Placement of Relics by Venerable Wangdu la with Class IV Purva group

Purva group of Class IV took a moment to pause and truly observe their surroundings. As they practised mindfulness and awareness, the Stupa that had stood in front of their classroom transformed into an object generating intense curiosity. As children took a closer look, questions began to flow. “Why is it shaped like this?” “Why do people walk around it?” “What are these colourful drawings and flags?”

The natural curiosity that emerged during circle times became the foundation for our exploration, leading Isar Bhaiya Group Facilitator of Luft group to facilitate a session on understanding the stupa with the children. He explained how a stupa represents the Mind, while statues and texts represent the Body and Speech respectively, making three key aspects, and connected these to the children’s everyday lives to make them more relatable.

After the session, the children asked the group didi about relics, which Isar Bhaiya mentioned are kept inside the stupa and that we would be participating in the relic placement ceremony. To prepare the children for this experience, they were encouraged to reflect on what they consider valuable and worth preserving. This led to the engaging conversations about memories, teachings, and objects that hold significance in their lives.

We introduced relics as special things that help us remember great teachers, their teachings, and the goodness they bring into the world. This discussion was followed by the relic placement ceremony with Venerable Wangdu. Venerable interacted with children and introduced them to the relics. The ceremony proceeded with chanting the Heart Sutra Mantra followed by 3 Koras as the closure.