Hinduism
The origins of Hinduism date back to the third millennium B.C.E., establishing this faith as one of the world’s oldest major religions. Hinduism is a complex and diverse faith that has no uniform dogma or creed. One of the main Hindu world views describes each soul (Atman) as experiencing a series of life-journeys through unending cycles of time. Through these life-journeys, which include the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, the soul seeks to gain union with the Supreme Being (Brahman).
This cycle of reincarnation is called "Samsara:’ To gain union with Brahman, the Hindu must live an exemplary life of self-control, nonviolence, reverence for all living creatures, charity toward and tolerance of other humans, and devotion to rituaI and worship. This journey of spiritual ascent through Samsara requires attention to the following processes and principles:
Dharma
Accepting one’s station in each incarnation or life, as expressed through the caste system.
The caste system (varna) is the framework on which Hindu society has been built for many centuries. Though the Indian Parliament has outlawed caste discrimination and education is eroding some of its power, custom and tradition are so thoroughly ingrained in Indian life that change moves slowly and with great difficulty. Caste is less a foctor than it once was, yet it still pervades Hindu society and is most powerfuI in the many small villages where the majority of India’s population lives.
The four main castes were originally organized by occupation. These four have evolved into three thousand subcastes. The maincastes are as follows:
Brahmin: priests, teachers, seers
Kshatriyas: originally soldiers; now corporate directors,
administrators, office workers, and managers
Vaisyas: merchants, craftspeople, technicians
Sudras: factory workers, field hands, laborers
Outside of these divisions are the "outsiders/outcastes," once known as "untouchabies," Mahatma Gandhi called these people the Harijans or "people of God," They did-and in many cases still do-the work that other caste members would not do. Restrictions were so rigid-and often still are-that an "untouchable" was not allowed to walk on the same side of the street as a Brahmin. Never could they eat with or live in the same areas as members of the main castes.
Some historians claim that castes were not originally a part of the Hindu religion but were created to defend the position of the Aryan ruling class against both the indigenous population and later conquerors. Throughout recorded history, however, caste has been pervasive In the scriptures and customs of Hinduism.
Karma
Today’s actions bear on the future, or "one reaps what one sows."
Maya
This material world is really illusion. Yet it is in this world that each human being must seek to overcome his or her faults and weaknesses.
Moksha
Liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth through attainment of union with Brahman.
Hinduism is sometimes referred to as the "religion of thirty-three million gods and goddesses." Traditional Hindu beliefs describe many gods and goddesses who live in the Himalayas of northern India. These deities are not God as is Brahman, nor are they fully human though they enact all kinds of human experience. Indian literature includes many myths and legends detailing the origins of these deities and of the rituals, celebrations, and festivals relating to them that have become an important part of Hinduism over the centuries.
Even with all of these gods and goddesses, Brahman is clearly identified as "god" as Westerners understand this concept. Brahman is the Creator and the Creation, though always described in three personifications: Brahma (Creator); Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva (Destroyer)
For the Hindu, every aspect of daily life is an expression of religion. The separation of the secular and the sacred familiar to Westerners is unknown in Hinduism. The Hindu’s day begins in the morning with bathing according to prescribed rituals. The preparation, serving, and eating of meals are carried out in accordance with religious prescriptions. Most Hindu homes have a family shrine where the family’s chosen god or goddess is worshipped. Each day the family god/goddess must be bathed, given food, and decorated with fruits and flowers in preparation for the family worship.
Hindu religious practice includes many rituals, celebrations, and festivals, which occur regularly throughout the year. Many of these rituals focus on honoring the gods and goddesses. Hindu practice also involves rites of passage throughout childhood and adulthood that are important in Hindu life. These serve as constant reminders of the person’s duty as a devout Hindu, and they strengthen family ties and people’s sense of responsibility to one another.
Some of the better-known scriptures of Hinduism include the following: The Vedas, The Brahmanas, The Upanishods, and The Bhagavad-Gita. Passages from several of these scriptures will be used as resources during this unit.
MANTRAS
1. OmorAum
When chanting Om, draw the syllable out to the fullest extent of your breath until the "m" is a low, murmuring sound.
Om sounds like: Ooo ooo o o o mm mm m m . . .
Om or Aum is a sound that is believed to contain the energy of Brahman, the same energy that created the universe.
2. Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Om
(Phonetically: Shree rahm ji rahm ji ji rahm oo oo oo mm mm)
Accent the underlined syllables as you chant:
Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Om
Translation:
Sri: a title of honor
Ram: Lord
Jai: Hail!
Om: the expression of the whole of being, of the ultimate creative energy in the universe
READINGS FROM HINDU SCRIPTURES
From The Bhagavad-Gita
"On Self-Control"
If you have self-control
and move in the world
while restraining your senses,
you are free from attachment and hate,
and attain serenity of mind.
"The Yoga of Meditation"
For one who has conquered his self by the self, the Self is a friend; but for one who has not conquered the self, the Self becomes hostile like an enemy.
One who is impartial to friend, companion and foe, to those who are remote and neutral, to those who are hateful, to relatives, to good and evil men-excels.
From The Upanishads
KATHAI
Om…
May Brahman protect us,
May Brahman guide us,
May Brahman give us strength and right understanding.
May love and harmony be with us all.
Om . . . Peace. . . Peace. . . Peace.
