Download Lesson Title: Teaching the Basics of Buddhism through the Jakata

Lesson Title: Teaching the Basics of Buddhism through the Jakata
Tales
Goals and Objectives of the Lesson:
The goals of this lesson are many but they are all related to the topic of
Buddhism.
Students will be introduced to the story of Siddhartha and how he
became the Buddha.
Students will be introduced to the Four Noble Truths.
Students will be introduced to the Eightfold Path.
Students will be introduced to the concept of the movement of ideas
through storytelling specifically the telling/reading of the Jakata Tales
Students will make connections between elements of the Four Noble
Truths and the Eightfold Path and current world events and their lives.
Time required/ class periods:
This lesson could take one to three class periods depending on
explanations and homework expectations.
Primary source bibliography:
The following link will take teachers to a gallery featuring statues and
representations of Buddha and Buddhist monks and other notable
Buddhist figures. Use the first two slides to begin a lecture on Buddhism
and the Jakarta Tales.
http://www.explorelearnteach.com/buddha-gallery.html
The first image is from the British Museum in London, England. The
Second image is from the grounds of the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian,
China. The photographs in the gallery were shot by David Platt.
Other sources used:
If the teacher requires background information on Buddha and
Buddhism this PBS site gives a brief overviewhttp://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm
Students can either go to the following sites and choose three Jakata
stories to analyze vis-a-vis the concepts of Buddhism OR the teacher can
choose the specific stories they want the students to read.
Sites with Jakata tale stories:
http://www.buddhanet.net/bt_conts.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/bt1_conts.htm
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/jataka.html
Required Materials and supplies:
1. Handout #1: Buddha Ballot (below)
2. Handout #2: The Four Noble Truths (below)
3. Handout #3: The Eightfold Path (below)
4. Copies of selected stories from the Jakata Tales
or
Computer access for students
Suggested stories: The Goat That Saved the Prince; Demons in the
Desert; Little Prince No Father; The Wind in the Moon; The Talkative
Tortoise; Four on a Log; Mr. Monkey and Sir Crocodile; Gang of
Drunkards; The Phony Holy Man.
5. Handout #4: Assignment sheet (below)
Vocabulary
Buddha- The title given to Siddhartha upon his attainment of Nirvana/
Enlightenment
Buddhism- A philosophy or religion that studies the life and teachings of
the Buddha
The Four Noble Truths- The core ideas of Buddha concerning the
human experience of and in the world.
The Eightfold Path- The behaviors and thoughts through which a
person might reach enlightenment
The Jakata Tales- Stories told by the followers of Buddha to spread and
explain the ideas of Buddhism.
ProcedureThe teacher will introduce the lesson by showing two representations of
Buddha side-by-side and ask the students to vote on which one they
think represents the true Buddha. The teacher will ask the students to
write down on their ballot at least one reason they picked the “Buddha”
they did. As students give their explanations, teacher can list them on
the board. After this, teacher will tell the students the story of
Siddhartha and his path to enlightenment. The teacher will then ask the
students to vote again now that they know more about the story.
Once the new votes are tallied, the teacher will talk about the
revolutionary idea that Buddha proposed which is this: Nirvana is
available to everyone and not just the noble classes. The teacher will
explain the rough life that the average human experiences during the
time of Siddhartha and use this as an opportunity to discuss the Four
Noble Truths. (Handout #1). Next, the teacher will introduce the idea of
the equal opportunity enlightenment plan of the Eightfold Path (Handout
#2). Suggestion: Teacher should give an example that illustrates the
behaviors and attitudes associated with following the Eightfold Path.
During the second part of the discussion, the teacher might ask the
students how information is spread today: Answers might include: social
media, radio, families, television, etc. The teacher then will explain that
these ways of disseminating ideas and information were, of course,
unavailable in the time of Siddhartha. The teacher will emphasize the
degree of illiteracy and the lack of available source material such as
books which stood in the way of broad communication; Thus were stories
used as a means of teaching. The teacher can make comparisons to the
use of stories by other religions such as parables in Christian and Judaic
tradition. The Buddhists used the Jakata Tales as a means of spreading
the elements of Buddhism.
The teacher will then read a Jakata Tale to the students. At the
conclusion, open a discussion about the message(s) of the story as
pertain(s) to the Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and discuss
elements of the story that reflect aspects of Buddhism. Suggested next
step: Have students choose three different stories to read. Direct
students to write a quick review of each story (no more than one
paragraph), identify what they think is the most important message from
the story and then connect it to one of the Noble Truths or one of the
steps in the Eightfold Path. As a final task, the student will draw a
connection between the message/Noble Truths/Eightfold Path and their
life.
Assessment and evaluation (Handout #4):
Jataka Tales
Class- East Asian Studies
Instructor- Platt
Name _______________
Hour ________
Date ____________
The Jataka Tales are traditional stories told by the Buddha and his
disciples to help their followers better understand the Four Noble Truths
and the Eightfold Path.
We will read a tale called “FILL IN YOUR CHOICE OF TALE HERE
(SUGGESTED TALE: POPULARITY)” as a group. We will then discuss the
moral or message of the story and which of the Four Noble Truths or
steps in the Eightfold Path it illustrates.
Your AssignmentRead three of the stories then:
1. Write a brief summary and review each story
2. Identify the moral and message of each story
3. Describe or identify which of the Four Noble Truths or steps in the
Eightfold Path this story relates to or teaches (identify by number pleasefor example- the Second Noble Truth )
4. Write a paragraph that describes how the stories relate to your life.
You must write a minimum of one life example for each of the three
stories.
Handout #1:
Buddha Ballot
Which do you think is the “Real” Buddha
B. ___________
A. __________
or
Why did you choose the image you did?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Second chance Ballot
After hearing the lecture, do you want to change your vote? If so, indicate
which image you now think is the “real” Buddha: A. ___________ or B.
__________
Why did you change your mind?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Handout #2:
The Four Noble Truths
1. Human life is full of suffering and sorrow.
2. Suffering and sorrow are caused by our greedy desires and
attachments.
3. Greed, desires and attachments can be overcome.
4. To overcome your greed you need to follow the Eightfold Path
Handout #3:
The Eightfold Path
The Right Understanding
The Right Thought
The Right Speech
The Right Action
The Right Livelihood
The Right Effort
The Right Mindfulness
The Right Concentration