BISDS - Meditation Workshop for teachers
23rd June 2018, Wisdom room, BMV
A meditation workshop was organised for BISDS Teachers in Wisdom Room of Brickfields Maha Vihara on Saturday, 23 June 2018 from 9.30am to 5pm. It was conducted by Venerable Dr S Pemarathana. He is the Chief Abbot of Pittsburg Buddhist Centre in USA.
About 35 BISDS Teachers attended this enlightening, educational and fruitful workshop.
The participants learnt that meditation is to look inwards that is to look inside of oneself to hear and listen to the internal self to learn and understand oneself better. Bhante shared that an unenlightened person sees the world through ignorance (avijja), respond to the world through cravings (tanha) and forming unwholesome habitual patterns, becoming victims of these patterns on auto pilot mode.
Through practice, Buddhist transform their personality, develop and forming habitual patterns in the way one's speak, behave, think and respond to any situations. From practice Buddhist transform from self centered suffering personality to selfless contented one.
In the morning session, Bhante covered several other topics relating to meditations which also included Samadhi and Sati plus Samatha verses Vipassana as well as objects of meditations. The teachers were given time to contemplate and share the new things that they have learnt as well as their experiences on the differences between Samatha and Vipassana meditation.
In the afternoon, Bhante guided the teachers on the basic guidelines to teach activity based meditation to students of different ages. The teachers noted that childhood is the best time to introduce meditation whilst the children are still shaping their habits and personality where it can significantly influence them psychologically when they grow up. Bhante provided several interesting meditation methods to adopt which will attract the students enthusiasm to practice. He also reminded the teachers have to practice meditation first to build trust from the students when teaching meditation in class. The teachers were very excited and listened attentively to Bhante when he demonstrated Lotus meditation, meditation with pebbles, toys, glitters including loving kindness meditation referring to different animals plus mindful eating meditation including gratitude meditation and walking meditation.
At the end of the session, the teachers were so grateful and were eager to practice and share what they have learnt in their respective classes. In gratitude to Bhante for his time and effort for sharing an interesting plus enlightening lesson, all the teachers collectively performed Nava Kamma together. Also, the teachers were so thankful and appreciated the free flow of food and drinks sponsored by generous doners organised by one of the parent.
By Sis Jacqueline Ee