon after his enlightenment. These truths are the following:
I. Everything and everyone in existence suffers.
II. Suffering is caused by selfishness, greed, and desire.
III. Selfishness, greed, and desire can be stopped.
IV. They can be stopped by following eight steps:
1. Believe only what is true, or right belief.
2. Live in a loving, nonviolent way, or right purpose.
3. Learn to speak well to others, or right speech.
4. Treat yourself well but do not overindulge, or right conduct.
5. Choose a good vocation, or right vocation.
6. Be alert and sensitive about life, or right effort.
7. Train your mind to think clearly, or right thought.
8. Meditate regularly on the meaning of life, or right meditation.
The Buddha taught that one should avoid extremes of human behavior. The Four Noble Truths, he taught, can help one avoid extremes and have a meaningful life.
Stefania’s Story
Explain that the story is about a girl the children’s age who had a hard decision to make. Then read or tell the following story.
Back in the early days of this century, a young schoolgirl and her family moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to a small town in the same province. Her name was Stefania. Her father had bought a general store in the town and sold groceries and candy, buttons and boots, paint and hammers, and all manner of useful and interesting things. He and Stefania’s mother and her brothers and sisters were considered important people in the town because of the store.
It was summer when the family moved to the town. Stefania found it easy to make new friends in her neighborhood. For one thing, she was a friendly person. For another there was the store with the bins of cookies and the penny candy in the glass case, and she was allowed to treat her friends when they came to the store with her.
When September came and it was time for school to start, Stefania did not feel like a new pupil at all, for she already had friends who would be at school with her, and she looked forward to making new ones. She also looked forward to going to the little Unitarian church on the edge of town. It had been closed all summer. Her family had been members of the Icelandic Unitarian Church in Winnipeg and Stefania had gone to Sunday school.
At recess on the first day of school all the pupils went outside to play. Soon they were busy with their games and Stefania was finding new friends. In a little while, though, she noticed a girl about her age in a dress that looked like a hand-me-down standing apart from all the others, not joining in the games.
"Why doesn’t that girl over there play with us?" she asked. "Oh, we couldn’t play with her," someone said. "She’s a Unitarian." It didn’t take Stefania even a second to decide what to do. "Then you can’t play with me either," she said, "for I’m a Unitarian too." And she walked away from the group and introduced herself to the other girl.
This is a true story. It happened at a time when some people didn’t like Unitarians because Unitarians believe that the search for truth is important in religion and don’t believe that Jesus was a God. Some people didn’t like Universalists because Universalists believe that love toward others is the most important part of religion and don’t believe that anyone will go to hell forever. It was sometimes very hard to be a Unitarian or a Universalist.
Bible Pictionary Background and Instructions
When I was growing up, the Bible was a big part of my religious indoctrination. I know my kids need to learn about the Bible it’s so much a part of the world. But getting back into it pushes so many of my buttons — it’s just too confusing. Sound familiar? The Bible is one of those "difficult topics" for many UU parents. We want our children to know the classic stories and famous quotes of the Bible but are unsure how to teach them and, in some cases, unsure why it is important. This hesitancy is understandable.
Many UUs who come from faith traditions in which the Bible is considered the "word of God" — the only religious authority — fear any Bible instruction as potential indoctrination. I have often found the old Universalist image of the Bible-as-a-gold-mine helpful in thinking about Bible study. As you dig for the gold, you find a lot of stuff you want to reject, some you want to save and decide about later, and some you know is the real thing.
We need to teach our children to be Bible gold-miners, for there is much in the Bible that speaks to our UU faith. After all, liberal religion evolved from traditional Christianity.
Many UU precepts and values are stated in the Bible. Knowing where and how to find these spiritual and religious gems reinforces the values and helps children converse intelligently in our Judeo/Christian-dominant culture. You can start introducing the Bible when your children are young by reading from either a children’s Bible or a collection of Bible stories.
Timeless Themes and The Life and Teachings of Jesus are two good sources to borrow from the CLF Loan Library. The UUA Bookstore carries several different illustrated children’s Bibles. But to really become "Bible literate," children need to be familiar with the real thing. Being naturally curious about where things come from, children enjoy using their reading skills to look things up in the Bible–especially if it’s made into a game. Here’s an idea from UU educator Virginia Steele called Bible Pictionary. This summer, add this game to your family’s repertoire. It’s a lively, fun way to learn famous Biblical quotations. Reading in greater depth may naturally follow. Here’s how to play.
Bible Pictionary Materials:
Bible Cards with Biblical quotes —cut from this page or make your own–placed in a basket or "grab bag"
Pencils, crayons or markers
Timer (optional)
Object: To get your teammates to guess within one minute the word you are drawing (or untimed if you prefer) and to then locate the Bible passage in which the word is found.
How to Play:
Divide your family into two teams. Taking turns, one person from each team picks a quote from the basket and tries to get his/her teammates to guess the key word (the one in capital letters) by drawing pictures.
After the keyword is identified, the drawer looks up the quote in the Bible and reads the whole passage aloud. (e.g.: BREAD "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 5:24, is found in the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 24.)
