Our teachers are not usually trained or certified, or even parents, just motivated. What we have is a short apprenticeship. A new teacher joins in and watches for a few sessions and then takes an assistant position, usually for at least one school year. Gyokuko, Dharma Rain’s Co-Abbot, recruits and screens new teachers from Dharma Rain’s senior members. On average, Dharma School teachers have done about 10 years of Zen practice.
We find the youngest children do best by having their own place at the Center and their own routines. The parents go to the Center and so do the children, but the kids generally prefer to do things that are geared toward them, their interests and their needs. It does not seem to matter that they are doing something different from their parents, especially once they begin to identify friends.
A few times each year, all ages are brought in to the larger community for something special, when the kids have special parts to play and are prepared ahead for the event. Wesak, Kid’s Segaki, Kid’s Rohatsu, and the end of year Skits are all usually held with the adult Sangha (see Ceremonies for more detail). As the kids move into the pre-teen and teen years we try to integrate them more into the life of the community of the city, and into the community of Sangha. They get more actively involved in service projects such as a food drive or a project at the temple.
We have certain holidays and themes that we touch on and include in our schedule every year, but we also make every effort to be inclusive of and responsive to the parents. We have planning meetings twice a year and ask parents what their concerns are, and what they would like to see in the curriculum. The other side of this is that we ask them to contribute something to the maintenance of Dharma School.
Each year we have a theme that is loosely followed. Some groups may work with it more directly than others, and there are some classes we don’t touch on it at all. The goal is to try to explain the topic over the course of the year, insofar as it stays relevant to the children’s lives and keeps them interested. Examples of past themes include:
§ The Six Worlds
§ The Skandhas
§ Bodhisattvas
§ Paramitas
§ The Precepts
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 and not wasting. 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.
We do a number of ceremonies throughout the year. This helps build community for the Dharma School as a whole and as part of the wider sangha. It also presents specific teachings in a memorable way, and fosters comfort with an overtly religious manner of being.
The first ceremony of the Dharma School year is Segaki, feeding the hungry ghosts. We often join the adults during this ceremony. This happens around the time of Halloween, and is somewhat similarly themed - ghosts show up, there is an altar set up full of treats, etc…
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 one at a time, (or with a supporting hand if necessary), children may go up and ask Gyokuko a question. This can be very scary, but also can be very inspiring, both for those asking the question and the observers.
Nehan celebrates 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. Quiet and
careful, but not solemn.
Kid’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. First time students taking Jukai are
given a mala (prayer beads). The high school group takes the lead
on this ceremony; organizing the event, explaining it to the younger ones, leading the chanting, offering incense,
etc…
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 kids 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.
Wesak is held with the adults, there is a big ceremony with lots of processing, tossing of lotus petals and chanting, and everybody pours tea over a baby Buddha statue that the kids 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.
Skits aren’t exactly a ceremony,
but they are a big to-do at the end of the Dharma School year. Each
group offers a brief performance or presentation for the adult sangha in place of the normal Dharma Talk.
Both the Middle- and High-School groups have monthly overnights. These times are an extension of the regular Dharma School program at Dharma Rain, providing a way for kids to get to know each other better in an informal, fun atmosphere. We always cook and eat a vegetarian dinner and talk together, and just spend time enjoying each other’s company, but the rest of the time is up for grabs. Sometimes we do a project, go bowling or rock climbing, have a pillow fight, watch and discuss a movie, play hide and seek, hang a trapeze from the zendo ceiling…
The majority of the
Dharma teaching at these events is implicit, hidden in the schedule and in subtle guidance and reminders about
listening, being helpful, being generous with attention and care for each other.
We do use a version of the adult Fusatsu (repentance) ceremony on some overnights, in which participants
offer incense and some comments on what is going on in their lives. The
ceremonial form marks out the space and time as silent and sacred, which has been very meaningful for both the
students and teachers. The overnights are very helpful in nurturing
the kids bonding to each other and the teachers.
The middle-schoolers play more
games and have more physical activity and structure than the high-schoolers, who tend to do more talking and primarily
hold the container for themselves. They spend some time together
and apart; part of the training for high-schoolers is learning to be a mentor for the younger children.
The overnight ends Sunday morning with a regular Dharma School meeting of songs, meditation and class.
We sing songs for about a half hour every Dharma School Sunday. A guitar or two for accompaniment goes a long way. Some of the songs are traditional children’s songs (Peace Like a River, Garden Song, This Little Light of Mine, Simple Gifts…) others are taken from Zen Buddhist Temple’s children’s program in Ann Arbor, MI, others are from the Sino-American Buddhist Association’s Songs for Awakening songbook. There’s a few we have no idea where they came from, but we thank whomever created them. Finally we have made up some songs for ourselves; here are a few of the favorites:
Sit up Straight
Adapted from Dogen's Fukanzazengi, sung to the tune of Bill Whither’s Lean on Me
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But, the Buddha way
Our ancestors past, gave us to follow
Sit up straight,
inhale exhale
Empty your pail
And, you cannot fail
Cuz you're gonna have
Samadhi to lean on
Please, sit
yourself down
Don't lean front or back, or tilt side to side
For, you cannot fill, your gut with air
If your posture slumps
Sit up straight,
inhale exhale
Drop body and mind
Chorus...
Let deliberate
thought pass away
Stop comparing mind
Sit, for all being's sake
Still and awake
The essential art
Sit up straight,
inhale exhale
Drop body and mind
Chorus....
Jump beyond
light and darkness,
leave behind joy and hurt
We all need samadhi to lean on
So just don't doubt the dragon,
keep your own mind alert
We all need samadhi to lean on
Sit up straight,
inhale exhale
Drop body and mind
Empty your pail
And, you cannot fail
Cuz you're gonna have
Samadhi to lean on
(Lyrics describe the Five
Buddha-Families, to the tune of “The Sweater Song” by Wheezer)
Sometimes / I give /
up when / it’s too much
The world / seems cold
/ and out / of touch
If you want to wake up to Buddha
Pull this thread as you sit Zazen
Strive to open to spacious being
White energy in your mandala
Full of / judgements
/ make sense / of this scene
Don’t cha- / llenge
me / ‘cuz I / get mean
If you want to wake up to Vajra
Pull this thread as you sit Zazen
Strive to realize the mirror-wisdom
Blue energy in your mandala
Always / filling / never
/ enough
Hollow / trying / to
get / more stuff
If you want to wake up to Ratna
Pull this thread as you sit Zazen
Strive to accept this generous balance
Yellow energy in your mandala
Obsess / because / I’m
all / alone
Craving / feelings /
like dog / with bone
If you want to wake up to Padma
Pull this thread as you sit Zazen
Strive to invite joyous caring
Red energy in your mandala
Get so / busy / staying
/ ahead
Don’t trust / my friends
/ life’s a / tangled thread
If you want to wake up to Karma
Pull this thread as you sit Zazen
Strive to work with vital freedom
Green energy in your mandala
If you want to wake up to Suchness
Weave these threads as you live your
life
Strive to meet the colors before you
Rainbow energy in your mandala