Developing The Honest Of Children In The Monastery

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At every weekend, instead of forcing children to attend more courses, parents bring their children to the monastery to participate in meditation

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Help children appreciate the simple things

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There the children are learning how to say ,how to eat, how to stand. After each practice, children understand more about love, morality, personality. They also know how to listen, saving time and money, cherish the simple things in life.

Beside that, also learned to remember the gratitude of people born to themselves, the farmer made food.

Some of them have been attending the monastery for many years. They are instructed by the monks at the monastery to instruct and supervise the new students.

At the monastery, there will be retreats for boys and girls.

Many monks and nuns said that they will be taught by teachers of Buddhist doctrine, singing, orienting their children to feasts, with parents, grandparents, not stealing, not cheating, not lying.

They also enjoy recreation, sports, cultural exchanges, exchange life skills. Young children will be taught by teachers to meditate so that the mind is more calm.

The children are vegetarian, explore nature and have to wash their own clothes, wash their dishes after eating, sleep themselves - things that many children in the city often rely on parents

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Initiative for children

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In the present life, parents often love, spoil the child, and almost always urge children to learn, learn and learn.

Many of them have become excellent students, but are familiar with demanding and don't know how to share, don't know love and sympathy.

Many parents looked at the children in the temple blue clothes playing with their friends, they feel happy.

After the retreat, parents saw the change. They know what is the law of cause and effect, what is good and evil.

Example: If you hit an animal, how will it affect you? Do bad things go to hell?

Before doing something, they would think about whether or not to do it, they realize, if they do good things get good, bad work is bad.

According to the retreat, they are taught catechism; learn how to deal with people, grandparents, parents and the practice of human virtue, from which to enlighten many things.

After the time of entering the pagoda, the children have a clear change: learn to be independent (laundry, washing dishes) more obedient, more understanding.

bamboo tocsin and meditation are the two methods by which the practitioner when entering into this environment must learn.

Chant intercessions helps children to listen, purify the soul. Meditation helps children relieve stress, find peace.

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Effects of meditation with children

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Many people have looked at meditation as something very difficult, hard for people in normal life.

In fact, it would be very difficult, if we try to sit in half an hour - just say sit still, not to mention the constant keep the mind calm.

The first step is hard work. Especially when learning Zen traditionally, Every road is full of difficulties. Adolescents find it difficult, especially for children.

Here, the question is: How can children be taught how to keep their mind calm ?

There are still many ways. International teachers have seen the benefits of meditation, and are looking for simple ways to teach children mindfulness.

Many abstract concepts of meditation.

For example, "now and here" are two concepts of time and space. Contrary to the abstract concept will be the specific scene, such as images and sound.

The table, the chair or the car running etc,are what we can show them.

But talking about the abstract concept in the mind, probably the third or fourth grade students or more can imagine.

It is difficult, for the elementary school children can sit quietly for a few minutes and feel the happiness, peaceful feeling right in those moments.

It can not be said that they should practice meditation today so many years later they will get the success, because they don't have much patience for more than a few minutes. Therefore, meditation with children is something that must be extremely simple.

As in Australia, ABC Radio Canberra on 25/5/2017 has a newsletter titled “Mindfulness and movement program teaching students to relax and focus”

Here are a few simple ways to teach mindfulness meditation to children, based on the guidelines taught in the United States and Australia.

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Listening practice

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The teacher asked the students to sit upright, their feet close to the ground, their hands placed on the table, closed their eyes, and listen to the bell sounds by the teacher to knock.

Hear from the beginning of the sound, until the sound is silent. If you use Japanese singing bowl, the sound can be up to 1 minute.

She advised, when hearing the sound of the bell, remember to put the hands up, slowly, slowly, and when the high hand will lift the hand slowly down, also keep the mind in the movement of the two arms . Thus, 2 minutes of meditation is finished.

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Practice breathing with plastic or cloth pet

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Ask the children to lie down, back to the ground, for a cloth animal (dog, cat, dinosaur, lion or cloth doll, or plastic) on the belly.

There is no need to teach counting the breath, as the children may be counting wrong, or not counting.

Teach them to observe with the feeling of the chest and with closed eyes. When inhaling lightly, notice that the beast on his body lifts up to his chest; When breathing lightly, notice that the beast falls down in the chest. You can do that for a few minutes.

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Practicing the body

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Sit down, straighten the back, gently breathe some air, then ask the children to recognize each gesture and feeling.

Gently rub the palms together, warm the palms a little, and gently pat the palms of the hands against the table, feeling the heat in the palms decreasing in the cold. Get cool from the table.

Then, ask them to shrink their fingers to the palm of their hand, to feel the tension in their hands, and slowly stretch their fingers, feeling each other in the fingers, hands. Duration maybe only 1 or 2 minutes.

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Listening to heartbeat

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Ask the children to exercise for 1 minute, or jump or run, then ask to sit down, close their eyes, feel the heartbeat, or feel the blood vessels throbbing in the body.

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Mind the body before going to bed

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At noon, when they take a nap, stretching the whole body, asking the children to focus on the sensation from the foot (can move their toes sensitively).

Then slowly focus on the knees, on the buttocks, to the back against the floor of the tiles, to the neck (can move the neck lightly for easy identification), to the eyes, the top of the head and then relax whole body feeling whole body.

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Walking meditation

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If walking in the room, barefoot, ask the children to feel their feet step by step lifted and placed down, touching the brick face and feeling cool on the soles of the feet.

If they are walking in the garden, take shoes or sandals, and ask them to listen to any sounds around them, such as the car, the birds, the murmuring water.

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Stay awake when eating

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When practicing, avoid eating nuts, such as oranges or tangerines. Avoid too spicy, too sweet, or too salty, because will be courteous.

Take a piece of bread, ask the children to tear the bread slowly, then put a piece of cake, chew slowly, thoroughly, feel the sweetness in the cake.

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Sense of smell

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In the middle of a table breads made of apple, cinnamon, strawberry, banana- - new cooked. Ask the children to sit around the table, close their eyes, sigh, gently sniff for a minute or two, and then tell them what fruit is not found in the freshly baked bread.

It should not be said that there are children who are poor here, because all are praiseworthy, because children meditating quietly before the cake are wonderful.

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Awake to wash the hands

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Before eating, ask the children to wash their hands, pay attention to the water flowing on their hands, slightly cold, cool, clean hands

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Awake with the breath

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Whenever walking, standing, lying, ask the child to breathe quietly, listen to the breath, feel the breath spread.

Above are some simple ways to teach children's mindfulness meditation, based on methods in some US and Australian schools. Teachers will probably find many similar simple ways. Just a few minutes of conscious practice in the small everyday life, will later become the precious Buddhist treasures for the children to face life.

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_{These photos were taken by me at the Buddha's birthday in Truc Lam monastery and have been agreed by the parents}

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Thanks for reading