Bahujana-hitāya, Bahujana-sukhāya, Lokānukampāya
“Wander forth, O monks, for the benefit of many, for the happiness of many. Shower compassion on the world for the good, benefit, and happiness of gods and men. Let no two go in the same direction.”
– Gotama, The Buddha
Event Date: 24th May 2024
Few days back, as we were planning for the upcoming week, we suddenly realized that 23rd May was Buddha Purnima, and it was a holiday. And then the next thought was, “Should we do a session / event on the Buddha, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima!!?” 
There was a resounding “yes” from all of us and we soon declared the event at the Home! Even though it was more of a regular session, we called it an event since we felt that all children should be present. We also invited the staff for it and kept it an open event.
I started preparing the content for the session. I knew that most children had absolutely no idea about who Gautam Buddha was, nor about his teachings. So I focused on giving them a basic overview about the life of Siddharth Gautam, a couple of stories related to his life, and then finally some tidbits of his teachings. We used various video clips and a presentation to deliver the content. This landed very well and many kids were watching and listening intently.
Almost all the children came for the session in the beginning as we hoped and so did the teachers and a few other staff members. Over the course of the session, some children had to leave for various reasons, but a majority of them sat through till the end. We were very happy about this, since we wanted as many children as possible to learn about the Buddha and his teachings.
Various aspects of Siddharth Gautam’s life were covered during the session; starting from his birth and the prediction made by a ‘rishi’ (priest), the attempt by his father to keep him away from suffering, the 4 encounters that stirred deep reflection in him, renunciation, learning from the existing ‘Gurus’ (spiritual teachers), walking alone to find the end of suffering, becoming enlightened, his first teachings to his 5 disciples, his message to his disciples to spread the teachings for the benefit of everyone, his attendant Ananda, and his passing away! Over the course of the session, the audience got a broad understanding about the life of the Buddha and the major events. A few more stories were also shared – story of Angulimal, interaction with Azadshatru, his opposition to animal sacrifice and other rituals, etc.
Here are some of the videos that were used:
- Overview of Siddharth Gautam’s Life
- Story of Angulimal (from 28:04 to 42:58 (end))
- Interaction with the Cruel King, Azadshatru (from 14:49 to 23:24)
- Prince Siddharth Against Animal Sacrifice (from 13:05 to 20:23)
- Sanyasi Siddharth Against Animal Sacrifice (from 30:30 to 39:17)
- Buddha’s Teachings
I also highlighted the concept of ‘Bahujana-hitāya, Bahujana-sukhāya, Lokānukampāya’. This was his message to all his disciples who achieved enlightenment, to go out in the world and spread the teachings of Dhamma for the benefit of many, so that all beings can come out of their suffering.
Here is the actual message: “Wander forth, O monks, for the benefit of many, for the happiness of many. Shower compassion on the world for the good, benefit, and happiness of gods and men. Let no two go in the same direction.”
After the presentation, some of the staff members told us that the session was really good and they liked it. Later, a couple of children also shared their takeaways from the session. Such genuine appreciation and acknowledgement keeps us motivated and gives a sense of purpose for our work. Moreover, this was a particularly special session for me, since I have myself tasted the fruits of the teachings of the Buddha and of Vipassana Meditation and there is a deep aspiration to spread these teachings to more and more people so that they all can come out of their suffering. I am extremely grateful for opportunities like this one, to be able to do my bit in spreading the message of compassion, the message of Dhamma. 🙏🏻😊
