Note for Teachers:
This is a difficult subject and lesson for young children. It is the third branch of the Yamas and means that one should take nothing that does not belong to you. Young children are extremely territorial and relate strongly to their home, their room, their toys and their friends.
So how can be begin to teach our children that they are not what they own? It is a slow and steady progression but I believe this branch of the Buddhist Precepts to be the the foundation of Buddhist practice.
Equally it takes years for Adults to come to the realization, and sometimes only fleetingly that we are not our bodies and not our minds - we live in our breath, in awareness, in consciousness. So for children, this is an incredibly strong foundation from which to begin their lives.
Children are beautiful and giving creatures and just as it is inherent in their nature to identify strongly with possessions, it is also a fundamental trait to be giving. Children love to give presents that they have lovingly created and it is through this identification that we can teach Asteya.
The Kindness of You
There was once a child who had everything in the world - blow up an invisible balloon to represent the world.
Her name was Asteya and she was blessed with a mother, father, sister and brother - different versions of warrior pose.
She also had a cat, a dog, a frog and a mouse - animal poses
She had such a happy life, so happy she skipped, jumped, rolled and giggled all the day long.
Her parents noticed one little problem though. And that was she had trouble sharing ... anything - tug of war.
One day on the other side of the world, there was a terrible storm - half children in tree and the others running through in the storm.
The storm was so wild that a village was completely destroyed and every person killed - tadasana for a minute of silence.
As Asteya was watch the news with her loving family - group of three hug.
She saw that one child had survived - sit cross legged.
Her heart broke and she looked around - spinal twist.
She had everything and this child had nothing - hands in prayer to the sky.
Asteya was just your age with no job or no money of her own.
Instead she begged her parents to bring the little child to Ireland so that Asteya could love her, share her toys, her bed, even the love of her mummy and daddy.
Her parents shook their heads, "no no no", they said. "Impossible", they said.
Asteya stood up, and walked around the room very slowly, thinking carefully.
She said, "You love me don't you?" the parents nodded yes of course.
"And you love my sister, brother, dog and cat?", they nodded yes of course.
"Well then, you must love another too", Asteya asked her family to stand in a circle with their arms around each others shoulders.
"Can we not fit another in this circle"", Asteya asked. Teacher joins circle
Her parents looked at each other very sadly. "Yes we can fit another in this circle", they said together.
And that is how Asteya came to have a little sister who arrived on a plane all the way from Vietnam.
It was difficult at first, sharing toys, and especially her parents love, but quickly she learnt how wonderful it felt to give and not take.
Namaste
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