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Children

Many local FWBO Centres have families groups, offering weekends away and Dharma activities suitable for adults and children. FWBO Buddhafield (UK) and some FWBO retreat centres offer family-friendly retreats. Increasingly on Festival days there are children’s activities and a crèche.

Generally young people in the FWBO are not regarded as Buddhists until they are old enough to make a conscious choice for themselves. Most Buddhist parents, however, would want to bring up their children with a sense of Buddhist community and ethical values.

FWBO and schools

School groups are welcome at many FWBO centres, by appointment. Two projects in particular are active in the field of Religious Education in the UK:

The Clear Vision Trust, Manchester, UK, makes acclaimed audio-visual teaching materials for Buddhism in primary and secondary schools and offers INSET for teachers as well as consultancy at local and national level.

Some of Clear Vision’s school materials are available in German from Windross Publikationen at the Essen Buddhist Centre. Others have been translated into Mongolian and Welsh.

The Bodhi Tree project, in London, UK, offers discussion and storytelling workshops on Buddhist themes for schools, meditation in schools and colleges, training for teachers, and drama and writing workshops for children and adults. Tel: + 44 (0)20 8926 1908.