SVETASVATARA XII
1. O Brahman Supreme!
Formless art thou, and yet
Though the reason none knows,
Thou bringest forth many forms;
Thou bringest them forth, and then
Withdrawest them to thyself.
Fill us with thought of thee!
2. Thou art the fire,
Thou art the sun,
Thou art the air,
Thou art the moon,
Thou art the starry firmament,
Thou art Brahman Supreme:
Thou art the waters-thou
The creator of all!
The Preacher, the Farmer, and the Little Church That Waited
As a boy growing up in England, John Murray dreaded Sundays.
His family, led by a stern father, rose at dawn each Sunday to spend the whole day praying and attending church. After church John’s father would quiz him on the sermon. If John couldn’t answer every question, his father would strike him with a cane, or box his ears.
Sunday was a time to sit and think about hell–a place where most people went after they died, and burned in flames forever and ever.
John’s parents believed in the Calvinist idea of God–that God decided whether a person would go to heaven or hell before that person was even born, and a person could do nothing to change this. Furthermore, only a certain few people were chosen to go to heaven. People thought that if you attended church a lot, and if you worked very hard, and if you were very good, and if you made a good living, it could mean that God had chosen you for heaven.That is why John’s father was so strict. John tried to please his father. At the age of six, he could read entire chapters of the Bible. He developed a talent for speaking and, as a teenager, he was often asked to preach in nearby churches.
When John was nineteen, he left for London and took a job at a cloth mill. But he was careful to attend church every evening and on Sunday, and he woke every morning at 4:00 to pray. He began to think that maybe he was one of the special few persons chosen by God to be saved. He started to feel and act superior to others.
Then one day in church John met Eliza, the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. He immediately fell in love with her, and she with him. Soon after, John and Eliza married.
At this same time in London, a small group of people called Universalists were preaching ideas about God that were very different from the Calvinists. "John," said Eliza one day, "who are these Universalists?"
"I don’t know," he answered. "I hear they are evil and dangerous people."
"What do they believe?" asked Eliza.
"From what I hear; they believe some crazy idea that…well, that every person will go to heaven because God is so good!" said John.
"To tell you the truth, John." said Eliza,"I sometimes wonder myself why a truly good God would want millions of humans to go to hell, through no fault of their own. Besides, John, is anyone really completely good?"
John felt uneasy. It seemed wrong to question what he had been taught all his life.
"Let’s find out more," said Eliza.
John and Eliza learned about theUniversalist ideas about God. They spent several years carefully thinking through their beliefs. In the end, they chose Universalism.
Their friends were shocked and refused to be friends anymore. John and Eliza didn’t care. Universalism gave them hope in place of stern judgment. John discovered that he no longer looked down on people. He now cared deeply about others, rich and poor. He and Eliza made new friends, and to add to their happiness, they had a baby boy.
Then suddenly everything changed. Their baby died and Eliza became sick. John spent all their money and borrowed more to save her, but she died, also. John was thrown into debtors prison for owing money.
"I have come to pay your debts, John, and get you out of this place," said Eliza’s brother who came to John’s rescue. John replied, "My wife and my baby are dead. I don’t care whether I live or die. Just leave me."
But Eliza’s brother brought John home anyway. "Come on, John," said his friends. "Preach Universalism for us. We need you."
"I shall never preach again," John said,"but I know what I will do. I’m going to cross the ocean to America, and lose myself in the wilderness. I am done with the world."
In 1770, John sailed to America in the Hand in Hand. The ship was supposed to dock in New York City, but the captain miscalculated, and instead, the Hand in Hand got stuck on a sand bar off the coast of New Jersey. The captain asked John to go ashore to find fresh food and water for the crew.
John was glad to get off the ship and after walking some distance through the tall pines, he came to a clearing with a large house and, to his astonishment, a trim looking church made of rough sawed lumber. A tall farmer stood in front of the house cleaning fish.
"Welcome" called out the farmer. "My name is Thomas Potter."
"And I am John Murray, from the ship Hand in Hand."
"Yes," said Thomas, "I saw your ship in the bay, stuck on the sand bar, she is."
"May I buy your fish to take back to the ship’s crew?" asked John.
"You can have them for the taking, and gladly:’ answered Thomas,"and please come back to spend the night with my wife and me. I will tell you all about this little church and why it is here."
John gratefully carried the fish to the sailors, and then returned to Thomas’ home for the night.
"Come, my friend, sit in front of our fire, this chilly fall evening," said Thomas. "I’m so glad you have come. You may be the very person I’ve been waiting for."
John wondered,"Waiting for! What could he be talking about?".
Thomas explained. "You see, I grew up here in these woods. I never had a chance to read or write, but I always liked hearing the Bible read, and I’ve thought a lot about religion. Trouble is, my ideas are different from the ideas of the preachers who travel through these parts. I built this little church myself for all the traveling preachers to use. I ask them questions and talk to them, but they don’t know what to make of me and my ideas. I keep looking for a preacher of a very different stamp. I want a preacher who will teach about a loving God who saves all people, not just a chosen few."
Today, when I saw your ship in the bay, a voice inside me seemed to say, "There, Potter, in that ship may be the preacher you have been so long expecting."
John said quickly,"I am not a preacher."
"But," said Thomas Potter, leaning forward, "can you say that you have never preached?"
"I have preached," answered John slowly,"and I believe, as you do, in a loving God."
