But, like a seed sleeps in the soil, so too does this method lay waiting powerfully, full of potential, just below the surface.
And today was one of those days where a little shoot broke through.
I adapted and built a new story, one of my favorites, to integrate in with the churchwide theme of evolution. The whole session went really well. The parents were happy. The children were engaged and excited. I was thrilled.
My great hope is to capitalize on this visibility and energy to make a pitch for using Spirit Play as the basis for our one-room schoolhouse in the fall, where I will likely be doing double-duty some Sundays as storyteller/co-teacher and DRE. The program here is in great need of one of Spirit Play's great strengths, and that is a low degree of teacher prep week-to-week once the classroom is set up and the stories are prepared. Let's hope I can help others see what a great match this can be!
The set-up above cost about $13. The little wooden house was $7 at JoAnn's. The wooden people are from two sets, small people and large people. The small people set was $4, and I used all five figures. I used one of five large people and reserved the others for other stories. The rock was found. The fabric and the glass pebbles for the coins were object I already had. And the felt was a smaller circle leftover from another Spirit Play story, so maybe a couple of dollars worth of felt if one had to buy it new.
The Wise Teacher’s Test
A Jataka tale adapted and published in the Tapestry of Faith curriculum, "Moral Tales," by
Alice Anacheka-Nasemann and Elisa Davey Pearmain,
adapted for Spirit Play by Teresa Honey Youngblood
Materials:
Basket with the World Religions symbol or the blue triangle for the 5th Principle, right of conscience
One teacher figure
Four or five smaller student figures
Small structure to serve as the schoolhouse
Medium sized rock
Blue underlay
Small, fancy bag full of yellow or gold glass pebbles or fake coins
Rectangle of semi-translucent dark fabric or paper, under which the small bag of coins fits
Spread out dark blue background.
I remember that blue is for our promise to believe in our ideals, and act on them. I wonder if this story is going to be about doing what is right.
Place schoolhouse at a lower edge of the underlay. Place dark rectangle at upper edge of underlay. Place large rock between them.
We have what we need to get started, so let us begin.
Once upon a time on the outskirts of a big city in Japan there stood an old temple.
Touch the temple.
There was a master teacher who lived there, a Buddhist monk.
Place the monk in the building.
From a young age boys who wanted to study Buddhism would come to live in the temple and learn from the monk.
Place the children in the building.
One day the Buddhist monk gathered the students around him, and said," My dear students, as you can see, I am growing old, and slow. I can no longer provide for the needs of the temple as I once did. I know I have not yet taught you to work for money, and so I can only think of one thing that can keep our school from closing."
Move students closer.
"Our nearby city is full of wealthy people with more money in their purses than they could ever need. I want you to go into the city and follow those rich people as they walk through the crowded streets, or when they walk down the deserted alleyways.”
Gently shake purse of coins, and place underneath dark rectangle.
“When no one is looking, and only when no one is looking, you must steal their purses from them. That way we will have enough money to keep our school alive."
Sneakily take purse from under dark rectangle and move it over to the temple, partially hidden behind the building.
Touch children figures.
"But Master," the boys said in disbelief, "you have taught us that it is wrong to take anything that does not belong to us."
Move purse on top of dark rectangle.
Touch teacher.
"Yes, indeed I have," the old monk replied. "It would be wrong to steal if it were not absolutely necessary. And remember, you must not be seen! If anyone can see you, you must not steal! Do you understand?"
Touch children figures.
The boys looked nervously from one to the other. Their teacher’s eyes shone with intensity such as they had never seen before. "Yes, Master," they said quietly.
Touch teacher.
"Good," he said. "Now go, and remember, you must not be seen!"
The boys got up and quietly began to file out of the temple building. The old monk rose slowly and watched them go.
Move all children but one out of building one at a time, and group them on the far side of the rock, where they cannot be seen from the temple. Move monk to doorway.
When he turned back inside, he saw that one student was still standing quietly in the corner of the room.
Move teacher and student closer together in middle of room. Touch teacher.
"Why did you not go with the others?" he asked the boy. "Do you not want to help save our temple?"
Touch boy.
"I do, Master," said the boy quietly. "But you said that we had to steal without being seen. I know that there is no place on Earth that I would not be seen, for I would always see myself."
Touch teacher.
"Excellent!" exclaimed the teacher. "That is just the lesson that I hoped my students would learn. Run and tell your friends to return to the temple before they get us into trouble."
Wondering questions:
I wonder how the children felt to have learned the lesson through a trick?
I wonder why the boys hid behind the rock instead of going to town like the monk told them?
I wonder if you have ever really, really wanted to take something that was not yours?
I wonder what you have heard about stealing before?
I wonder if you have ever thought to yourself that something you wanted to do, or something that another person asked you to do, was wrong?
I wonder where Spirit is in this story?
I wonder why the students were only boys, not children of other genders?
I wonder if you will share this story with anyone you know?
Piece by piece, gently put away story. You might name each piece as you do, such as “The children who left the temple to hide behind a rock,” “The rock behind which they gathered,” “The boy who stayed behind to tell his teacher what he thought,” “The teacher,” “The purse full of riches,” “The dark alleys where the monk told the boys to do the stealing,” “The school of the monastery,” “And finally, our blue underlay, which reminds us of our 5th Promise to believe in our ideals, and act on them.”
Remember that if you’d like to make this story your work, it will be on the shelf with the others. I hope you enjoy working with it.
