Faith in Action
Programme 2:
With Hope and Help – Monks Combating AIDS (Thailand)

Aims

This programme aims to introduce students to the following:

• To raise awareness of the growing AIDS problem in Thailand
• To understand the work of the Sanga Metta Buddhist Monks in the prevention and relief of HIV and AIDS
• To explore how Buddhist beliefs and values underpin their work
• To show how, by offering 'hope and help', people of faith can make a difference
• To evaluate the significance and effects of the work of people of faith in this area, with the support of the website notes

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Outline

Thailand has the highest rate of HIV infection in Asia. Already there are half a million AIDS orphans. This programme looks at the work of the Sangha Metta Project, which, guided by Buddhist beliefs about relieving suffering, trains Buddhist monks to educate people to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. The project also helps those who are already infected with the disease. In Thailand monks are respected and can act and speak with authority, so people follow their advice. The programme follows two monks, Phra Duangsit and Phra Suwit. They are working in communities in northern Thailand that are badly affected by AIDS, and helping to spread the word about prevention. They are upfront, open and frank about their faith and about the issues they are dealing with.

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Curriculum Relevance

• Religious Education is compulsory for all pupils in the 14-16 age range.
• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, schools can opt for a full GCSE or a half course. While some schools prefer a general programme, the half courses are increasingly the popular option. In Scotland pupils can opt for a short course or the Standard Grade certificate in RE.
• Most courses deal with the fundamental questions raised by life and religion and look at religious responses to social and ethical issues.
• Some courses offer a study of selected religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism. Others offer a thematic study of religious teaching applied to contemporary issues, covering topics such as: suffering and evil, peace, conflict and justice, the environment, medical ethics and human relationships.
• Courses generally enable pupils to learn about religion, which includes factual learning, and to learn from religion, which includes reflecting on a personal response to the material. Pupils are expected to demonstrate skills of knowledge, analysis, explanation and application of religion, and evaluation.

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Background

Buddhism, Suffering and Compassion

Buddhism can be best understood through The Three Jewels, or Refuges, which are interrelated: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The Buddha

Buddhists follow the teaching, or Dharma, of the Buddha: a prince called Siddhartha Gautama whose encounters with suffering after a sheltered upbringing led him to search for a solution. It is believed that through following this teaching one may achieve 'enlightenment': freedom from the cycle of expectation and suffering which all people experience. The Buddha's teaching on suffering and compassion is not one small part of Buddhism - it is a central tenet of the faith.

The Dharma

The Buddha's teaching is summarised in The Four Noble Truths, which deal directly with suffering.

1. All life involves suffering: nothing is permanent; we can't avoid old age, sickness and death. For much of the time people try to make themselves happier by ignoring or avoiding this fact, but this leads to more unhappiness
2. Suffering is caused by desire, or selfishness: we suffer because we crave and are greedy for things that will not ultimately satisfy us; we are driven by a self that is an illusion
3. Without desire or selfishness, suffering stops: we need to stop trying to find happiness through indulging a self
4. Desire and selfishness can be removed by following a middle way that reminds us that self is an illusion: this way is neither luxurious nor ascetic - the 'eight-fold path' is a guide to this.

The Eight-Fold Path

Central to Enlightenment, the state achieved by the Buddha and aspired to by followers today, is a view of the world that recognises that everything is interwoven through cause and effect. The Buddha called this 'conditioned'. People live a 'conditioned existence' in which they are affected by ever changing circumstances rather than being the unchanging self they would like to be. The only way to escape such a cycle is to achieve enlightenment and become detached from the illusion of the self. The Eight-Fold Path offers a way to achieving this, and underpins the Buddhist motivation to act with compassion: right understanding (of the human condition - see Four Noble Truths), right thought (having thoughts which do not harm, which includes giving up hateful or greedy thoughts), right speech (avoiding saying hurtful or unhelpful things), right action (acting with generosity, compassion; being positive), right livelihood (earning a living in a way that benefits people and does not cause harm), right effort (meditating to strengthen the resolve to remove harmful thoughts and replace them with positive ones), right mindfulness (or awareness of one's own feelings and those of others: seeing things as they really are), right concentration (training the mind to get rid of hatred, selfishness and ignorance, experienced through meditation).

The concept of impermanence, or Pratitya Samutpada, is central to a Buddhist world view. If nothing is permanent and everything changes, then people are continually moving, or journeying. The Five Precepts embody this idea in a set of moral guidelines: at their heart is an image of people moving away from certain types of selfish behaviour that cause harm and suffering, and moving towards other types of compassionate and more satisfying behaviour.

