How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Balancing family life and the Dhamma, in pursuit of a happy lay life.
Dhammavamsa
Posts: 232
Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 3:57 pm

Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by Dhammavamsa »

SarathW wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:27 am
Dhammavamsa wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:18 am Maybe just let them choose by themselves?

I think the western world really hate religion indoctrination.
This is not a good strategy.
We have to expose them to all religious beliefs and let them chose what they want.
85% of the world population have some belief in religion.
As a social animals, we should be able to appreciate the beliefs held by different people.
What about in Sri Lanka? Are the kids able to choose for themselves or straight away follow parents' religion?

Here in my country, we have multiple races, all are free to choose except the Muslim kid, they have to follow Islam or if not, they will be locked up and undergo rehabilitation.
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SarathW
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by SarathW »

Dhammavamsa wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:30 am
SarathW wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:27 am
Dhammavamsa wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:18 am Maybe just let them choose by themselves?

I think the western world really hate religion indoctrination.
This is not a good strategy.
We have to expose them to all religious beliefs and let them chose what they want.
85% of the world population have some belief in religion.
As a social animals, we should be able to appreciate the beliefs held by different people.
What about in Sri Lanka? Are the kids able to choose for themselves or straight away follow parents' religion?

Here in my country, we have multiple races, all are free to choose except the Muslim kid, they have to follow Islam or if not, they will be locked up and undergo rehabilitation.
Now in Sri Lanka, they teach comparative religion.
Buddhist parents still like to see their children be Buddhist but not very strict.
So some religions use this to convert people by using bribe-type incentives. (jobs marriage etc.)
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Dhammavamsa
Posts: 232
Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 3:57 pm

Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by Dhammavamsa »

SarathW wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:43 am
Dhammavamsa wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:30 am
SarathW wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:27 am

This is not a good strategy.
We have to expose them to all religious beliefs and let them chose what they want.
85% of the world population have some belief in religion.
As a social animals, we should be able to appreciate the beliefs held by different people.
What about in Sri Lanka? Are the kids able to choose for themselves or straight away follow parents' religion?

Here in my country, we have multiple races, all are free to choose except the Muslim kid, they have to follow Islam or if not, they will be locked up and undergo rehabilitation.
Now in Sri Lanka, they teach comparative religion.
Buddhist parents still like to see their children be Buddhist but not very strict.
So some religions use this to convert people by using bribe-type incentives. (jobs marriage etc.)
Oh that's really make things worse. But whenever I watch YouTube about Sri Lanka, I think Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma is growing strong in Sri Lanka. A lot of Sri Lankans became Hindu follower, worshipping gods such as Maheshwaran, Vishnu ji, Hanuman ji, Sri Ram, or Karthikeya devki, reciting mantras such as Savitri mantras, etc.

I think possibly due to the promotion and devotional programmes such as movies and bhakti songs are beginning to be famous in Sri Lanka. Many Sri Lankans, as I can see from online, believed their mythical King Ravana was a devotee of Shiva. That's why they return to these beliefs.

From what I can see from posts online by Sri Lankan youths, they seems to attracted to Raavan's Bhakti mantra, the Shiv tandav mantra.

Not to be discriminate against Hindu, in fact, I like Hindu culture, their mantra musics, and I have read their Bhagavad Gita before come into Buddhism. No racism intended.

I hope Buddhism can stay longer in Sri Lanka.
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SarathW
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by SarathW »

I think Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma is growing strong in Sri Lanka.
Yes it does.
This is due to the lack of knowledge about Buddhism.
Another thing is Hinduism offers many rituals for worldly matters.
Generally, people like the supernatural aspect as well.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
JC938
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Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by JC938 »

Show them this movie, the little buddha (1993)
jons
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Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by jons »

mjaviem wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 7:41 pm Hi everyone.

