On February 19th, 2023, the Children Dharma Class held their session in Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s memorial hall. They began the day with the Incense Praise to pay respect to Venerable Master Hsing Yun, who had recently passed away.
After the chanting, the students proceeded to their respective classes for the day’s activities. The beginner class started with chanting the Heart Sutra and went on to learn about the application of 3 Goodness & 4 Givings (3G4G) in their daily lives. Teachers Lisa and Anthan facilitated the discussion by asking the students for examples of how they could apply 3G4G, such as helping their parents with chores, saying thank you, and taking responsibility for their mistakes.
Meanwhile, the advanced and intermediate combined class was led by Teacher Thomas in learning about three prostrations using a handheld bell. The students were taught to always listen to the bell, as it acted as an instructional tool during Dharma Functions. Thomas further tested the students by pausing the bell during half bows. The learning of three prostrations allowed the students to cultivate humility and connect with Buddha and Bodhisattva.
During the morning tea break, the students had a quick refreshment in front of the pagoda. Next, the advanced and intermediate combined class was given a worksheet created by helpers Carter and Anthan, which was a quiz about 3G4G. The quiz included multiple-choice, open-ended, and fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as scenarios for the advanced class to write a sentence or two about what they would do in that situation. Those who answered correctly were rewarded with stickers.
For the beginner class, Teacher Lisa taught about three prostrations and four mottoes. Raymond Chong demonstrated the first step of the prostration, and Lisa read the four mottoes for the students to repeat. Learning the four mottoes allowed the students to appreciate the good things in their lives and spread kindness and joy to others.