"I knew it! I knew it!" shouted Thomas."You are the preacher for whom I have waited for so long! You’ve got to preach in my church on Sunday!"
"No," replied John firmly. "I never want to preach again. Tomorrow, as soon as the wind changes, I will be on my way!"
After John went to bed, he couldn’t sleep. He thought to himself as he tossed and turned,"I just want to get away from everything…if I preach Universalism I know there will be trouble. Folks here in America mostly have Calvinist views, just as in England.Why start trouble for myself in a new country? But Thomas Potter has such faith in me. And he’s so kind. Oh, I wish I knew what to do.
By Saturday night the wind had still not changed, and John finally agreed to preach the next moming. Thomas Potter was overjoyed. He grabbed his coat and hat and ran for the door."I’m going to spread the word to all the neighbors! They can expect a sermon such as they have never heard before!"
And so, on Sunday morning September 30, 1770, Thomas Potter’s dream came true and the first Universalist sermon was delivered in America. At last he could hear a preacher who talked of love instead of punishment.
As for John Murray, after that Sunday he knew he wanted to preach. Just as he expected, there were people who were angry at him for preaching ideas so different from Calvinism. They spread lies about him and stoned him, but he stuck to his beliefs and, in 1779, organized the first Universalist church in America in Gloucester, Mass. After many years, he fell in love again and married. He and his wife, Judith, had a daughter.
And if you’re ever in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, the little church that waited so long is waiting for you to visit in Murray Grove.
10 Tips for Taking Social Action
10 Tips for Taking Social Action
"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." – Oprah Winfrey
You’ve read about the Jackson kids. Anything they can do, you can do, too. Here are ten steps that will lead you to your goal.
1. Choose a problem. Look around your neighborhood. Are there any areas that look neglected or need improvements?Are there places that make you feel unsafe?Places that smell awful? Any problems with drugs, crumbling buildings, homeless people, hungry children, dangerous street crossings, grungy landscapes?
This is one good way to begin. You could also find a problem by thinking about a subject you have studied at school or in a scout troop. For example, if you have just finished a unit on mammals, you might ask yourself,"What kinds of problems do animals have or cause in real life?" If you can’t think of anything, you might call your local humane society, animal shelter, or research clinic.
The hard part won’t be finding a problem. (For some suggestions, see below.) The hard part will be choosing only one problem at a time.
2. Do your research. If you choose a problem from something you have studied at school, you already have valuable information to use. But try some new ways of researching,too.
Survey your school or neighborhood to find out how other people feel about the problem you want to tackle. Telephone officials for information, then interview them over the phone or in person. Write letters.Read magazines and newspapers. Checkout the Internet to find information or allies. If you happen to be a veteran couch potato, flip the TV to a news channel.
3. Brainstorm possible solutions and choose one. Think of what you might do to solve your problem. Brainstorm everything you can think of. Sometimes the zaniest ideas turn out to be the best.
After you have made a long list of potential solutions, look at each one carefully.Choose the solution that seems the most possible and will make the most difference.For example: We will help young people learn to read by volunteering as tutors in the elementary school; we will help reduce crime in our area by organizing a neighborhood watch program.
4. Build coalitions of support. A coalition is a group of people working together for the same goal. Find all the people you can who agree with your solutions.Survey your neighborhood; ask teachers,city officials, newspapers, legislators, other students. Call state agencies that deal with your problem. Send email to connect with businesses and nonprofit organizations interested in your issue.
This is very important to do. Organize all these people. The more people you have on your team, the more power you will have to make a difference.
5. Work with your opposition. For every good solution, there are people, businesses, and organizations that might oppose the plan. That’s why it’s important to ask, "Who or what might make it hard to carry out our plan?" It’s important to identify possible barriers before you run into them. You don’t want to be taken by surprise. Brainstorm with your coalition of support to help you identify who might object to your solution. Teachers and other experts can help as well. Then make plans to overcome others’ objections.
You might be tempted to think of the people who oppose your solution as "bad guys." But it can be more useful to see them as people with different needs and opinions.Get to know your "enemy" you might be surprised how far you can get by working together, and how many ideas you agree on.Not all the time, but in many cases, you and your opposition can both win–or at least accomplish more by compromising.
6. Advertise. Here’s good news:Television, radio, and newspaper reporters love stories of kid action. TV and radio stations usually offer free air time for worthy projects.
Call and ask to speak to a reporter who covers educational issues. Or you might write a letter. Be sure to include a phone number(yours?) the reporter can call for more information. Or send out a news release.
Don’t forget small community newspapers, even church bulletins. They can help you advertise, too. If you let people know what problem you’re trying to solve, and what solution you propose, You’ll suddenly find all sorts of people who want to climb aboard.
7. Raise money. After letting people know about your project, you might try to raise funds to support it. This isn’t essential,and many wonderful projects can be tackled without this step. But sometimes you have more power if you put money where your mouth is.
8. Carry out your solution. You have your lineup of team players, and you’ve advertised to let people know the problem you plan to solve. Now DO IT!
Make a list of all the steps you need to take. Give speeches, write letters and proclamations, pass petitions, improve your neighborhood or school (or you might just try to spiff up your own backyard).
9. Evaluate and reflect. Is your plan working? Are you congratulating yourself on your coolness, or do you feel more like you have a migraine headache? It’s time to evaluate your project and its progress.
