Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
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Creative Expression

  • 504EZen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
    Analyze the relationship between “beginner’s mind” and insight as taught in Zen Buddhism; evaluate how cultivating curiosity and appreciation supports openness to learning; and find natural delight in everyday things. Maintain childlike wonder and curiosity.
  • 502ETanha: Sensory Enjoyment
    Implement mindful self-care practices that honor the body as a vehicle for awakening, and analyze how unrestrained sensory craving creates suffering.
  • 500ESelfless Creativity
    Create art for intrinsic enjoyment rather than external validation, and analyze extrinsic motivations that can compromise authentic artistic expression.
  • 511ELila and Mudita
    Define and analyze the concepts of lila (divine play), mudita (sympathetic joy), and anicca (impermanence) in Buddhist philosophy; evaluate how cultivating spontaneity and celebrating others’ success supports contemplative development; and synthesize understanding by implementing creative practices that embody playful wisdom while maintaining awareness and compassion in artistic expression enhanced by recognition of impermanence.
  • 511DLila and Mudita
    Create conditions for spontaneous joy in daily life through mindful attention to present-moment opportunities; practice mudita by genuinely celebrating others’ successes without comparison; and experiment with releasing creative control while maintaining awareness.
  • 503DContemplative Arts
    Cultivate beginner’s mind through contemplative art practices by approaching familiar materials with fresh curiosity, questioning assumptions about artistic ability, and practicing openness to unexpected creative discoveries; engage in sustained contemplative art projects that develop patience, concentration, and acceptance of the creative process; and examine how contemplative art practice affects their relationship with perfectionism, self-judgment, and creative confidence.
  • 511CLila and Mudita
    Express understanding of lila and mudita through diverse creative projects while practicing spontaneous joy; design activities that help others experience genuine celebration; and explore how different people naturally express and experience playfulness through multiple creative approaches.
  • 511BLila and Mudita
    Explore stories and examples of joyful play and sympathetic celebration from various cultures; create and share stories that demonstrate the difference between spontaneity and impulsivity; and identify examples of mudita in literature and personal experience.
  • 511ALila and Mudita
    Practice spontaneous play and creative expression through movement, art, and imaginative activities; celebrate friends’ achievements with genuine happiness; and experience the joy of creating without worrying about the outcome.

Buddhist Education Aspirations Framework ©️ 2025 by Michelle Macioce, Noa Jones, Mariana Restrepo, Carlo Carranza, Harry Einhorn, Connie Moffit is licensed under  CC BY 4.0

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Generate Lesson Plan Data for AI

First click “Generate AI Lesson Planning Data” and then “Copy to Clipboard”.

For this process to actually work, you need to then paste the result into the AI tool yourself.

This seems to work quite well with Claude and ChatGPT.

After pasting what this pop-up puts in your clipboard, the AI tool (you’ve chosen) should prompt you for any additional information you may wish to include, and then create a rough draft lesson plan that you can customize and edit until it’s ready for teaching.

Disclaimer: Teach content that you are most familiar with from your own study and practice. Think through what elements will work for your students. AI makes many mistakes, so be very careful and conscientious using the results as a basis for creating your own thoughtful lessons. Approached with care and attention, this method of generating a lesson plan with AI may give you more time to focus on the most essential elements of instruction.

Prompt generated!  prompt