BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: In the U.S. and Europe, the other best-known Buddhist leader, besides the Dalai Lama, is the renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. He, too, has been on a U.S. tour, ended this past week — speaking, leading retreats, and promoting his latest of more than 75 books, Creating True Peace.

Many people may find Nhat Hanh’s teachings Utopian, but he is convinced they are practical and proven. He has opposed violence for more than 50 years. Martin Luther King, Junior nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Nhat Hanh insists he is a monk, not a politician. But as he toured the U.S. he spoke not only of Buddhist practices but also — often and critically — of American policies in the Middle East.

We caught up with Thich Nhat Hanh during late afternoon rush hour on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he practiced his customary attentive, so-called mindful walking — to the Library of Congress to talk to Members of Congress, and others, about peace in a world of terrorism. He said since 9-11 the level of hate and violence has gone up. He blamed America’s use of force.

THICH NHAT HANH: Using violence to suppress violence is not the correct way. America has to wake up to that reality.

ABERNETHY: That’s not a sentiment you hear everyday at the Capitol. Nor is Nhat Hanh’s recommendation to this bitterly divided Congress that its members practice what he calls deep listening (to each other) and gentle speech.

Nhat Hanh became a Zen Buddhist monk when he was 16. His title “Thich” means, symbolically, in Vietnamese, that he is a member of the Buddha’s extended family.

During the Vietnam War, Nhat Hanh actively opposed the fighting, offending all sides. He developed what he called Engaged Buddhism: going beyond meditation to campaign for peace, care for refugees and help rebuild bombed villages.

NHAT HANH: If you hear the bombs falling, you know, you know that you have to go out and help.

ABERNETHY: Because of his anti-war activities, Nhat Hanh had to leave Vietnam. In the 1980s, he founded a Buddhist community in France and has spent most of the years since teaching, leading retreats and writing. In all, he has written more than 75 books.

Nhat Hanh’s message emphasizes simple practices. Concentration on every activity — walking, breathing, eating, everything. He says this mindfulness leads to understanding the roots of suffering, which encourages compassion that can dissolve anger.

On this year’s U.S. visit, he led private retreats for several members of Congress in Washington, and for police officers in Wisconsin.

I asked him what Buddhism has to say to people of other religions.

NHAT HANH: I think if Buddhism can help, it is the concrete methods of practice. We have the same kind of teaching, but in Buddhism there are more concrete tools.

There are ways to transform and to reduce the amount of suffering in our families, in our schools. We, as practitioners of transformation and healing, we know how to do it, how to reduce the level of violence.

ABERNETHY: Are there times when it is right to use violence in order to protect yourself, or your family, or nation?

NHAT HANH: If you see someone who is trying to shoot, to destroy, you have to do your best in order to prevent him or her to do so. You must. But you must do it out of your compassion, of your willingness to protect, and not out of anger. That is the key.

ABERNETHY: Can a person be both a Buddhist and a Christian?

NHAT HANH: Sure. There are many, many Christians who practice Buddhism and they become better and better Christians all the time.

ABERNETHY: Nhat Hanh thinks violence in America has increased in recent years. He says one reason is too much production and consumption of the wrong kinds of things — movies and television, for instance, that stimulate craving and violence.

NHAT HANH: I think we have the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast. But in the name of freedom, people have done a lot of damage. I think we have to build a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast in order to counterbalance. Because liberty without responsibility is not true liberty. We are not free to destroy.

ABERNETHY: The continuing struggle in Iraq triggered questions for Nhat Hanh everywhere he went.

NHAT HANH: I think America is now caught in Iraq, like in Vietnam not very long ago. And you believed that search and destroy is the right path. But the more you continued that kind of operation, the more Communists you created, and finally you had to withdraw. I am afraid that you are doing exactly the same thing in Iraq.

