BUDDHISM TODAY. Video resource pack. Narrated by Mike Harding. By The Clear Vision Trust, 16-20 Turner Street, Manchester M4 1DZ pound;75 + VAT + pamp;p. Tel: 0161 839 9579.
Many teachers worry about getting Buddhism “right” because of its diversity and, on the surface, distance from conventional western thinking.
The Clear Vision Trust is part of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, so in this material we are getting Buddhists on Buddhists.
Five traditions of Buddhism, not merely the FWBO, are represented in the videos.
The pack consists of six programmes of 25 minutes each and a 62-page teacher’s handbook. The theme is the response by Buddhists in Britain to ethical issues: the meaning of life; lfe and death; environment; relationships and work and so on. It is aimed at KS4 and 5 and Scottish levels SG and HS.
The teacher will have to unpack it carefully with less able KS4 or AAS students. These videos make a spirited attempt to get away from “talking heads” and to include footage of Buddhist practice.
Quick switches from colour to black and white are distracting, but this wealth of material will help at any secondary age.
In a school improvement culture, the Dammapada quote “Our life is shaped by our mind, we become what we think”, is one lesson at least in AT2, Learning from Religion.
terence copley Terence Copley is professor of religious education at the University of Exeter
