Transcript Happy Mahayana!

Happy Mahayana!
Mahayana is a celebration for all Buddhists, it is
celebrated at this time of the year.
Many Buddhists will remember Buddha and
how he taught them to live a good life.
This is Buddha under the Bodhi tree – notice the leaves are heart shaped
On Mahayana day, Buddhist people will visit a
Buddhist temple
or a Buddhist centre to join in the celebrations.
There are lots of Buddhist temples….
all over the world and some are very beautiful…
some are very colourful…
and others have interesting shapes…
Which is your favourite?
Perhaps you could try to
draw or build one of
the temples?
On Mahayana day, Buddhists think of the
teachings of the Buddha.
Buddha told his followers to find time to sit
quietly and think – this is called ‘meditation’.
These ladies are meditating – they say it helps
them to feel good.
These Buddhist monks are also meditating on
Mahayana day. The orange robes are their uniform.
These children are learning to meditate in school –
they are sitting quietly and closing their eyes.
These children are meditating in the garden would you like to try? Can you sit very still?
Buddhists will often fly prayer flags during
Mahayana celebrations – sometimes at the
temple
or out in the countryside – this man is adding his
flag to many other flags hanging above the river.
These flags are all put together to make a model.
Sometimes the flags are in very long chains.
The flags are always five different colours:
blue for wind
white for water
red for fire
green for space
yellow for earth
We are going to make prayer flags for Mahayana
day which colour will you choose?
After praying for a happy world, it is also nice to
share sweet treats for Mahayana in the temple.
Now it’s time for us to do lots of exciting activities
for Mahayana day – Happy Mahayana!
Making sweet treats
Meditating
Making prayer flags
Baking miracle cookies
Drawing and building Buddhist temples