The only way for Americans to get emancipated from this situation is to help build the United Nations into a real body of peace so that the United Nations would take over the problem of Iraq and the Middle East. America is powerful enough to do that.

ABERNETHY: At the Washington Hebrew Congregation, and elsewhere, Nhat Hanh made the same appeal for more UN authority. He also urged Americans to lobby their elected officials.

NHAT HANH: We have to offer them our insight, our compassion. We cannot just afford for them to be surrounded by advisers who do not have that insight, that compassion.

ABERNETHY: There was no way to tell how many people here agreed with Nhat Hanh, but there was no doubt about their interest in what he had to say.

Thich Nhat Hanh has scheduled a retreat for Israelis and Palestinians next month in France. He has done this before, and he says — for those attending — it always brings reconciliation.

In this lesson plan, elementary students develop an understanding of what it means to live with limiting physical conditions, such as impaired hearing, and other disabilities, such as dyslexia. Using various resources, including video segments from Religion & Ethics, books, Web sites, and polls and interviews with classmates and community members, students explore different perspectives on disabilities, including issues of access and inclusion. As a culminating activity, students create an awareness campaign related to disabilities.

Note: To invite family participation and alert parents and guardians to their children’s possible concerns around the issue of disabilities, a letter can be sent home. A sample letter to parents is provided; it may be adapted or used as is.

Grade Level:

Grades 3-5, with adaptations for younger children

Time Allotment:

1-2 weeks.

Note: This lesson can carry over anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on the level of interest and commitment to the topic.

Subject Matter:

This topic offers tie-ins to many curriculum areas: social studies/history (leaders and public figures with disabilities; the history of how societies have treated those with disabilities); science/health (causes and effects of disabilities); mathematics (collecting and tabulating data, understanding statistics); and language arts (interviewing; writing personal, factual, and opinion essays).

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate understanding of a range of disabilities, including physical disabilities and learning disabilities.
• Name at least three types of disabilities.
• For each type of disability named, identify two effects on the individuals who have them and two ways society helps and supports these individuals.
• Articulate ideas and explore ethical and moral issues related to society’s treatment of the disabled.
• Identify at least three things that they themselves can do to help and support people with disabilities.

Standards

• Click here to see the academic standards for this lesson plan.

This lesson was prepared by: Kathleen Cochran, Ed.M.

In this lesson plan, elementary students develop an understanding of what it means to be homeless and why people become homeless. Using various resources, including video segments from Religion & Ethics, books, and community guest speakers, students explore different perspectives on the homeless, including the issue of whether or not they should be arrested and taken off the streets. As a culminating activity, students examine different methods of helping the homeless and then select one, which they will carry out.

NOTE: To invite family participation and alert parents/guardians to their children’s possible concerns around the issue of homelessness, a letter can be sent home. A sample letter has been provided; it may be adapted or used as is.

Grade Level:

Grades 3-5, with adaptations for younger children

Time Allotment:

1-2 weeks.

NOTE: This lesson can carry over anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on the level of interest and commitment to the topic.

Subject Matter:

This topic offers tie-ins to many curriculum areas: social studies/geography (habitats, ecosystems, economics, social structures); history (settlement and urbanization); science/health (links of homelessness with disease, characteristics of a healthy home environment); mathematics (collecting and tabulating data, understanding statistics); and language arts (interviewing, writing factual and opinion essays, researching and supporting a position).

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate understanding of the extent of the problem of homelessness in their nation and their community.
• Name at least three possible reasons why people become homeless.
• Name at least five ways in which homelessness adversely affects people.
• Articulate ideas and explore ethical and moral issues related to society’s treatment of the homeless.
• Identify at least three things that people can do to reduce homelessness and help the homeless.

Standards

• Click here to see the academic standards for this lesson plan.

This lesson was prepared by: Kathleen Cochran, Ed.M.

