The Five Precepts
Learning ethics through stories and examples
Teacher Experience
A contemplative invitation for educators to reflect on before teaching.Consider the norms we have for our own ethical conduct. What are the most essential guidelines that you abide by? What is the experience like of keeping a vow that you believe is truly beneficial? Consider how you might refine your practice of reverence for life, harmonious speech, or mindful consumption for a day. Sometimes it is in finding our edge, or where we aren’t as mindful that we experience the power of setting and abiding by an intention to follow a rule we trust will bring benefit.
Student Experience
A contemplative invitation for students to connect with this learning goal.Remember a time when you had to choose between what was easy and what was right. What helped you decide?
Understanding
Students will understand...Stories about ethical choices help us understand how our actions affect ourselves and others. Buddhist teachings include many examples of people making wise decisions that create happiness and poor decisions that cause suffering.
Action
Students are able to...Investigate biographical accounts of how Buddhist practitioners and ethical leaders have applied precept principles in challenging situations; analyze moral dilemmas through the lens of the five precepts; and synthesize understanding by creating narratives that demonstrate how ethical conduct navigates complex real-world scenarios.
Content Knowledge
Students will know...The five precepts are Buddhist teachings about how to live ethically and treat others with kindness. These guidelines come from stories and examples of the Buddha and other wise people who learned how to make choices that help rather than harm.
The Buddhist guidelines for children are: 1) Reverence for life – protecting and caring for people, animals, plants, and our environment, 2) Generosity – sharing and being helpful, always asking before borrowing, 3) Body responsibility – taking care of our bodies and respecting others’ bodies, 4) Harmonious speech – listening carefully and speaking truthfully with kind words, 5) Mindful consumption – choosing healthy food, drinks, and activities.
Buddhist stories show how following these principles leads to happiness and peaceful communities, while ignoring them causes problems and suffering. Many Buddhist teachers throughout history have demonstrated these values through their actions, even when facing difficult challenges.
Guiding Questions
Implementation Possibilities
Read biographical stories of Buddhist teachers and contemporary ethical leaders, identifying how they embodied precept principles in difficult circumstances. Create character analysis charts comparing ethical decision-making across different historical and cultural contexts. Design storytelling circles where students share family stories about moral courage and discuss underlying ethical principles. Develop creative writing projects featuring characters who face moral dilemmas and must choose between easy and right actions. Practice retelling Buddhist jataka tales and contemporary moral stories, connecting narrative lessons to daily classroom and community situations.
Assessment Ideas
Listen to story retellings and character analysis discussions. Original narrative creation demonstrating understanding of precept principles, presentation analyzing ethical decision-making in chosen biographical figure
