Year 6 Visit to the Amaravai Buddhist Monastery

Year 6 spent a very memorable day at the Amaravai Buddhist Monastery, Great Gaddesden. They visited the beautiful temple and learnt about its history and founders.

The community belongs to the Theravada monastic tradition which is one of alms mendicancy. That is to say that the monks and nuns live only on what has been freely offered to them by the lay community. Year 6 joined in with this tradition by bringing food to offer to the monks and nuns in the Sala (Refectory).

Year 6 also saw the monastery library and toured the grounds before joining in a session of guided meditation.

The children asked many questions about life a as Buddhist monk and our host was a great teacher.

Here are some quotes from the Year 6 children:

‘I really respect this religion, I agree with a lot of what they say,’ Max.

I learnt a lot and some of it was quite surprising. My favourite part was the mediation because it was very peaceful but the most interesting was when the monks were chanting,’ Isola.

‘It was the most interesting school trip I have been on. There were very beautiful buildings, especially the temple,’ Thea.

‘I thought it was fascinating’, Riley.

‘My favourite part was giving the monks our food,’ Izzy.

It was very interesting to learn about the Sangha (the Buddhist community) and the way they live. It was a great experience,’ Arthur.

‘I liked it so much. I enjoyed the meditation and the temple (how big it was, the smell of tea and the cool Buddha).  I liked the silence,’ Roman.

I found the monastery very peaceful and tranquil. I liked that they include everyone, not just people who are part of their religion. I enjoyed the beautiful temple and the meditation session because I loved the artwork and statues,’ Emily.