Many people’s fundamental needs are not being met in the U.S. today. Food, shelter, medical care, and safety from violence elude increasing numbers of people. In a spirit of altruism, individuals, faith-based organizations and secular groups undertake humanitarian efforts to meet these people’s basic needs and — in the process — discover that other, deeper needs are being met for both the server and the served.

In this lesson, students explore the meaning of altruism and the bonds created when people take care of each other. Resources include segments from RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, Web sites, and guest speakers. As a culminating activity, students explore and synthesize the lesson’s themes through a service learning project.

Grade Level:

Grades 5-6

Time Allotment:

This lesson [unit] can carry over anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the level of interest and commitment to the topic.

Subject Matter:

Science; social studies; English/ language arts; religion

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Identify and categorize the basic needs that human beings have
• Arrive at a definition of altruism
• Research and report on altruistic organizations and individuals
• Interview guest speakers about the way they serve those who are in need
• Plan and carry out a community service project

Standards

• Click here to see the academic standards for this lesson plan.

This lesson was prepared by: Kathleen Cochran, Ed.M.

Students will explore the concept of a “just war” by examining various religious traditions as well as international law. They will study the criteria of a “just war,” apply what they learn to the case of the War on Terrorism, and decide whether they think the War on Terrorism is a justifiable and appropriate response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Students will also examine the pacifist perspective on war and retaliation, and they will evaluate pacifism as an alternative to war — be it “just” or otherwise.

Grade Level:

Grades 6-8

Time Allotment:

5-7 class periods

Note: The time needed for each learning activity is approximate. It will vary depending on the particular needs and skills of your students, as well as on course parameters and time constraints you may have to consider.

Subject Matter:

United States History; World History; Ethics; Culture and Society; Sociology; Religion.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Research and understand the “just war” theory as laid out in religious traditions and in international law.
• Analyze and explore the various perspectives on whether the War on Terrorism is a “just war.”
• Research and understand the anti-war and pacifist positions.
• Develop skills in creating and conducting surveys.
• Work cooperatively in small groups.
• Make historical connections related to government, individuals, social attitudes, and needs/desires.
• Synthesize the information gathered during the lesson in a final essay and a visual component.
• Understand the following vocabulary: “just war,” pacifism, retaliation, just cause, patriotism/patriot, preemptive strike, unilateral, proportionality, non-combatant immunity, collateral damage, genocide.

Standards

• Click here to see the academic standards for this lesson plan.

This lesson plan was prepared by Thandi Center

One of the most emotional and controversial issues raised by the First Amendment is the question of the role religion should play in public institutions. The First Amendment prohibits government from establishing a religion and protects each individual’s right to practice (or not practice) any faith without government interference. In this lesson, students will focus on one aspect of the presence of religion in public institutions: the controversy surrounding religion in the public schools. Through research and interviews with community members, students examine different perspectives on this issue. They then act as a fact-finding commission whose job is to offer a recommendation to a school administration about its policy on religion in the school.

NOTE: This lesson would work well in the context of a unit on the United States Constitution and the events that led to the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

Grade Level:

Grades 6-8

Time Allotment:

5-7 class periods

NOTE: the time needed for each learning activity is approximate. It will vary depending on the particular needs and skills of your students, as well as on course parameters and time constraints the teacher might have to consider.

Subject Matter:

U.S. History; U.S. Government; Ethics; Culture and Society; Sociology; Religion, English/ Language Arts

Learning Objectives:

Students will:

• Conduct research on important background information regarding the role of religion in American public schools.
• Examine and become familiar with the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
• Use analytical skills to explore and understand the controversy surrounding the First Amendment and its application to public schools.
• Develop interviewing skills.
• Work cooperatively in small groups.
• Synthesize the information they gather during the unit in a class presentation.
• Understand the following vocabulary: Bill of Rights, First Amendment, freedom of conscience, official neutrality, soliciting, religious garb, endorsement.

Standards

• Click here to see the academic standards for this lesson plan.

This lesson plan was prepared by Thandi Center