Dharma Rain - Dharma School Manual
Dharma
School Manual
History and Development
Sharing Buddhist Teachings with Children
Is It “True?”
Some Buddhist teachings are completely non-controversial, like the instructions
about cultivating compassion or the emphasis on mindfulness. Others have
more imagery and stories associated with them, and some of these have the
potential to carry messages and concepts that may be inappropriate or less
than relevant for our current cultural setting and time. We have tried
to balance the process of “translation” — adapting material
to our own culture so the core messages can come through — with an
effort to conserve material that has been important to Buddhists throughout
the ages.
Our main goal in presenting explicit dharma teachings to children and youth
is to make available to them the rich wisdom and mythology of the Buddhist
tradition. By “mythology” we mean the teachings, stories and
imagery that have been collectively created, used and passed down by Buddhists
for thousands of years. This concept of mythology is explained well by Joseph
Campbell, and in no way implies a judgment that the material in question
is not “true” (because some Buddhists believe it is). Apart from
whether they are literally true or not, collectively held myths contain very
deep truths that often cannot be conveyed by plain explanation. If we were
to limit ourselves to using Buddhist teachings devoid of mythology, we would
be depriving the children we work with of very valuable tools, concepts and
experiences. We leave the question of whether a given teaching is literally
true open enough that parents can decide how best to answer this question
for their own child.
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Presenting Complex and Ambiguous Material
Occasionally some of this traditional Buddhist material may appear more complex,
ambiguous and (in a couple instances) even bloodier or more violent than
people are used to seeing presented to young children. We believe that such
material, when offered in a healthy atmosphere by adults who provide a context
and answer questions, is very important for the development of children.
After all, our children exist in a world in which, despite our best efforts,
they are often exposed to complex, ambiguous, bloody and violent concepts,
imagery and even experiences. It only strengthens a religion when it acknowledges
the difficult aspects of life and yet offers a worldview that contains an
explanation for the state of the world, instructions to the individual about
how to respond, and reason for hope and positivity.
For example, the story of the Buddha says that he left his wife and child
to go pursue spiritual practice. We portray this delicately as a very difficult
and painful choice the Buddha made before he was enlightened, and that later
he returned to his family and shared what he had learned with them. We avoid
making this departure sound heroic or something to be emulated, which could
be troubling to children.

Another example is the imagery of the Buddhist
hell realm. We explain that some people might believe hell literally exists,
but we believe it is mostly metaphorical and we are concerned with people
right here on earth who are living in “hell realms” because of
their circumstances or states of mind. We do not judge or blame the denizens
of “hell” but instead encourage the kids to notice how each of
us spends time in little “hell realms” in our own lives, such
as when we get angry. We emphasize the Buddhist message that anyone’s
stay in a hellish realm is temporary and, in a sense, optional. The “way
out” (in the case of hell it is forgiveness and acceptance of oneself
and others) is available to everyone.

Fudo Myo-o, a bhdhisattva-like deity who stands amidst the flames of hell
to help the beings there. His rope binds delusions and his sword cuts through
them. Fudo is very popular with the grade school boys.

There is also something in children that becomes much more engaged in realistic
stories that portray gritty or exciting conflict and resolution without too
much sanitization. Kids perk up and pay attention to stories about the denizens
of hell being boiled and stuck on spikes, or hungry ghosts who can’t
drink because water turns to fire in their mouths (though not all of our
images are so dramatic). There seems to be something in a child’s make-up
that allows them to differentiate between real and make-believe; so far no
kid in our dharma school program has had nightmares about ending up in hell
and being boiled in a giant pot. Kids also tend to be more capable of processing
serious material than we might expect. One example of this was when a pre-schooler
recently attended our ceremony about the Buddha’s death. In this Nehan
ceremony, we describe how the Buddha’s students and friends and all
the animals gathered around to say goodbye, and how peaceful and accepting
the Buddha was. A week or two later the subject of death came up in another
context, and this pre-schooler told her mother confidently that, “It’s
OK. You can be peaceful when you die.”
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