Have you tried everything? Should you change your solution? Do you need to talk with more people? It’s up to you. You’re in charge.
Reflect on what you’ve learned. What have you actually accomplished? Write, draw, or dramatize your experiences; express your reactions to the service you have performed in an imaginative way.
10. Don’t give up. Unless you think it’s time to quit, don’t pay too much attention to folks who tell you all the reasons why your solution won’t work. If you believe your cause is really important, keep picking away at it.
Problem solving means weeding out all the things that don’t work until you find something that does. Remember; a mountain looks tallest from the bottom. Don’t give up. Climb!
WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?
Maybe you already know a problem you want to solve. Or maybe you’re truly stuck on finding an issue to pursue.
Four Rules of Brainstorming:
1. Brainstorm with a friend, your family, a group, or a class. The more brains you have to storm with, the more ideas you’ll have. But you can also brainstorm alone.
2. Everybody tries to come up with as many ideas as possible–from silly to serious, and everything in between.
3. All ideas are acceptable during brainstorming. Write all of them down now,and make your choices later.
4. Nobody criticizes anybody else’s ideas. Period. No exceptions!
You can brainstorm on blank paper, a chalkboard, a flip chart, a computer, or anything you choose. From the link below, you’ll find examples of a filled-in brainstorming form.
BRAINSTORMING I: Come up With Ideas (see example here)
A blank form for you to use is here.
BRAINSTORMING II: Choose Your Main Idea
At this point, you have many ideas, some of them crazy. Now you should choose an idea to work on.
Ask yourself questions.
For example: Which idea might make the biggest difference? Which idea might have the best chance to succeed? Which idea might benefit the most people? Which idea might cost the least to do? Which idea do I like the best?
QUESTIONS
1. Which idea might be the most possible to do?
2. Which idea do I like the best?
3. Which idea might help the most people?
4. Which idea might cost the least for us?
5. Which idea might help us learn the most?
Choose one basic idea to work with:
We will encourage sidewalk repairs in the Euclid area.
Now list the steps to carry out your Plan of Action.
For example: Give speeches at the community council. Write letters to the mayor. Write a news release for TV and radio.
Then write down who will be responsible for each step, and when.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Unfortunately, problems in need of solutions are easy to find, Reading the newspapers, watching the news on TV or listening to the radio, surfing the Web, reading books or magazines, or talking to people in your school and community can all help you identify problems that need to be tackled.
Here’s a list of topics that might get you jump-started. Ask yourself, "What’s the problem?" for each of these topics, Decide which ones you might want to work with, or brainstorm topics of your own.
Community Concerns
Schools
City growth and development; land use
Vacant lots, abandoned buildings
Beautification projects
Animals and wildlife
Libraries
Literacy
Parks and recreation
Sports and athletics
Social Concerns
Families
Child care
Friends and social relationships
Population
Immigration
Diversity
Clothing
Homelessness
Public health, mental health
Nutrition and hunger
Substance abuse (alcohol and other drugs, smoking)
Volunteerism
Support systems for children, the elderly, etc.
Poverty
Employment, unemployment
Governing Agencies
Transportation
Law enforcement and justice
Education
Business and labor
Lawmaking agencies and governments
Social agencies
Elections and voting
Court advocacy
The Environment
Energy production, energy use
Natural resources
Wildlife
Hunting and fishing
Pollution (air, water, land)
Weather
Garbage and recycling
Technology
Communication
Information access
Satellites and space research
Medical research
Industrial advances
Inventions and projects
The future of technology and space
Value Systems
Money
Economic growth
Human rights
Children’s rights
Ethics (morals and beliefs)
Religion
Censorship
Trade
Working conditions
Public Safety
Peace
Weapons and gun control
Safety and accidents (including industrial)
Terrorism
Disasters (earthquakes, floods, fires, storms, etc.)
Disease
Crime
The Story of Buddha
Characters:
Siddhartha Guatama
Queen Maya
An elephant
A charioteer (Channa)
A sick man, an old man and a dead man (one person)
A monk
Siddhartha’s wife and child
A large tree
Mara, the evil spirit
Props:
an umbrella
a large tree
a belt with sword
paper flowers
cane
bathrobe
Scene 1: Buddha’s birth, 563 BCE in India
Characters: Queen Maya, elephant, Siddhartha
Props: paper flowers
One night Queen Maya had a wonderful dream in which an elephant with six tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched her right side. At that moment a child was miraculously conceived. When Queen Maya told her husband of this dream he called the Brahmins (or wise men) to interpret it. They predicted that a son would be born who would become either a great king or a great religious leader. His name would be Siddhartha, which means "he whose aim is accomplished." According to legend, Siddhartha later emerged as an infant from his mother’s right side, walked seven steps in the four directions of the compass and said, "No further births have I to endure, for this is my last body. Now shall I destroy and pluck out by the roots the sorrow that is caused by birth and death." According to tradition, it rained flowers at the time of Siddhartha’s birth.
Scene 2: Siddhartha grows up
Characters: Siddhartha
Props: umbrella
The King very much wanted Siddhartha to grow up to become a great king, not a religious leader. So he decided to give him everything he desired and protect him from all sorrows and trouble, so he would never want to leave the palace. The prince was never allowed to go alone outside the palace grounds. He never saw sick, injured, or old people, and he was never told of death. He learned all the arts of royalty: to shoot with a bow and arrow, drive a chariot. ride a horse. He wore silk clothes and always carried an umbrella over his head to protect him from the sun and dust. At age 16 he married a beautiful princess. In time they had a child and were very happy together.
