Vitarka – Buddhism in schools, colleges and the wider community
Karunavapi is our
Educational Co-ordinator
Introducing what we do….For over a decade, we are pleased to have hosted visits from local schools and colleges. Our Educational Co-ordinator, Karunavapi and a team of enthusiastic and committed volunteers at the Centre continue to welcome visits from primary and secondary schools, F.E colleges and community organisations. We welcome visits to and from schools, colleges and groups in Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset.
We aim to tailor visits to the particular learning needs and interests of your students. From introductions to meditation, exploring Buddhist festivals, looking at the symbolism of the shrine, through to discussions on ethics and the precepts and discovering Siddhartha Gautama as the founder of a major world religion, our team enjoy tailoring your visit to the interests of children and young people of each year group and key stage.
Our suggested donations for school visits is £3.00 per visitor for up to a 2 hour period, plus travelling expenses if we visit you. We do ask for a minimum donation of £55 per visit. Please give what you can to help us to continue this work.
To find out more about arranging a visit or borrowing the shrine box, please call Karunavapi on 07709284056 or email vitarkabristol@gmail.com
Borrow the Buddhist Shrine Box…
Buddhist shrines are an interesting focal point when we bring them on visits! People say they enjoy and engage with the symbolism, fragrance and colours. Given the interest when we assemble a Buddhist shrine during visits, we thought it would be useful to offer a Buddhist shrine box for schools to borrow, so you can build your own shrine.
If you would be interested in borrowing the box and are fairly local to the Bristol area, please contact the Co-ordinator to book it and organise for you to collect it. We ask for a donation of around £15 and that you bring it back within a fortnight – unless pre-arranged.
The box contains everything needed to build a shrine (except for fresh flowers), full guidelines as to how to build a shrine, an explanation of the symbolism, why Buddhists build shrines and some simple exercises that you might want to use.
And finally…
Do check out Clear Vision – an award-winning producer of Buddhist resources for schools. Their website includes a wide range of audio-visual resources, Buddhist images and video lectures, clips and documentaries. There are also online interactive Buddhist materials for schools and young people.