Sangha
Communities that support good choices
Teacher Experience
A contemplative invitation for educators to reflect on before teaching.Who do you turn to for guidance and support as an educator? Who are your role models for teaching with wisdom and compassion? Reflect on the qualities of these people and how they help you develop your own good qualities. For Buddhists: Reflect on how your dharma brothers and sisters practically support your path and practice. Consider how acknowledging these sources of refuge openly with students might create deeper trust and model the importance of supportive community.
Student Experience
A contemplative invitation for students to connect with this learning goal.Think about a time when a friend helped you learn something important or encouraged you to do the right thing. Notice how different groups of people make you feel and act differently.
Understanding
Students will understand...The people we associate with have tangible and intangible effects on the way we think, our values, and our experience in the world.
Action
Students are able to...Analyze stories about loyal friendship and community support, including age-appropriate Buddhist tales about sangha; compare different story characters who represent positive versus negative influences; and create their own stories about friends who help each other make good choices and learn new things.
Content Knowledge
Students will know...In Buddhism, sangha is one of the three jewels. Sangha refers to the people with whom we are in community and share beliefs. The word sangha in Sanskrit and Pali means “group, assembly.” Good friends and positive communities help us make better choices and learn new things. When we speak of the Maha-Sangha, or the great community, it refers to the four types of the Buddha’s followers: monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. Together, they make up the sangha. Modern Buddhists often use sangha to refer to all those who follow the Buddha and practice the dharma, particularly their immediate group of friends and community.
Guiding Questions
Implementation Possibilities
Read and discuss picture books about friendship, focusing on characters who help each other grow and learn. Practice storytelling by creating tales about animal friends or children who support each other through challenges. Establish story comparison activities examining helpful versus unhelpful friend behaviors in familiar stories. Create classroom books where students contribute chapters about friendship and mutual support. Design dramatic play activities where students act out scenarios of friends helping each other make good decisions. Facilitate group discussions about favorite story characters who demonstrate good friendship qualities, connecting these to Buddhist values of kindness and support.
Assessment Ideas
Listen to students’ story retellings to understand positive friendship qualities. Evaluate student-created stories for examples of mutual support and helpful influence. Observe dramatic play to demonstrate supportive friendship behaviors. Assess story comparisons for the ability to distinguish positive from negative influences.