Scene 3: The "Four Sights" that changed Siddhartha’s life
Characters: Siddhartha, Channa (charioteer), old man, monk
Props: cane, bathrobe
At age 29, Siddhartha called his faithful charioteer Channa to take him for a secret ride outside the palace grounds. As they drove through the city, Siddhartha saw three things he had never seen before. One was an old man lying on the road, groaning with pain. "What is the matter with this man?" he asked Channa. "He is sick and in pain," Channa answered. "But why should anyone have to suffer such pain?" Siddhartha asked. Channa shrugged his shoulders, "It is the way of life." And they traveled on. Soon they came to another man, all bent over and hobbling: along with a cane. "What is the matter with that man?" Siddhartha again asked. "He is old" answered Channa. "It is something that comes to all people who live a long time. Bodies become tired and weak." Finally, they came on a man in rags, Iying beside the road as if he were asleep. "What is wrong with this man?" asked Siddhartha. "He is dead," came the answer. "What does "dead" mean?" Channa answered, "I cannot tell you, but it happens to all people, rich or poor."
Later that same night, when Channa and Siddhartha returned to the city, they saw a man dressed in a yellow robe with a shaven head, begging for food. Siddhartha stopped the chariot and questioned the man, "I am a monk," he replied, "I have adopted a homeless life to win salvation. I search for the most blessed state in which suffering, old age, and death are unknown."
Scene 4: Siddhartha leaves the palace
Characters: Siddhartha, Channa, Siddhartha’s wife and child,
Props: belt with sword, bathrobe
Shocked, Siddhartha returned to the palace and thought about what he had seen. For the first time he was aware of suffering in life, and he felt he could no longer enjoy his own life of ease and riches. That very night Siddhartha decided to leave the palace. "If I were to live like one of these monks, perhaps I could learn the truth about suffering and how to end it." Silently kissing his wife and child goodbye. he asked Channa to drive him to the outskirts of the city. There he took off his jeweled sword and cut off his hair and beard. He took off his Princely clothes, put on the yellow robe of a monk, and told Channa to take his possessions back to his father.
Scene 5: Siddhartha’s wanderings
Characters: Siddhartha
For years Siddhartha wandered throughout northeast India, seeking holy men who taught him, among other things, techniques of meditation. He studied the teachings of Hinduism, the ancient religion of India. He was most interested in Samsara, or reincarnation, the idea that after death a person’s soul is born again in a new body. The common Hindu belief at the time was that only by leading a highly spiritual life (or several lives) could a person break the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. Siddhartha was attracted by this idea and he adopted a life of extreme self-denial, not eating or sleeping and meditating constantly. For six years he stayed along the bank of the Nairanjana River, eating and drinking only enough to stay alive. He was determined to force himself to this highest state of being through self-denial. But over time he only became extremely weak.
Scene 6: Under the Bo Tree
Characters: Siddhartha, evil spirit Mara, Siddhartha’s wife and child
props: large tree
One day, Siddhartha realized that his years of denial had weakened his body to the point where he could not think clearly about the world or religion. So he started to eat normally again. Refreshed by food, he sat down under a fig tree (known to Buddhists as the Bo Tree, the Tree of Enlightenment) and entered a state of very deep meditation. Buddhist scriptures say that during this meditation an evil spirit, Mara, tempted Siddhartha with all sorts of pleasures to distract him. But he was not swayed. His deep meditation continued until he had recalled all of his previous rebirths (550 previous states of existence). He gained knowledge of his cycles of births and deaths, and was able to cast off the things that bound him to the world. He had attained enlightenment, "Nirvana," the end of suffering.
From that day on Siddhartha was known as the Buddha, "the enlightened one," or "the one who has found the light." The light that Buddha found was not the kind that you see with your eyes. It was an inward light that makes you feel peaceful and helps you to think more clearly. Tradition says that when Buddha reached Nirvana, he could have cast off his body and his existence. Instead he turned back to the world, determined to share his enlightenment with others so that all living things could end the cycles of their own rebirth and suffering.
During his lifetime Buddha institutionalized his teachings by forming Sangha, a community of monks and nuns who practiced the religion and taught it to others. Buddha’s wife and son joined him in the Sangha, as well as other relatives. Today members of the Sangha continue this tradition and provide an important link with the religion’s founder.
THE END
Background for "God is Like a Father"
The metaphor of God as father is a familiar one to those of us raised in Jewish or Christian cultures. For many Unitarian Universalists it now is viewed in a negative way for it is a potent symbol of the patriarchal bias of religions which use it exclusively to describe the gender of God. As Mary Daly said in her book Beyond God the Father, "…if God is male, then the male is God." (p. 19). It represents the belief that ultimate reality and ultimate values have only masculine qualities and so then it logically follows that feminine qualities are of Iesser importance. Obviously, this is not a belief that Unitarian Universalists can hold.
In righting this wrong, many of us, men as well as women, now are consciously choosing to search out and promote feminine images of the divine. At the very least, we are no longer using masculine pronouns for God in an exclusive way and we are making sure to include images and concepts reflective of a feminine God. Ultimately though, we do not want to promote exclusively feminine images of God, either. It is hoped that it will be possible for our young children who are just developing their concepts of what the word God means, to grow up understanding God to be both like a mother and like a father, to have both masculine and feminine qualities.
