F A M I L Y DHARMA

C ome to learn together!

Connecticut’s only Buddhist Sunday School

10:00 a.m. to 12 noon.

Twice a month

At the Buddhist Faith Fellowship in Middletown

Designed especially for families interested in learning to live the Buddha’s Way

It’s free of charge but donations are appreciated to cover cost

Pre-school, Kindergarten, & 1 st to 12 th grades

Registration is simple.

Just let us know the name, age, grade of your child,

If they have any special needs, if they have some prior knowledge of Buddhism

& when will you be attending

Please send your information and any questions you may have to

Our Family Dharma Coordinator Tom Pepper at

wtompepper@cox.net

Sunday School for Families

Starting in September 2011, the Buddhist Faith Fellowship will be offering Connecticut families a unique opportunity to grow together in a fun, hands-on and inspirational Sunday School format. This program is truly a rare treasure because it is the only Buddhist Sunday School/Family Dharma in New England.

This Sunday School is not just a place to leave your child(ren) on Sunday morning to be taught about Buddhism. On the contrary, it requires participation of at least one parent. Family Dharma is a place for everyone to learn together.

Our Family Dharma has been designed to meet the needs of children PK-12 th grade and their parents, married or single. Lessons and activities are age and grade level appropriate. Everyone in attendance will be deeply enriched with the traditional Buddhist themes such as values of compassion & wisdom, the Eightfold Path, daily practice and the stories of the Buddha and his disciples. We will explore how to integrate Buddhist holidays and traditions to share with future generations.

This is a quick glance of some of the activities we do.

Stories of the Historical Buddha & Disciples

Jataka Stories – 500 Buddhist fables.

Basic Buddhist Teachings

Moral Teachings (The Five-Fold Precepts)

Learning & Practicing Buddhist Holidays

Singing, chanting, and music

Learning about ritual instruments

Buddhist temple/center etiquette

Quiet sitting meditation

Listening to age appropriate Dharma Talks

Practical application of teachings for a balanced, happy, healthy life

Arts and Crafts

Games

Birthday celebrations

& Making new friends with similar values

A Buddhism for Families

The Shin Buddhist tradition was founded almost 800 years ago in Japan as a reform movement for lay people. It is a school of Buddhism dedicated to the common man and woman with hefty working schedules and with families to support. It is in this spirit that we first established our community in 2001, and now our Family Dharma, in order to help adults and children experience the teachings in modern 21 st century America.

Just a note : Today, Shin Buddhism, also known as Jodo Shinshu, is Japan’s largest Buddhist denomination. It is part of the much larger tradition called Pure Land Buddhism, which has the most adherents of any Buddhist school in the world spanning among nations like China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam

Requirements & Rules

There are just a few requirements and rules to be able to participate in our Family Dharma.

1. Email us to register: Name of child, age, grade, special needs, and when you plan to join us.

2. There are no requirements on prior knowledge of Buddhism nor Buddhist religious affiliation/religion on the part of the adult nor child to participate, but please let us know if you’ve had any prior experience with Buddhism.

3. Parents must be available to participate with their child during Family Dharma but on those occasions when many adults are present, some parents may opt to practice in the Main Dharma Room/Dojo with the adult congregation.

4. We recommend that the parents reinforce the child’s spiritual upbringing at home.

5. Regular attendance is encouraged but it is not a requirement. Children do benefit from consistency.

6. Children are expected to be well behaved, with positive attitudes, and ready to learn.

7. If the child will not be present for a particular Family Dharma session, we ask parents to send a courtesy e-mail or phone call to the Coordinator with as much notice as possible so that he/she can adjust the lessons for that day.

8. If parents decide to no longer attend Family Dharma, then we simply ask parents to send a courtesy e-mail or phone to the Coordinator letting him/her know so that lessons can be modified to better fit the needs of the active participants.

9. Family Dharma is free of charge but donations are greatly appreciated to help cover the costs of supplies, books etc, Contributions can be given for each session, and in addition, parents can look into our various sangha membership levels.