Oct 2019 – 7th Grade

Before going onto the values that are represented by the Dharma Chariot, we initially went over the external and internal equipment that aid us in following our Dharma ( by imbibing these values and make them our virtues). Gurudev’s BMI chart was explained in simple terms. Later we discussed the need to keep this equipment sharp by having children come up with their own thoughts on ways to do it.

After narration of Leo Tolstoy’s watch story and watching a video snippet from Kung Fu Panda, we nailed down the following –

1.      What you sow is what you reap

2.      What you think in your mind matters as it shapes your actions.

3.      Like the value of an item depends on its quality, Value / Quality of people depends on the quality of their thoughts

4.      Like a metal needs to go through heat to become better, to mold our thoughts in order to change our habits is not easy but when done willingly, our value increases

For Dharma Chariot, we started with the wheels – Courage and Patience

Courage is not absence of fear but mastering/overcoming the fear. You can show courage not just in extraordinary/life threatening circumstances but simple situations like being first one to speak up in a gathering to make a point. Watched the Ted talk https://www.ted.com/talks/cindy_solomon_how_to_build_your_courage?

Then shared an Indian Cherokee story which highlights the power in trusting the higher power and drawing courage from it.

For patience, we did group discussions on what is patience and what can we do to become more patient. Patience is to accept people (with their weaknesses) and situations (with the challenges they pose) with equanimity and grace. We played some games to tell us that Being more organized, disciplined and mentally (& physically) prepared fosters patience.

We discussed the story of a taxi driver who gave a ride to a chronically ill old woman to Hospice and how it became memorable for both. Children wrote acrostic poems on Patience and shared it with class.