I have recently been reflecting on a common understanding of how to integrate mindfulness in education throughout the school. Coming to the end of my first half term here, I would say that our remit is much wider and more exciting; an exploration of how the Buddhist ethos is disseminated throughout the school. Our task is to enable children to build on skills that they have learnt year on year, in a systematic and understandable way. Having observed and witnessed the school in action, I feel we already do so much of this really well.
At the core of our ethos are The Five Precepts for our School and Community, which are shared on the walls of classrooms as well as informing many of our approaches and policies.
The Five Precepts for our School and Community
- I will not intentionally harm people, animals, plants and any part of our school environment, caring for them in a way I would like to be cared for myself or looking after the school in a way I would like my own belongings to be looked after.
- I will not take things that belong to others, remember to ask when borrowing, and try to share when appropriate.
- I will try to be caring towards my friends and be respectful at all times even to those who are not my friends.
- I will try to say things that are honest and truthful, and be mindful in my speech and voice.
- I will try to keep my body fit and healthy and my mind calm and clear by following that which brings health and happiness.
- The way that these are framed for the school community takes account of the fact that we are caring for and teaching children, so the language and content needs to be appropriate. It is quite skilfully expressed here as the precepts appear often in a negative form (‘refrain from’, ‘renouncing’) but here they are integrated with the positive.
When looking at precepts, we can think of the three strands; physical, verbal and mental. This is a useful way of seeing them and can lead to discussion about how these three ways of human expression can manifest. An experiment could be to see the verbal side of the first and second precepts above and so see the wider implications of not intentionally harming – or caring – and so on.
The important thing to me is that the precepts are trainings rather than prescriptions and that if somehow we don’t match up, we really take the first precept into account and forgive ourselves, and allow ourselves to fail. We do not have to ‘repent’ though our guiding and evolving conscience might lead us to a happy resolution around the issue. In my experience, a fruitful chat with someone I trust, who has my best interests at heart, helps me around the morass of my own guilt and negativity. We are often our own worst critics. This is where community comes in and really works. At the Community Meeting on Wednesday I really felt some of this essential goodness and am extremely grateful for it and happy that it is here.
When I began (again!) in earnest to learn meditation at the age of 28, I remember going to the Bristol Buddhist Centre and asking for assurances that they weren’t going to ‘convert’ me or try to press a ‘Buddhist agenda’ onto me. I was just there to learn the two meditation practices that are taught to beginners by Triratna (formerly FWBO). These are the practice of Mindfulness of Breathing and the practice of Loving Kindness (or Mettabhavana) .
After two years of practising these, I became aware that unless I also had some kind of ethical guidelines (unless I looked at my behaviour off the cushion so to speak), I would not be able to have a clean conscience, or achieve any kind of calm. As my mind became quieter, I became aware of things that had been on my mind at a deeper level. Certain things came up again and again, asking to be resolved. I then turned to the five Buddhist precepts and a thorough examination of these.
The Five Precepts that form part of our school ethos align with the Five Precepts of lay Buddhists the world over. What I have taken from my exploration of ethics is that trying is the most important thing and leads to a lighter heart and calmer mind; in short, a happier life.
- Clare