EXPLANATION and DESCRIPTION

Teachers

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.

Sangha Relations

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. 

Parental Involvement

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.

Curriculum

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.

Ceremonies

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.

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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…

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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.


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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.

Overnights

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…

Click here for a larger image 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.

Click here for a larger image 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.

Songs

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

Drop body and mind

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

The Mandala Song

(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