Articles about Buddhism
For the classroom 11-16
Beyond words in Buddhism
Great teachers use vivid imagery and memorable stories to make their point. Buddhist texts draw lessons from the world around us in a remarkable selection of similes and metaphors. Here, Stephen Pett shows how exploring...
For the classroom 11-19
Words matter: gender, religion and RE
I think it’s fair to say that we RE teachers have some big ideas about our subject. We see ourselves as much more than purveyors of content and developers of skills; we see our subject as more than information to be...
For the classroom 4-11
RE day – Buddhism
Sue Halliwell is the RE Subject Leader at St Michael’s CE Primary School, Bishop’s Stortford and teaches RE in Years 5 and 6. She has recently established a NATRE Local Group, which includes both church and...
For the staffroom
Wisdom Ancient and Modern: seven different perspectives
We asked members of different religions and beliefs to answer some questions about their own sense of what is wise, whether ancient or modern. A Christian View Rev Tracy Swindells, who is also an RE teacher, begins the...
Instant RE
This article is for paying subscribers Concepts from Sikhs and Buddhists: making creative sense of wisdom
Suzanne Parker teaches at Putteridge in Luton. She wanted her pupils to be more creative and more thoughtful in RE, so after teaching a sequence of lessons on the big ideas in Buddhism and Sikhism, she set them a task...
For the classroom 5-11
Better RE through A big event!
Before our RE week began…Last year, I was observed when teaching a lesson about Easter, where children were arguing for and against the Christian notion of Jesus as the Son of God. It went well, but made me think about...
For the classroom 7-11
Kisa and the mustard seeds
Kisagotami (called Kisa, for simplicity, in this article) was the daughter of the poorest family in the village. Eventually her kind ways charmed a young man, and they married. Once she was married, her husband’s...
The big picture
THE BIG PICTURE: The realm of the hungry ghosts
Hell on earth: the realm of the hungry ghosts What is evil? Where is evil? The traditional view of a devil who tempts us and, if we really don’t shape up, a hell where we will suffer eternal punishment are familiar...
For the staffroom
What does your faith say about the Devil?
We invited members of different faiths and beliefs to consider the nature of evil from their own point of view. Here are responses from a Buddhist, a Christian, a Pagan and a Sikh, all of whom are teachers. We used the...
For the classroom 11-16
This article is for paying subscribers Thailand, Buddhism and animals
The creatures that inhabit this earth – be they human beings or animals – are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world. The 14th Dalai Lama (2004) After living and...
Instant RE
A Buddhist lantern festival
Recently, over 950 people gathered for a traditional Shinnyo Buddhist lantern floating ceremony at the peaceful, serene Shinnyo-en Buddhist Centre in Long Ditton in Kent. As well as lantern floating, there was Buddhist...
For the staffroom
Attack and defend: views from different communities
We asked these questions of people from different faith communities. Their replies are fascinating – and could be used with students aged 14–19. Get them to read two or more of the replies, share and summarise...
For the staffroom
The best that has been thought and said
This issue of REtoday is themed around ‘the best that has been thought and said’. The quote is from Rugby School’s Victorian headmaster Matthew Arnold. It is his description of what the curriculum might consist...
Theory and practice
Teaching about Buddhism:
some points to bear in mind Regular readers of Professional REflection will be familiar with our occasional series focusing on things to bear in mind when teaching … Here Denise Cush, who has been writing and teaching...
For the staffroom
This article is for paying subscribers We asked people from different religions and beliefs to tell us what it means to them to ‘sing their own song’
Here are replies from a Buddhist, a Humanist, a Christian, a Jewish person and a Muslim. Read these with your older pupils, and ask them to think of their own answers to the interview questions we used. The questions...
For the staffroom 14-19
Faith in science? Faith in God?
This term’s theme is about the nature of faith and about the frontiers and borders between science and religions. We invited people from different religions and beliefs to contribute a personal perspective on the...
On reflection
Lesson spinning in RE
How and why a teacher might make use of contemporary popular culture, or popular items that could be classed as a craze, is always potentially controversial. Here Neil McKain satirises the potential use of them as...
For the staffroom
This article is for paying subscribers Improve your RE subject knowledge
We invited members of different religions to reflect on the values that their worldviews seek to promote. Over these next six pages you will find much to enlighten. As well as contributing to readers’ RE subject...
For the staffroom
This article is for paying subscribers Two Buddhist stories about values: looking for enlightenment
Read these two stories with pupils in the 7–14 age range and consider what they mean, what they have in common and how they relate to the teaching of the Buddha. The Enlightened Chicken Once there was a clever little...
Instant RE
This article is for paying subscribers Mindfulness for free: Don’t pay for a pale imitation when the real thing is available as a gift
Mike Keogh is a Buddhist. Use his letter with your pupils: should religious and spiritual practice be up for sale? Dear headteachers, company CEOs, local politicians, in fact anyone tempted to dip in their pocket and pay...