Buddhism As Education

A little monk who is not old enough to become ordained is called a "sami". Once, there is a little sami who studied Buddhism with a very wise Teacher. He was a very good student. He was respectful, sincere and obedient and had learned very quickly in his daily Buddhist studies. The Teacher was so wise that he could foretell the future, where he knew from the beginning that this little student could not live very long. One day he counted and realized that the little student had only seven days left to live. He felt very sad upon his findings. He later called the little sami and said to him, "little same, you haven't seen your mother for long time. I think you need a vacation. You run on home and visit your mother and come back eight days from now". He did this so at least the little sami could die in his own parents' house. When the little sami left for home, the Teacher was very sad. He thought he would never again see his little student. Eight days later, t...

Another way we can give is to relieve the worries and fears of others. A friend told me of an incident that had occurred in her home. A caring woman with an excellent sense of humor, she does draw the lone at some things. Upon walking into her bathroom, she saw a large python on the floor. Having good reflexes, she drew the line and firmly closed the door. Knowing that she was not at risk, her immediate thought was for her elderly cat that could no longer move quickly. Jenny, who is a Buddhist by practice called her husband Rob, who is a Buddhist at heart. Rob look into the phone book and locate a snake catcher. However, before the snake catcher was allowed to leave the premises with his catch, Rob thoughtfully queried the man: Was the snake okay? How would it be released and where? Would it be safe or would it subject to any risk? The snake catcher patiently explained that he would take it a considerable distance away before he would release it in a safer and more natural environment....

We can also give by teaching. We may not have many objects to give. But most people are good at doing things that others are not, or may know things that others do not know. We can impart to others whatever skills and knowledge we have. We do not need to have exceptional skills or special knowledge. We just teach others who wish to learn so that they too will acquire those skills or understanding. when we see someone who is in need, perhaps of food or other basic necessities, we can first give them what they need to meet their immediate needs but then we can go a step further by finding ways to teach them what they need to know to become self-sufficient. This Way, they can also care for those they love and are responsible for. In our teaching, however, we should not withhold any information, but continue teaching all that web know, as long as the person wishes to learn. If due to our selfishness, we decide not to teach the other to the best of our ability by sharing all that we know or...

To counter react our craving, we can practice generosity. Think again of giving away that treasured possession. Do you think that you might miss it and wish that you had not given it away? Ideally, when we give something to others, we want to do so without a lengthy analysis, including such thoughts as to whether or not we like the receivers of the gift or whether they may or may not deserve getting it. Upon seeing somebody needing an object that we have, we can simply offer the object to the person. Genuine generosity is to spontaneously and unconditionally offer what we have when we believe that it will make the recipient happy. We do it without having a second or remorseful thoughts. After such giving, we strive to let go of the thought that we had given and that of the object given. When we practice generosity, we can start out with something that is not a favorite item and from that we continue giving. We live in an affluent world and many of us have more than we need. We only nee...