Children from Blue Lion Preschool, a Buddhist-based preschool in Singapore decided that they would like to learn about Master Cheng Yen as an Asian Hero. Their teacher, Mr Soh Yan Da contacted me to ask if I could share more about Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi Foundation with the children. After learning about what the children wanted to know, a field trip to Jing Si Hall was organised for the children.
Besides learning about Tzu Chi’s Four Missions and Eight Footprints, the children also learned about Master Cheng Yen’s life. The children were very curious about what inspired her to lead a monastic life, how she completes so many things every day, and how she has so much compassion for everyone in the world.
During the tour of Jing Si Hall, the children were amazed to see real objects from what they read in articles and watched in video clips about Tzu Chi, like the ceramic lamp that is made by the nuns who live in Jing Si Abode.
The children had a meaningful hands-on experience learning about what home visits done by Tzu Chi volunteers are like. Staff from the Charity Development Department put in great effort to recreate a room of an elderly person who lives alone. The room was furbished with a Jing Si Multi-purpose Folding Bed, a small side table to put necessities, and a wheelchair. The room was littered with newspaper and there was an overpowering smell of medicated oil. The children were each given a coin to choose to purchase a piece of chocolate for themselves or purchase an item that they think the care recipient would need. The children were very kind. Even though some of them bought chocolate, they wanted to give it to the care recipient. When the children went into the mock-up of the care recipient’s home, the smell hit the children first. One of them exclaimed “What is that smell? It is stinky!”
It was explained to the children that the smell is from the medicated oil that the care recipient used. That sparked the curiosity of the children. They asked questions like “Why does the care recipient need medicated oil?” “Where does she get the medicated oil from?” And they related the care recipient to their grandmother. Despite the smell, the children were very excited to present the gifts that they have chosen.
The children then learned about the unique architecture of Jing Si Hall, such as the grey pebbles, the eight pillars, and the shape of the roof. They learned the symbolism of each part of the building. After which, the children drew their impression of Jing Si Hall.
The staff and parents of Blue Lion Preschool wanted to reinforce the children’s learning of the Era of the Bamboo Bank. Collectively, they made a kind donation, which was presented by Mr Soh Yan Da, the teacher behind the children learning about Master Cheng Yen.
Before the children left, they presented what they have learned about Master Cheng Yen over the past term. I was very touched by what the children understood. They chose to paint a picture of Master Cheng Yen caring for a sick person in Tzu Chi Hospital in gold paint, which to the children symbolised courage. They also presented individual work, where they recorded what they understood about Master Cheng Yen and the compassion she has shown to all sentient beings. The children said, “Master Cheng Yen thinks about everything in the world”, “Thank you, because she is the best nun in the world”, and “Thank you for taking care of all the people”.
(Photo by Ren Gengjing)
I was very impressed by the children at Blue Lion Preschool. Under the guidance of their teacher, Mr Soh Yan Da, their natural curiosity and competency to learn about Master Cheng Yen, was beyond children of their age group. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the founder of Blue Lion Preschool, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, for his wisdom that children should learn about Asian Heroes, instead of fictitious heroes like Superman or Spiderman. I would also like to compliment Mr Soh Yan Da for his passion for teaching the children about Master Cheng Yen and the work that she has done for all sentient beings. I hope that there will be more passionate teachers like Mr Soh Yan Da and may the children of Blue Lion Preschool continue to be curious, competent, and wise.
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