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Offerings and Leaving the Meditation Room

What Happens

We watch as offerings are shared with the sangha in the Meditation Room. Notice how members eat only a little of the offerings and hand some back. This reminds Buddhists to practice giving. This is like a symbolic offering to those who haven’t any food. One of the nuns leaves the Meditation Room and takes the food outside for the birds and insects to eat.

When puja finishes, the Buddhists stand and show respect to their teacher as she leaves the Meditation Room.

Background Information

The shrine is arranged with representations of Buddha’s body (statue or picture in centre), Buddha’s speech (Dharma books to the left as we look at the shrine. Dharma means the teachings of Buddha) and Buddha’s mind (Stupa to the right, as we look at the shrine - the wooden object with grooves)

Buddhists make offerings to practice giving and so reduce miserliness. These offerings can be anything that is considered enjoyable to the senses. By practicing giving, Buddhists believe that they create the causes for good fortune (good karma) in the future. When making offerings to an image of Buddha, Buddhists believe that they are making offerings to the actual Buddhas, thus creating the causes to become a Buddha in the future.

Further information about offerings.

Questions to Discuss from the Film:

  • What do you think was happening?
  • What questions do you have?
  • What do you give to others?

Classroom Activities

  • Who and what do you show respect to, how do you do this and why?

Classroom Activities

Memory Mapping

PDF Document Download the instructions for this activity