The Way of the Buddha Teaching, learning, subject knowledge

The prophecy about his pregnant wife was worrying, even scary for the King. ‘The child born to Maya your wife will be great: maybe a wonderful Emperor, maybe a wonderful spiritual leader’. The king was worried about that one, and asked himself: Who wants their children to be religious? Does that make you happy? Emperor, fine, but spiritual teacher – sounds alarming’ The baby was born, and it was wonderful. The tragedy of Queen Maya’s death just days later made the King even more protective of the infant child. His Majesty decided it would be best if the journey of life led to a throne, not to spiritual leadership. He named the boy Siddhartha, and kept him in the palace. He thought that it’s the sufferings of the world that make people religious, so he kept all evil and pain from Siddhartha’s young life. ‘Surely then’ he said to himself ‘he’ll become an emperor.’ It was a strange way of life in his pleasure palace, to only experience pleasure and good things. For many years, Siddhartha’s innocence was preserved. Luxury and plenty were his only experience. His many friends, his great learning, his popularity and his joyful family life made him permanently happy. His beautiful young wife was a princess, and his court was like a long dance party.

Faith stories: an example of how to use story, ICT and a digital camera for good learning in RE Look at the slides that follow. They show how Key Stage Three pupils at Warlingham School in Surrey enacted the key moments in the story of the Buddha. Your teacher will give you another faith story to work with. Identify up to nine key moments in the story. Working co-operatively, plan up to nine digital photos that show these key moments. Where in your school and grounds would it be best to shoot them? How can you get the impact and atmosphere just right? Make your own PowerPoint or Clicker sequence. Add speech bubbles, think bubbles and other details to make your story telling excellent, and to bring out the spiritual meanings of the story.

Do we all grow old? Will I end up like this? There was one blot on Prince Siddhartha’s life: he felt enclosed, shielded, trapped. He became curious about the outside. He was restless, dissatisfied. One night with his charioteer, at the age of 29, Siddhartha crept secretly from his lovely home. For the first time ever he saw suffering. Seeing an old person hit him hard, and made him ask ‘do we all grow old?’ He was puzzled, shocked.

Why is there illness? Why do people suffer like this? Can no one help? Seeing a sick person made him ask ‘can anyone be ill?’ His charioteer told him illness is common. He had never known this before.

Will I die? Can’t I avoid it? Why? Seeing a passing funeral showed him death for the first time. He wondered: will I die? He realised: all that lives will die. He was cut up by the realisation of the end of life.

If not for happiness, what is life for? The sight of a wandering holy man made him ask: ‘What is that person looking for, if not for pleasure? Can life have a meaning other than being happy?’

After all his pleasures, the quest for meaning seemed more important. This is the hardest thing to do, but I must leave the pleasure palace. I need to see the truth more than anything. Then Siddhartha’s life of luxury became disgusting to him. He felt his dad had been wrong. After all his pleasures, the quest for meaning seemed more important. He determined to leave his lovely home and search for the meaning of life, and one night, he did it. It was a key moment: the beginning of Buddhism.

We live in the forests to seek spiritual truth We live in the forests to seek spiritual truth. By starving the body and disciplining our senses we look to improve the soul. At first, Siddhartha travelled to where other truth-seekers, holy people, lived, in the forests. With them, he sought enlightenment by practicing austerities. Eating hardly anything, denying all pleasures, the life was the opposite of what Siddhartha had known.

Eat a little. Don’t starve. Take some milk rice. His body wasted. He was dying of hunger. Seeing his plight, a woman offered him milk rice, which he accepted. His search for the truth took a new direction: neither all pleasure, nor no comfort. He chose a Middle Way to seek the truth.

Give up Give up. At last he sat under a Bodhi tree, determined to find enlightenment. He vowed to meditate until the true nature of reality was revealed to him. Evil demon Mara sent temptations to distract him, but he was firm in his mind: nothing but enlightenment would bring his meditation to an end.

He achieved enlightenment. To live is to suffer. Desire is the cause of suffering. End desire and suffering will end. The path to ending desire is the Noble Eightfold Path Under the tree, still a sacred place for Buddhists today, Siddhartha became the Buddha. He achieved enlightenment. For the rest of his long life he taught the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Middle Way.

Consider the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha Use a range of sources – video, text from scripture, Buddhist testimony, books aimed at children younger than you about Buddhism Don’t expect the Buddha’s teaching to be easy: it can take a lifetime. Work out how best to express the four big ideas that became the Noble Truths. What do they really mean? Create your own form of expression for them, for Buddhist teenagers in Britain today.

Responses to suffering “My picture shows Siddhartha Gautama under the bodi tree. The purple swirls symbolise that the pictures are only thoughts. When he sees the holy man he realises to release yourself from suffering you must follow a middle path. This is why this picture is above the sun. He realises there is so much suffering in the world, and he must do something about it. The stripes from the dead person show the life coming from it and the flowers around the ill person show other people care and they have put the flowers there to show their suffering it shows that suffering affects so many people. I find the 4 Noble Truths difficult to explain, but they must link up with the 4 Sights in the story, I think.” Lindsay is 13

Be creative with a spiritual story Work in a group of 4 or 5 Agree upon a story that you all think conveys an important spiritual truth. Break it down in to a small number of key moments – this will be your story board. Use a digital camera to photograph members of your group into key scenes in the story Then make your presentation (Clicker, PowerPoint etc) by adding well thought out speech and though bubbles to the presentation. Compare your work with that of another group, and improve it in the light of what you learn Write a commentary on the process: what did you do? Learn? Find hard? Enjoy? How would you do this differently in the future? What advice would you give to a group starting this next? How did you manage to catch the spiritual emphasis of the story? Audience: show your final product to an audience. Get their feedback on your work.

The Four Noble Truths that the Buddha taught 1. The Truth of Suffering: No one escapes 2. The Cause of Suffering: it's craving or selfish desire 3. End the cause to end the suffering: There is a path out of suffering. 4. The way to end selfish desire is the Noble Eightfold Path.

An extract from The Metta Sutta Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings; Radiating kindness over the entire world: Spreading upwards to the skies, and downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, freed from hatred and ill-will.