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Goal: To experience, as a family, the Jewish Passover ritual of asking questions to gain a UU understanding of Easter.
Materials: “A Spring Haggadah,” by Joan Goodwin
Was Jesus really born on Christmas?
Goal:
To place the story of the birth of Jesus in the context of other legends surrounding religious figures. To understand the story as a conglomeration of several references in the Bible.
Preparation:
Make copies of “What to look for in Jesus’ birth stories.”
Read “Background for Teachers”
Gather Bibles
Introduction:
UUs can enjoy the birth legend of Jesus at Christmas time without worrying about whether it is true or not. We realize that such stories as this one and those about the births of other great prophets cannot be scientifically true, yet many of us like to hear them. Why? Because the stories remind us that these great and good people were admired and loved and honored long ago as well as now. They are myths that may not be true on the outside, but are true on the inside, in our hearts.
Activities:
Read “The Birth of Jesus,” “The Birth of Buddha,” and “The Birth of Confucius.” Discuss some of the similarities and differences in the birth stories (ie: the angel, the elephant and the unicorn all announce the births and the presence of music in the sky). Talk about how people with imagination, coming from different countries, paint ideas differently. Each one introduces symbols that are meaningful to them. Help your kids see myths not as untruths but as imaginative responses to religious questions.
Find the story of Jesus’ birth in the 4 gospels in the New Testament: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Using the chart “What to look for in Jesus’ birth stories,” find the sources for each question in each of the 4 gospels. Notice similarities and differences. Which version are you most familiar with? You may also wish to see the Cheat Sheet.
What does it mean that “peace begins with me?”
Goal:
To develop awareness that there are things each of us can do to be peace makers in our world.
Materials:
Large poster board
Magazines for cutting out pictures
Blank paper and materials for drawing
Activity:
Make a Peace Poster
Procedures:
At the top of the poster write the words:
"Peace means taking care of ourselves, each other, and our earth”
Draw a circle in the middle of the poster board to represent the earth (color if you want). Then draw three lines out from the circle forming peace symbol on the poster board that divides it into thirds.
Write the words “OURSELVES,” “EACH OTHER,” and “OUR EARTH” around the edge of the circle in each of the three sections.
Using pictures (either photos or drawings) fill in each section with images of your family and friends, people taking care of each other, and people taking care of the earth.
Stress: Peacemaking begins with each individual—and that means you and me!
What does stereotype mean?
Goal:
To explore the concepts of prejudice and stereotyping and your family’s experience with them.
Definitions:
For this session define the terms as follows:
Prejudice: an unfavorable attitude toward or feeling about a person or group of people based on ignorance and/or misinformation.
Stereotype: a generalization about a group of people also based on ignorance and/or misinformation
Preparation:
Print the following statements on a large piece of paper:
All children are noisy.
I think people who wear glasses are dumb.
All African-Americans play basketball.
Everyone has a right to a free education.
No UUs believe in God.
I don’t like people who speak Spanish at home.
All old people are hard of hearing.
I don’t like people who are tall.
All adults are smart.
Activites:
Movement Game: Ask everyone to find a space in the room where they can stretch out their arms and legs without touching anything. Say something like: Our world is full of opposites like:wet—dry; little—big; hot—cold; old—young; night—day; short—tall; low—high. Can you think of more?
We’re going to play a game where we explore some of these pairs of opposites through the way we move our bodies. When I say a word, I want you to try it on like it was a piece of clothing. See how it fits you. The only rule is that you have to stay in one place, keep your feet where they are now all the time. We’ll start with huge. Let your body and your movements be as big as you can. (Pause for 5-10 seconds.) Now let your body and your movements get tiny, as small as you can. (Pause) Now let your body and your movements be all straight lines. (Pause) And now make curved lines. (Pause) Can you make your movements very loud? And now make them totally silent. Now, everyone explore moving like a boy. How do boys move? (Pause) Now switch and try moving like a girl. Now move like an old person. Now move like a teenager. Now move like a parent.
Did anyone make any discoveries while you were moving in different ways? (Be aware of movements that indicate prejudice or stereotyping about boys, girls, old people etc.)
True or False?
Read the list of statements you printed out above, ask your family to vote on whether they think the statement is true or false. When you’ve finished voting, discuss the statements with questions like:
What do most of these statements have in common?
How do statements like this make you feel?
Read the definitions of prejudice and stereotype. Then read each statement again and ask your family to say whether the statement is a statement of prejudice or a stereotype. (note that some are neither.)