It is important to use the story, Mother of Us All, and this story, God is Like a Father, one after the other, if at all possible, in order to reenforce the idea that God can be like both a mother or a father. Unfortunately, many congregations cannot always count on all of the children in a class being there in a regular way. For those who miss one or the other of these sessions, it might be important to briefly tell them about the story they did not hear.
The relationship of father to child is familiar and so there will be many associations with it. Jesus used this image to reflect a relationship to the ultimate which honored the transcendence of God yet retained an intimacy. Many of us can identify with this relationship in a positive way because we had a positive relationship with our fathers. However, for some of us, this image might instead reflect unhappy memories of absent or abusive fathers. This, of course, can be said, also, of the metaphor of God as a mother. This possibility is not a reason to decline to use these images, in general, for there can be negative nuances to any image of God for certain individuals, but do be sensitive to these possibilities in the conversations with your group of children.
Although the image of God as a father was occasionally used by Jeremiah and Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, Jesus stems to have found it especially appealing and it gains much more prominence in the Christian Bible. Talking to God as you would to a father, instead of as a lord, allows the conversation to be much more personal and intimate.
Jesus’ teachings reflected what such conversations with God bad revealed to him. He told his listeners that God loved them as a father would love his children. He told them that what their "Heavenly Father" wanted of them could be summed up in what is called the Great Commandment (Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27): love God and love your neighbors as yourselves. He also told them that God wanted them to forgive others of their wrongdoing just as God would forgive them. The prayer called the "Lord’s Prayer", or more often now "The Prayer of Jesus", (Matt 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4) is another summary of Jesus’ beliefs about the relationship between God and people. The metaphor of God as a father implies that people are God’s children and since God is the father of all, all are therefore members of one family. The teachings of Jesus that tell us to love, care for and forgive one another follow from this image of humanity as one family.
These images are supported by the UU Principle that urges us to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person and by the UU Source which uses Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.
The Half-Boy of Borneo
This story about the half-boy of Borneo is very, very old. It has been told by the people of the island of Borneo in the South Pacific for hundreds of years. How much is really true in the story and how much has been imagined as true is for readers today to think over and decide. Here is the story:
Long, long ago on the island of Borneo, in the village of Tambahillar, there once lived a boy who was the dread and worry of all who came in contact with him. This was because he was only a half-boy. Somehow, sometime, somewhere, he had lost his good half. Now he was merely his bad half, and the bad half was always doing bad tricks.
A woman in the village might be doing her washing in the shallow part of the river, pounding the clothes with a stick to get them clean. Half-Boy, who had only one hand and one leg, would hop by on his one leg and spatter mud all over her newly-washed clothes. Another woman might be spinning. Half-Boy would slip up behind her, and with his one hand, would tear the wool off the spinning wheel. A man might be picking fruit and Half-Boy would pelt him with coconuts.
When Half-Boy played games with the other boys, he always seemed to find a way to spoil their fun. The women of the village called Half-Boy a pest. The boys jeered at him behind his back and threw sticks at him and the men scolded him and chased him off their fields.
As Half-Boy grew older, he became more and more annoying to the other villagers. They were almost ready to drive him out of the village, and some even wanted to kill him. There was only one young woman of the village who felt sorry for him. She believed that he might change.
One day the young woman said to him, "You are only half a person. I am sorry to say you are only the bad half. Somewhere in the world is the other half of you—the good half. If you will go away and find your other half and then come back with it and let it live with you, I will marry you!"
Half-Boy was surprised; he could hardly believe what he had heard. He even hopped away as if he had not heard. But later he came back to the young woman and said, "You are the first person who has ever said a kind thing about me. I will do what you say. I will start tomorrow and I will never come back until I have found my good half and am a whole boy."
Next morning, with his spear in his belt, Half-Boy started off. But where could his other half be? He had not the slightest idea. The first day he hopped along for twenty miles, almost without stopping. At evening time he came to a village deep in the jungle. The people were all sitting about a big fire when Half-Boy hopped up and asked, "Is there a half-boy here? Is there one who has only one hand and does nothing but what is kind and good?"
The villagers shook their heads. "We heard once of a person like that," one of them said, pointing to the setting sun. "He is supposed to live two days journey from here."
Next morning Half-Boy started on his second journey. This time he hopped thirty miles before he found anyone. At last one evening he came to another village, beside a lake. Again he asked the same question, "Is there a half-boy here who has only one hand and does only good and kind things?" Everyone shook his head. They had heard of no such person.
Finally a stranger stepped up and said, "I saw a half-boy once in a village a day’s journey west. But I do not know whether he is good or bad, or whether he has only one hand. I only know he was a half-boy."
With that encouragement, Half-Boy started off again on his journey. This time he hopped forty miles. It took him several days. At last at evening time he came to the ocean and a little village on the shore. Even while he was quite far off from the village, a loud cry went up from the people.
"Another half-boy!" they shouted. "Another half-boy! This one has the opposite hand missing. Where is our own half-boy? We must find him right away. He must see his brother. While the people were still shouting and hurrying about excitedly, Half-Boy saw the other half-boy coming toward him. There could be no doubt whatever that he had at last found his other half. The two boys were the same size. They wore their hair done up the same way. One had only a right hand; the other, only a left hand. Each had a bracelet and an anklet to match the other’s. The only difference anyone could see between the two was in their eyes. The eye of the other was soft and warm and happy.