1. Moving away from harming living beings, and moving towards loving kindness, care and concern for all life
2. Moving away from taking what is not given, and moving towards generosity of thought, word and deed
3. Moving away from sexual misconduct, and moving towards stillness, simplicity and contentment
4. Moving away from false speech, and moving towards truthful speech that is kind and harmonious
5. Moving away from drinks and drugs that affect the mind, and moving towards awareness and mindfulness of one's thoughts, words and deeds

The Sangha

The Sangha is the Buddhist community, and particularly those bhikkhus and bhikkhunis who live a monastic life. Ordained and lay Buddhists support each other in following and spreading the Buddha's teaching (Dharma). Both groups follow the teaching outlined above, and the ordained, who are greatly respected, also follow an additional five precepts. Lay members of the Sangha are generous in providing for the ordained, who in turn nurture the lay through example and teaching.

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Activities

Buddhism, Suffering and Compassion

Buddhism can be best understood through The Three Jewels, or Refuges, which are interrelated: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The Buddha

Buddhists follow the teaching, or Dharma, of the Buddha: a prince called Siddhartha Gautama whose encounters with suffering after a sheltered upbringing led him to search for a solution. It is believed that through following this teaching one may achieve 'enlightenment': freedom from the cycle of expectation and suffering which all people experience. The Buddha's teaching on suffering and compassion is not one small part of Buddhism - it is a central tenet of the faith.

The Dharma

The Buddha's teaching is summarised in The Four Noble Truths, which deal directly with suffering.

1. All life involves suffering: nothing is permanent; we can't avoid old age, sickness and death. For much of the time people try to make themselves happier by ignoring or avoiding this fact, but this leads to more unhappiness
2. Suffering is caused by desire, or selfishness: we suffer because we crave and are greedy for things that will not ultimately satisfy us; we are driven by a self that is an illusion
3. Without desire or selfishness, suffering stops: we need to stop trying to find happiness through indulging a self
4. Desire and selfishness can be removed by following a middle way that reminds us that self is an illusion: this way is neither luxurious nor ascetic - the 'eight-fold path' is a guide to this.

The Eight-Fold Path

Central to Enlightenment, the state achieved by the Buddha and aspired to by followers today, is a view of the world that recognises that everything is interwoven through cause and effect. The Buddha called this 'conditioned'. People live a 'conditioned existence' in which they are affected by ever changing circumstances rather than being the unchanging self they would like to be. The only way to escape such a cycle is to achieve enlightenment and become detached from the illusion of the self. The Eight-Fold Path offers a way to achieving this, and underpins the Buddhist motivation to act with compassion: right understanding (of the human condition - see Four Noble Truths), right thought (having thoughts which do not harm, which includes giving up hateful or greedy thoughts), right speech (avoiding saying hurtful or unhelpful things), right action (acting with generosity, compassion; being positive), right livelihood (earning a living in a way that benefits people and does not cause harm), right effort (meditating to strengthen the resolve to remove harmful thoughts and replace them with positive ones), right mindfulness (or awareness of one's own feelings and those of others: seeing things as they really are), right concentration (training the mind to get rid of hatred, selfishness and ignorance, experienced through meditation).

The concept of impermanence, or Pratitya Samutpada, is central to a Buddhist world view. If nothing is permanent and everything changes, then people are continually moving, or journeying. The Five Precepts embody this idea in a set of moral guidelines: at their heart is an image of people moving away from certain types of selfish behaviour that cause harm and suffering, and moving towards other types of compassionate and more satisfying behaviour.

1. Moving away from harming living beings, and moving towards loving kindness, care and concern for all life
2. Moving away from taking what is not given, and moving towards generosity of thought, word and deed
3. Moving away from sexual misconduct, and moving towards stillness, simplicity and contentment
4. Moving away from false speech, and moving towards truthful speech that is kind and harmonious
5. Moving away from drinks and drugs that affect the mind, and moving towards awareness and mindfulness of one's thoughts, words and deeds

The Sangha

The Sangha is the Buddhist community, and particularly those bhikkhus and bhikkhunis who live a monastic life. Ordained and lay Buddhists support each other in following and spreading the Buddha's teaching (Dharma). Both groups follow the teaching outlined above, and the ordained, who are greatly respected, also follow an additional five precepts. Lay members of the Sangha are generous in providing for the ordained, who in turn nurture the lay through example and teaching.

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Links

This web page contains links to other websites that are neither controlled nor maintained by Channel 4 Television. Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of these sites and does not necessarily endorse the material on them.

www.pcfre.org.uk
Contains a database of young people's quotes on a wide range of religious topics including, 'how can people live in peace?', 'what is freedom, truth and justice?', and 'what is your vision of a perfect world?'

www.theresite.org
A gateway site to other RE websites, religious organisations and faith communities, this site also contains RE updates and information about resources (including ICT and RE) for teachers.

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