Is there anything we can do for them from the buddhist point of view? Any teachings they could understand and which could help them with their lives? Anything that could trigger an interest about the Buddha and his Dhamma?
It is good to teach kids about Buddha and his Dhammas.
I started teaching my kids to meditate when they were in Elementary school. I would call it "sit down and have quiet time together". Not only that, I would take them to dhamma class with me on Sunday. They met other kids at the class and become friends. They learn about what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. Furthermore, they learned the moral values in the Jataka tales. I would remind them about the power of reciprocity, like : if you smile at others, they may smile back at you, and if you share food and talk nice to others, they may do the same in return.

I took them to dharma class every Sunday from the time they were in Elementary School until the time they started High School. They stopped going to dhamma class when they got to high school, they said that they want to focus on homework and take advantage of the dual enrollments (taking college classes while they were in high school, then when they graduate from High School they will get two years of college credits). They said that meditation helped them a lot.

Nobody in my family finished High School, I was very happy that my kids finished High School and also got some college credits. Check out our dhamma class website www.dwms.org

My opinion
Jons
Observing
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Re: How can we help (our) kids from buddhism?

Post by Observing »

My little daughter isn't Buddhist (she's almost 8). But I do reinforce the 5 precepts, as I teach her to grow into a moral person in society. Amd I talk to her about karma. She will also meditate with me once in a great while, but usually doesn't want to. She sometimes asks me questions about Buddhism, which I answer in a simple way she can understand at her age. I don't think it's right to push children onto any spiritual path. But they should find the path they want for themselves as they grow. I am 34 and have only been on this path for 3 months. If it were forced on me (as Christianity was) when I was young, I may have rejected it.
jc1990
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Re: How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Post by jc1990 »

teach them to be a good human being, that is to keep sila 5, do dana, take them to wat, teach them to pray.
LBuschmann
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Re: How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Post by LBuschmann »

Teaching kids mindfulness, and teaching them sila (ethical conduct) is crucial nowadays to help them be resilient, confident and well balanced socially and emotionally, especially when there is so much instability and fear in the world. The best way to teach them sila is to present them with stories from Jataka tales and the Buddha's life along with discussion about the Dhamma values and concepts illustrated in the stories, such as compassion, karma, tolerance, courage, etc. Discussion should be open, with plenty of opportunity for the kids to express their questions, ideas and examples from their own experiences. The discussion should address how to apply the values in their day to day life, and the challenges to applying the values, for example, how to have compassion for people with bad behavior. There are free pdf stories from Jataka and Buddha's life along with suggested Dhamma discussions at https://DharmaKids.org.
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bodom
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Re: How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Post by bodom »

LBuschmann wrote:
https://DharmaKids.org.
Welcome to the site and thank you for posting this link it looks like a great resource.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
Ontheway
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Re: How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Post by Ontheway »

LBuschmann wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 3:07 pm Teaching kids mindfulness, and teaching them sila (ethical conduct) is crucial nowadays to help them be resilient, confident and well balanced socially and emotionally, especially when there is so much instability and fear in the world. The best way to teach them sila is to present them with stories from Jataka tales and the Buddha's life along with discussion about the Dhamma values and concepts illustrated in the stories, such as compassion, karma, tolerance, courage, etc. Discussion should be open, with plenty of opportunity for the kids to express their questions, ideas and examples from their own experiences. The discussion should address how to apply the values in their day to day life, and the challenges to applying the values, for example, how to have compassion for people with bad behavior. There are free pdf stories from Jataka and Buddha's life along with suggested Dhamma discussions at https://DharmaKids.org.
Good advice indeed.

I will add that Dhammapada stories will be great too
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
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Aloka
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Re: How can we help kids from buddhist perspective?

Post by Aloka »

I haven't read through them myself (I'm a qualified secondary schoolteacher) - but I noticed that some resources for children which might be useful can be found at the big Buddhanet website:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/bud ... /guide.htm

http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks_childrens.htm


:anjali:

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