Dharma Rain - Dharma School Curriculum

Dharma School

Curriculum

Each year, we loosely follow a theme. Some classes may work with it more directly than others. The goal is to explain the topic over the course of the year, while keeping it relevant to the children’s lives. Past themes have included the Six Worlds, the Skandhas, Bodhisattvas, the Paramitas, and the Precepts. Click here to see the schedule for the year.

Our goal is not to ensure that our kids have a particular knowledge base and background in Buddhism, and it is certainly not to turn them all into Buddhists. We do care that they are exposed to this teaching and that they recognize values such as simplicity and taking care of others, sharing, preserving resources and so on. We hope that they have absorbed some guidance about how one can deal with suffering.

Many children are affected by their participation in Dharma School, and feel that their time in this kind of atmosphere, having these kind of role models, helped them learn to act with more wisdom and compassion at times in their lives. For more information about our philosophy and curriculum, see the manual, Sharing the Dharma with Children. A paper copy of the manual is available for $12. Please contact the Center if you would like one.

 

Segaki

The first ceremony of the Dharma School year is Segaki, the festival of feeding the hungry ghosts. This happens around the time of Halloween, and has similar themes. A ghost may appear, and there is an altar filled with treats. Read more about Segaki in the manual.

 

Rohatsu

Rohatsu is the most serious ceremony for the kids. It is a variant on Jodo, ritual questioning of the abbot. We use the adult Zendo for this, and each child (perhaps with a supporting hand if necessary), may go up and ask Gyokuko a question. This can be very scary, but also can be inspiring, both for those asking the question and the observers. Read more about Rohatsu in the manual.

 

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Nehan

Nehan honors the Buddha’s death, and consists of Gyokuko explaining the Parinirvana statue, which depicts the Buddha lying down surrounded by animals. Then we all draw a picture of a pet or person who has died and offer it to the fire. This is a quiet and careful day, but not solemn. Read more about Nehan in the manual.

 

Jukai

The children’s Jukai happens in March. This is an opportunity for children to take refuge and try to develop their compassion and wisdom for the next year. The first time this is done, students are given a mala (prayer beads). The high school group takes the lead on this ceremony: explaining it to the younger ones, leading the chanting, offering incense, and so on. Read more about Jukai in the manual.

 

Dharma School Egg Hunt

The Dharma School Egg Hunt happens around the time of Easter, and is a chance to run around and find eggs that have treats and questions written inside them. The older students hide the eggs, and the younger ones find them, then bring them inside to share. The questions are a mix of Dharma, trivia, and riddles, with a wide range of difficulty. Read more about Other Ceremonies in the manual.

 

Wesak

Wesak, the Buddha’s birthday, is held with the adults. This is a big ceremony with lots of chanting, walking, tossing of lotus petals and chanting. Each participant pours tea over a baby Buddha statue that the children have decorated with flowers. After this, we go downstairs and blindfold young volunteers, who try to knock open a paper maché elephant (“Zeñata”) that has been filled with goodies. Read more about Wesak in the manual.

 

Teachers Weblog

Heidi Enji Hoogstra started a blog for recording Dharma School lessons. The intention was that it would be there for all teachers to post and that it would be a resource for folks out there in the world seeking ways to teach dharma to their kids. Many are not so fortunate as us to have a large enough Buddhist community (or any community) to draw from for a program such as ours. The blog can be a resource for ourselves as we go through the cycle of our teachings, and it could become a book someday. So far, Enji has been the only one posting to the blog, but we still hope for it to be a collaborative effort. Dharma School parents have appreciated finding out what their girls were learning, because kids aren't always so verbal about lessons learned.

Click here to see the blog.

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