“Make vows for great enlightenment” was the objective of the Children’s Achievement Class in April. The children were taught to respect the Three Gems and trust in the law of karma. Picture:Children wrote their blessings down on the “Blessing Lanterns”. Some even referred to the Jing Si Aphorisms for words that best reflect their thoughts.

The class members presented a play to show that wisdom and kindness is cultivated from our daily acts.

Final touch up – Lin Yang Bao papa fastening the strings of the lanterns for it to be hung up high above the ceiling.

With the cooperation of all, the blessing lanterns filled with love and wishes were lighted up. Blessings were sent to the less fortunate, with the song “Spread Our Love” echoing in the background.

Wang Yi Ying turned in the bamboo piggybank which was filled with her whole family’s love and blessings.

Under the lead of the class mother, the children worshipped Buddha with three bows before the class begins. They were told that the Dharma hall in Buddhist monastery is a place of grandeur, hence once inside the hall, the atmosphere of stateliness should not be disrupted. Being discipline is the basic of respecting the Three Gems (the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha).

In the effort to explain the law of karma, the class mother quoted the example of the traffic accidents as a consequence of disobeying traffic rules, which also resulted in harm to self and others. The example clarified the point of “cause and effect” in a simple manner, easily understood by the young. 

Kindness grows from daily little acts

The children were then given a scenario: Friends of four were eating bread together happily. Bread crumbs were left all over the floor. The mess was not clean in time, and there came the ants!

Here comes the question: What should we do if our house is dirty and attracting ants? That was the food for thought, intriguing children to ponder after watching the play.

Vigorous debate and discussion followed. Some suggested rinsing the ants off with water, others proposed to just step on the ants and kill them!

“NO WAY! We can’t to that! Ants are also living beings, we can’t just kill them. Don’t put your food lying to attract ants. All they want is something to eat, just like us.” That was the immediate reaction by 9-year-old Cai Jing Zhou. What a kindhearted boy!

The class mother, pleased and comforted, told the rest of the class, “Imagine this. If we are bullied by others, our parents will be upset. When we use water to rinse off the ants, to them it is like being strike by a Tsunami. We feel fear when we face disasters, so does the ants when they are drowned in the pool of water, or when they are being stepped by us. Their parents will feel sad too. So how could we hurt these little creatures?” Even if it is only a little ant, its life is also to be respected and loved. After all, keeping the place clean and healthy is the responsibility of all.

Speak kind words - learning the Jing Si Aphorisms

Along with the sign language performance and games, the lyrics of the song “Make Good Vows and Speak Good Words” brought out the class’s objective.  “Good words are like lotus flowers blooming on lip; Bad words are like poisonous snakes hissing out from mouth.”

Master Cheng Yen’s Jing Si Aphorisms is the one of the best way to inculcate positive attitudes. Each of them carries a moral value with it.

“To have everyone to love me, first I need to start loving everyone.”
“Craving and buying new things to stay trendy will only create more waste. It is a wasteful act we should try to avoid.”

Not only do the children need to listen carefully, they are also required to pass the words on to the next person.

Sounds easy? Wait till you try it.

“Wisdom allows us to differentiate the right from wrong; being humble allows us to lead a meaningful accomplishing life.” “Our vows should be great, our resolves should he firm, our temperament should be tender, and our mind should be prudent.”  Although these sentences are long and embedded with profundities, the children were not at all defeated. Instead, to the amusement of the class mothers, they remembered them word for word. The children were indeed giving their full attention in learning!

Spare a thought for others and harbor good thoughts

While some have the luxury of considering which ice-cream flavor to have, there are those who can only afford to think of when will their next meal be? How is live to go on?
Some children are living live filled with happiness, yet many others are struggling with their miseries.

As the screen reflects images of bony and rugged children, worn-down school buildings, little kids carrying basket of grain just enough for a week, children walking alone along uneven hill paths to school, a condor preying on an almost breathless child……the children were triggered to think of what their strengths are to help these group of people with different fate.

“What can we do?” The little ones wondered.

The class mothers suggested, “Actions need not be big, we can at least pray.”

The children began praying with their utmost sincere under the guidance of their class mothers. Their prayers and blessing were written on the “blessing lanterns”, a modified version of the sky lantern. Some even referred to Jing Si Aphorism for the words that best reflects their good thoughts.

“I wish that the less fortunate will have enough food to eat, and the chance of an education”, this was the desire of Zhang Ming Lun. Another girl, Lee Si Wen also wrote down her plead, “I hope there will be world peace, and that everyone is blessed with happiness and good health”, along with her words was her cute drawings. 

With the song “Spread Our Love” echoing in the background, the blessing lanterns filled with love and wishes were lighted up. All gazes followed the lanterns high above, which symbolizes the sending of blessing to the less fortunate children around the world.

After a series of games and lessons, it is time for reflection. The class mother told the children to recall and not to forget the lessons learnt today. More importantly, she hoped that the children will practice them in their daily lives – to acknowledge our blessing, treasure them, and sow more blessings.

Just before the end of the day, the class mother invited Wang Yi Ying to the front. The 10 year old girl came with her bamboo piggybank today. As the container filled with Yi Ying’s daily savings seems a little too heavy for her petite figure, her mum, who was also a volunteer with the class, gave her a hand in the turning in ceremony.

Yi Ying told the class that she adopted the piggybank during last year’s Year End Blessing Ceremony, and started donating to it with her family daily. Well understood the significance of the bamboo coin bank, Yi Ying feels the joy of being able to help others. The little girl is indeed a good model for us to learn from.