"Brother," said the bad half-boy, "I have come a long way to find you!"
"I am glad," said the other half-boy, "For I certainly would never have gone a long way to hunt you!"
"That may be true," said the bad half-boy, "but what are we going to do about it? Can we be joined together so as to make one whole boy again?"
As the two half-boys stood watching each other uneasily, the chief of the village came near. Taking each boy’s one had in his, he said, "The two of you must go off by yourselves into the bush and wrestle there. If necessary, you must wrestle for a day and a night or longer. As you wrestle, you will find yourselves growing together."
"It will be a short wrestle," said the bad half-boy. "I am strong and up to all sorts of tricks!"
"Don’t be boasting," said the good half-boy. "You may find a match in me, for I too am strong. I have a spirit in me, the spirit of the sunrise, which will help me."
The bad half-boy smiled. "I have a spirit in me that is more powerful than yours," he said, "It is the spirit of the night. It can blow out the fires of the sunrise."
So the two half-boys went alone into the jungle. When they had found a clearing, they grabbed each other. Back and forth they swung as they wrestled. All night long they struggled. At sunrise the good half was clearly the stronger, but they still wrestled on. By sunset time. when it began to be dark, the bad half had got the upper hand. But they were not ready to stop.
All the while in the village a heavy storm raged. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain flooded the land. The villagers said to one another, "Those two half-boys are not the only ones who are fighting. The stars are shooting their silver arrows at each other. Listen to the north and south winds. They are wrestling together in the palm trees."
Finally, the next morning at sunrise all was calm. The birds were singing. The wind went to sleep in the palm trees. And when the people of the village went forth from their huts, they looked out toward the jungle and behold! They saw a beautiful boy coming toward them. He held his head high and was looking in the direction of the rising sun.
The good half must have conquered!" said the chieftain of the village. "The two half-boys are now become one person."
The people shouted for gladness. They ran to the young man and asked him to come and live with them in their village. He shook his head. "No," he said, "I shall go back to the other village where my bad half has been living. I must find the maiden who believed in me, and marry her."
After thanking the chief of the village for the help he had given, the boy with two halves said good-bye to all the villagers. He started off again alone.
After some days he finally reached his own village, but his old neighbors did not recognize him. They thought he was a stranger! Only the one young woman who had believed in Half-Boy knew him at once, and she showed the others by what signs she knew him. "Our old half-boy accepted his good half," she said, "and the two together make a real person like the rest of us."
As his old neighbors looked and listened, they began to like the new boy. But the maiden loved him and the two were married that very day.
(This legend is found in New Found Tales From Many Lands by Joseph Burke Egan, published by John C. Winston Co., Philadelphia, 1929.)
"Mark and Paul"
Mark had just moved; his parents were busy unpacking boxes and moving furniture. He didn"t know anybody and was sad he had left all his friends.
He walked down the gravel path behind his house to the playground. It was full of children about his own age. Most of them were playing kickball. Mark sat down on one of the swings and watched them play. Soon a girl with long brown hair came up to him. "Hi! My name is Joanna. Who are you?"
"I’m Mark. I’ve just moved here. I live in the middle of that row of townhouses." He pointed towards the brick buildings. "What grade are you in? I’m in the fifth grade."
"Me too. Maybe youll be in my class; there are only two grade five classes."
Mark and Joanna sat on the swings talking. After awhile the others stopped playing and came over to meet Mark–Amy, Michael, Harry, Bobby, Susan, Peter, Janice and lots more. Mark was sure he wouldn’t remember all those names. "It’s easy for them," he thought, "they only have to remember one more name but I’ve got to remember tons!"
Joanna stood up from the swings, "I’ve got to go home now. I’11 see you at the bus stop tomorrow." She walked over to the sandbox where a boy, an older boy, was playing by himself. He took Joanna’s hand and they left the playground.
"Who is that?" asked Mark.
"That’s Paul–he’s Joanna’s brother," Amy replied.
"He’s a retard-spastic!" Harry said nastily.
"Is not. Paul’s exceptional," Amy answered back.
"Exceptionally stupid," Harry retorted and some of the children laughed. Amy’s face burned red. "I’m going," she said and ran off behind Joanna and Paul.
Mark was troubled and embarassed. Soon he left the playground, too.
The next day Mark’s mother drove him to school. He had to enroll so when he went up to his room, the class had already started. Mark was in Mr.Humbert’s class and Joanna, Amy and Harry were sitting at their desks. Mark liked the students and Mr.Humbert seemed like a nice teacher, but-the work was much harder at this school. Mark never had had to do math word problems or diagram a sentence at his old school.
Everyday Mark liked school more. He enjoyed doing experiments in Science, was good in Reading and learned the trick of math word problems. But he still had problems in Grammar. He was good in sports, too, and everyday after school Mark went to the playground and played with the other children. He felt odd, though, when he saw Paul playing in the sandbox alone. Joanna would take Paul to the sandbox, play with him for a bit and then join the others.
One day at school Mark asked Joanna why Paul didn’t play with the other children.
"They don’t want to play with him because he’s retarded and he’s clumsy," she said.
