Buddha: meditation
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the importance of meditation to many Buddhists.
Key learning points
- Many Buddhists all over the world practise meditation in a variety of ways.
- This aims to cultivate concentration, mindfulness and peace.
- A statue of the Buddha may help a Buddhist to focus their thoughts.
- Some Buddhists may also use mala beads, mandala patterns and mantras as aids to meditation.
Keywords
Buddha statue - a representation of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism
Mala beads - Buddhist prayer beads used to aid meditation
Mandala - Buddhist image used to symbolise the world
Mantra - a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation
Meditation - a practice of focusing and clearing the mind
Common misconception
Meditation is the same as prayer.
Meditation and prayer may both be used to focus the mind, but prayer is usually directed towards God or a god, whereas meditation is not necessarily religious.
Teacher tip
To enhance pupils understanding of the aids for meditation, use Buddhist artefacts to deliver this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is a ‘Buddha’?
Q2.When Siddhartha Gautama left home, what did he see which made him want to find the answer to suffering?
Q3.What word is used in Buddhism to mean that things constantly change and do not last forever?
Q4.According to Buddhism, what is the cause of suffering?
Q5.What word is used in Buddhism to describe the state of complete understanding that leads to the end of suffering?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is meditation?
Q2.Match the key terms to the correct definitions.
Q3.What do many Buddhists focus on when they meditate?
Q4.What is the name of a mantra that Buddhists use during meditation?
Q5.In what way is meditation different to prayer?
To help you plan your 5 religious education lesson on: Buddha: meditation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 religious education lesson on: Buddha: meditation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 religious education lessons from the Buddhists: who was the Buddha and what does he mean for Buddhists? unit, dive into the full primary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.