Buddhist Mindfulness for youngsters of all ages

Workshops held at the House of Dhamma, are planned
for individuals and small groups by appointment only.
Please email dhamma.art@gmail.com for details.

if you are interested in doing this workshop A collection
of these activities can also be found in the booklet:
‘Mindfulness (Bare Awareness) activities and games’

by Acharn Helen Jandamit.

General Instructions

For each activity or game, there is a task (or series of tasks)

Cover the question(s) while you do the task.

After you have finished the task, uncover the first question and answer it.

Note: You may not be able to answer the question if you had not been
aware of it first. If this is the case, spend a moment or two considering the question and then repeat the task with a view to finding the answer. When you know your answer, continue with any following questions one by one.

If you are practising together with others, you may assign one person to be the questioner.Only that person will see the question(s).
For each subsequent activity, switch the role of questioner.

There is no one right answer to each activity.

If you discovered something real about the way your mind and body work together – that is the right answer. Right answers may vary from person to person or even from session to session.

Wrong answers include guesses, copying the answers of others, trying to find a logicalprogression or just saying something to fill the space.

Buddhist Mindfulness preparation activities

1. Paper puzzle Catchit

Task

Take a sheet of paper, fold it in half twice and then roll it into a ball.

Question

Which hand did you use to pick up the paper after you had folded it?

Follow-up question

Why could/couldn’t you answer?

2. Feeling books

Task

Put several books in front of you on a table. Close your eyes.
Rearrange the books. Select one of them by touch.
Alternatively, you can ask a friend to rearrange the books. Then with closed eyes, choose one at random and put it in front of you.

Still with closed eyes, feel the way that book is constructed.
Feel the various textures of the cover, the pages, etc.
Feel the textural differences between the book and the surface it is resting on. Feel the way it is bound and how it falls open.

Question

How did your experience of feeling the book differ from the one you are usually aware of when picking up a book?

Follow-up question

How might your book-feeling experience be relevant to meditation?

3. Black bag gloves

Task

Get two small black plastic bags (the kind used in rubbish bins) and two large rubber bands and/or some sticky tape. You’ll also need a few sheets of paper and some pens and pencils.

Ask a friend attach a bag to each of your hands so that it is like a glove.
The friend should use the rubber bands or sticky tape to hold your
‘gloves’ in place.

With your ‘gloved’ hands, pick up a pen, open it if necessary and write the day’s date and the time. Write the day of the week in pencil too.


Questions

What sensations did you feel when picking up the pen and using it?

What additional sensations did you feel when picking up and using the pencil?


Follow-up question

What did you feel when you picked up the pencil and started writing?


Follow-up questions 2

What did your writing look like?

If it was different from your normal writing, what were the probable
causes of that?


Follow-up question 3

What did you discover about yourself by doing this activity?

4. Shower in the dark

Task

6. Blind man's Kim's game

If you wish to go deeper into mindfulness practice or Insight meditation, you can join a course or workshop at the House of Dhamma in Bangkok
or contact a Buddhist centre near you.