Bible Pictionary Quotations
ALONE “Man does not live by bread alone.” Deuteronomy 8.5
ALIVE “Joseph my son is still alive.” Genesis 45.28
ANGEL “An angel of the Eternal appeared to them, and the glory of the Eternal shone around them.” Luke 2.9
ARK “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.” Genesis 6.14
COMMAND “This I command you, to love one another.” John 15.17
DAUGHTER “The daughter of Pharoah came down to bathe at the river.” Exodus 2.5
BEGINNING “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1.1
CROWN “…and does crown him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8.5
DRINK “The people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?” Exodus 15.24
BREAD “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 5.24
DESERT “He turns a desert into pools of water…” Psalm 107.35
EAT “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden.” Genesis 3.3
CHURCH “…how one ought to behave in the household of God,…the church of the living God.” Timothy 3.15
DEVIL “Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4.1
FEAST “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Eternal.” Exodus 12.14
DOVE “…he sent forth the dove out of the ark.” Genesis 8.8
FISH “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” Matthew 14.17
FREE “Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God.” Peter 2.16
FRIEND “A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17.17
GARDEN “The Eternal planted a garden in Eden.” Genesis 2.8
GIFT “You thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” Acts 8.20
GRAPES “You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7.16
HEART “He who has clean hands and a pure heart…he will receive a blessing from God.” Psalmm 24.4-5
HELP “For I, the Eternal your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you. ‘Fear not, I will help you.” Isaiah 41.14
HOME “Even the sparrow finds a home.” Psalm 84.3
HUNGRY “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.” Romans 12.20
JESUS “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Matthew 1.21
KING “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1.8
LOVE “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Leviticus 19.18
MONEY “The love of money is the root of all evils.” 1 Timothy 6.10
MOUNTAIN Then Moses went up on the mountain.” Exodus 24.15
NEIGHBOR “But he…said to Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?” Luke 10.29
NOISE “Make a joyful noise to the Eternal!” Psalm 100
POOR “Blessed is he who considers the poor!” Psalm 41.1
PRAYER “Hear my prayer, O God, and give ear to my cry.” Psalm 39.12
PARENTS “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.” Luke 2.41
PRISON “I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25.36
SING “Sing praises to God, sing praises!” Psalm 47.6
SHARE “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry?” Isaiah 58.7
STORM “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea.” Matthew 8.24
RAIN “…your Father who is in heaven…sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5.45
RIVER “and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Matthew 3.6
RICH “Thus says the Eternal: ‘Let not the rich man glory in his riches.” Jeremiah 9.23
TENT “So he (Abraham) build an alter there and called upon the name of the Eternal, and pitched his tent there.” Genesis 26.25
TOOTH “…it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil.” -Jesus Matthew 5.38
SEASON “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3.1
INHERIT “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5.5
SALT “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its tast, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Matthew 5.13
WORSHIP “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” -Jesus John 4.24
WORLD “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.” -Jesus Mathhew 5.14
FORGIVE “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” Luke 23.34
LAW “On these two commandments depend all the law and prophets.” Matthew 22.40
FAMINE “The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; and the seven years of famine began to come” Genesis 41.53
QUEEN “…and women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven…” Jeremiah 7.18
SHEEP “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Isaiah 53.6
SEA “Some went down to the sea in ships.” Psalm 107.23
SEED “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.” Matthew 13.24
Who are our enemies?
Goal:
To explore the meaning of “friend” and “enemy” and how it feels to be a friend, to have a friend, to be an enemy and to have and enemy.
Activity:
Read “My Friend the Monster”
Questions for discussion:
Why were Hal and Humbert enemies?
What made them friends?
Think about people who are really different from you. How are they different? How does this make you feel about them?
Discuss how often people feel afraid or hostile around people who are different from them. Try to help you child make this connection in his or her own life. How could you feel less afraid? How did Hal and Humbert overcome their fear and prejudice?
Think about the word enemy. Make a list of things you think an enemy does and is. If your child has ever had a personal “enemy,” talk about how that came to be. If not, use an example from the world today. Discuss: do you think there are “natural” enemies among human beings in the world? (Predators and prey might be considered natural enemies.) Or are enemies something we create? How does someone or some group become an enemy?
Jonah and the Large Fish
GOD SAID TO JONAH, "Go at once to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me." Jonah knew that if he gave the people of Nineveh God’s warning, they would beg for forgiveness. Jonah was also sure that they would be forgiven, since God was a merciful God. Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites and didn’t want them to be forgiven, so he took a ship to Tarshish, a town in the opposite direction from Nineveh, and the one farthest away.
While that ship was sailing to Tarshish, a terrible storm came up. The sailors were very afraid, and they threw all their cargo into the sea to lighten the ship in the water. Jonah, meanwhile, was fast asleep below deck.
The captain woke Jonah and begged him to call upon his God to keep them from dying. Then the sailors questioned him. "Where do you come from? Why are you here? When they found out that he was running away from his God, they cried, "What is this you have done? What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?"
Jonah answered, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you."
Still they tried to get back to land, but the storm got worse. Finally, they realized that they would have to throw Jonah into the sea if the rest of them were to be saved. So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. The sea stopped its raging, and the sailors were certain that God had caused the storm.
God then provided a large fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three nights and three days. Then Jonah prayed to God for deliverance; God spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.
Again, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this time Jonah went. The people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, and they begged God to forgive them. God heard their cries and was full of mercy for the Ninevites, just as Jonah knew God would be. Therefore they were forgiven. This made Jonah angry, but God finally convinced him that the people of Nineveh were worth saving.