Mark didn’t say anything because he knew how clumsy Paul was but he didn’t think it was fair that Paul was always alone. That afternoon Mark brought his own ball to the playground. He went
over to Paul and said, "Hi! Do you want to play ball with me?" Paul looked up at Mark and said, "No. You just want to make fun of me."
Mark was horrified. He felt his face burn. "No," he said, "that’s not true. I just want to play with you."
Paul smiled, "OK."
Mark helped Paul up from the sandbox and they walked to a quiet corner. Mark felt a little awkward holding a big boy’s hand but inside he knew he was right in doing so.
"You stand there," he told Paul, "I’ll kick the ball to you and then you kick it back to me." Mark gently kicked the ball to Paul’s feet. Paul looked at the ball, hesitated and then kicked. The ball went wide and Mark ran to retrieve it. Paul looked upset but Mark smiled at him and told him not to worry.
"Hey look! Mark is playing with the retard!" Harry yelled.
Mark was angry but tried to ignore Harry. Paul’s lower lip trembled as though he was going to cry.
"Don’t listen to him," Mark said.
"Mark and the retard! Mark and the retard!" Harry jeered.
Mark was really angry then but he just clenched his jaw tight and continued to play with Paul. Joanna came up to them and said, "I’m playing with you guys."
The next day at school Harry went up to Mark, "Hey," he called, "why do you want to play with that retard? You’re good at sports you should play with us. Anyway, if you keep on playing with him you’ll be a retard too. That stuff rubs off."
Mark trembled with rage. "Paul is my friend," he spat out, "and I like him. Just because he’s slow doesn’t mean he’s not a human!" Mark stalked off. He knew if he stayed there he would punch Harry.
That afternoon in the playground Mark took Paul aside and taught him how to kick the ball. Every atternoon Mark helped Paul and little by little Paul improved and learned different techniques. Mark learned to ignore the shouts and jeers of the other children. It became easier because everyday fewer children teased Mark and some came to play with him and Paul.
One day Amy said to Mark, "It’s more fun playing with you because nobody calls you an idiot everytime you miss the ball or fall down."
Harry and a few of the others still laughed at Mark. He didn’t care because he knew that most of the children liked him and admired him not just because he played with Paul but because he was able to find time to help anyone who asked. At the end of the school year Mark, the new boy, was voted the most popular boy in school.
What is Passover?
Goal:
To learn about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and how important freedom is to them, and to us.
Preparation: Read Background
Activities:
Read “A Free People” or find the following in your local library:
Festival of Freedom: The Story of Passover, re-told by Maida Silverman
The Four Questions, by Lynne Sharon Schwarts
Jewish Days and Holidays, by Greer Fay Cashman
Jewish Holiday Fun, by Judith Hoffman Corwin
Passover, A Season of Freedom, by Malka Drucker
A Picture Book of Passover, by David A. Adler
Why Sunday?
Goal:
To learn the importance in both Judaism and Christianity of a day of rest and worship.
Materials:
Find a copy of the book The Creation, by Steven Mitchell
Gather materials for making a mural: long paper, markers, colored pencils, crayons etc. Label the section of the mural paper as follows:
First day: light and darknes/day and night
Second day: sky and earth and seas
Third day: all kinds of plants
Fourth day: sun, moon, and stars
Fifth day: living creatures of sky and seas
Sixth day: living creatures of earth
Activities:
Read Background
Introduce the story by saying something like:
“The Sabbath is a very old Jewish celebration. Long, long ago, when the Jewish people worked hard for many hours every day planting in the fields and caring from 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. The Jewish Shabbat began at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown 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 candlesticks. 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? 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 ‘day,’ it is really talking about a long period of time—maybe even thousands and thousands of years!
Read The Creation by Steven Mitchell
Discuss: Why do you think things happened in that order?
Why do you think people were created last?
Why do you think God rested? Why should people stop work and rest?
Make a mural of the story—a long picture that tells the story from beginning to end.
Can you believe anything you want to as a UU?
Goal:
To think about what it means to you to be a UU and to learn a simple way to remember the UU principles.
Materials:
• Story: Free to Believe
• Copies of We Believe Poster to color: markers, colored pencils, crayons etc. for coloring.
• Pony beads in a variety of colors
• Sculpting clay (Fimo or Sculpy) to make special beads representing each of the 7 principles
• Cord and needle for stringing
• Pattern and instructions for UU Fortune Teller
Background:
A rosary is a string of beads used in the Catholic tradition as an aid in prayer. Each bead represents a prayer or a creed. It was invented in early medieval times by a monk to help his people, who couldn’t read. They used it to help them remember their prayers. Prayer beads are common in many faiths.
Activities:
Color a We Believe poster, one for each child.
Make your own rosary to help you remember the 7 UU principles. You can use this list of single words to help you think of a symbol for each principle. Then, make a bead to represent that idea; the shape itself could be the symbol, or you could draw a symbol on it. Here are the words and symbols in Traditions With a Wink. Use your own creativity!
• Equality: a bead with an equal sign
• love: a heart bead
• growth: a flower
• search: a horizontal bead, or a bead with an arrow
• vote: a small square box bead (like a ballot box)
• peace: bead with a peace sign on it
• earth: an earth or blue and green colored bead
String your special beads on a cord, placing your favorite color pony bead between each “principle bead.” Tie the ends together. Practice saying the principle as you finger each bead in the circle of beads you have created.
Make a UU Principles Fortune Teller
