Key Question: 3.9 Should happiness be the purpose of life?

Transcription

1 Key Questin: 3.9 Shuld be the purpse f life? This investigatin enables pupils t learn in depth frm Christianity, Buddhism and nn-religius wrldviews abut the significance f. Thrugh a study f the idea f in the bible, the cncept f dukkha and cmparing the religius idea f the gd life t a nn-religius view f the gd life. Is it mrally acceptable t pursue attaining? The investigatin implements the principal aim f RE, which is t engage pupils in systematic enquiry int significant human questins which religin and wrldviews address, s that they can develp the understanding and skills needed t appreciate and appraise varied respnses t these questins, as well as develp respnses f their wn. Step 1: Select a key questin 3.9 Shuld be the purpse f life? Year Grup: Recmmended Year 9 Strand: Living Questins in this thread: Nne Religins and wrldviews: Christian, Buddhist, Atheist Step 2: Select learning utcmes Make sure that yu can explain where this unit/questin fits int key stage planning e.g. hw it builds n previus learning in RE; what ther subject areas it links t, if apprpriate. Use the learning utcmes frm clumn 2 f the key questin utlines n p.82 Select learning utcmes apprpriate fr the age and ability f yur pupils. Being clear abut these utcmes will help yu t decide what and hw t teach. Emerging Expected Exceeding Explain a Christian view f hw t achieve (A1). Frmulate an accunt f hw culd be derived frm Gd (A2). Cmpare a Christian view t a Buddhist r Humanist view f Analyse nn-religius values and ffer an accunt f secular (C1). hw t achieve (A3). Cnsider and weigh up arguments equating with the end f craving (A3). Weigh up the value f actin in cntributing t (B2). Offer reasns fr differing views f the imprtance f spiritual and earthly (B2). Evaluate religius and nnreligius cmmentaries n the types f pursued by thers (C3). 1

2 Step 3: Select specific cntent Lk at the suggested cntent fr yur key questin, frm clumn 3 in the unit utlines. Select the best cntent (frm here, r additinal infrmatin frm elsewhere) t help yu t teach in an engaging way s that pupils achieve the learning utcmes. This plan has selected the fllwing cntent t exemplify the learning utcmes. Students will: What is? Explre what peple mean by. Are there different ways we use the term (e.g. as pleasure, as an emtin, as life-satisfactin, as flurishing, r as a term linked t a mre transcendent view f meaning and purpse)? Which might be mst easily measured, when gvernments want t try t prmte? Which view f might be mst satisfying? Happiness in Christianity: what des the Bible say? Cmpare the a life lived in relatinship with Gd brings (e.g. Psalms 2:12, 32:1 2) t the that cmes frm acting t make the wrld better (e.g. Psalms 41:1, Matthew 5:9). Hw far d the cmmandments in Matthew 22:37 39 encapsulate Christian? Happiness in Buddhism: the unsatisfactriness f life: dukkha, a fundatinal cncept. Des this mean un is the purpse f Buddhism? Find ut whether the teachings f the Buddha can be understd as abve all a search fr, thrugh relinquishing the hld that craving has n us. Wuld students define this as, r smething else? Happiness in nn-religius wrldviews: Find ut abut Sunday Assembly grups and what they d: mindfulness, celebratin f life, cmmunity actin. Hw des a religius idea f the gd life cmpare t a nn-religius view? Cmpare secular views f hw t gain frm psitive psychlgy. T what extent des the psitive psychlgy mvement ffer a secular versin f religin? Is attaining mrally acceptable? Hw is religius r spiritual attained? Thrugh acting in the wrld, e.g. Bddhisattvas, r thrugh prayer and cntemplatin? Cmpare t a cnsumerist r materialist pursuit f. Can we evaluate the srt f aimed fr, and say ne is mrally better than anther? Where is? The Buddhist wheel f life shws us that heaven and hell are fund in daily existence in ur utlk and md. Cmpare t a Humanist view that n ne can be happy while thers suffer (e.g. Peter Singer). Are these similar views f heaven as states f mind attained here n earth? Cmpare t a Christian visin f heaven, and debate whether spiritual negates earthly, physical? NOTE: This unit f wrk ffers arund 8 hurs f classrm ideas. Yu need t select frm it in rder t achieve the learning utcmes set ut in Step 2 abve. 2

3 Step 4: Assessment: write specific pupil utcmes RE Tday Services / A Unit f wrk fr Key Stage 3/ 2016 Turn the learning utcmes int pupil-friendly I can r Yu can statements. Yu might adapt these specific utcmes t frm I can statements (fr pupil self-assessment), Yu can statements (fr teacher assessment), and Can yu? statements (fr next steps r challenge) Make the learning utcmes specific t the cntent yu are teaching, t help yu knw just what it is that yu want pupils t be able t understand and d as a result f their learning. These I can / Yu can statements will help yu t integrate assessment fr learning within yur teaching, s that there is n need t d a separate end f unit assessment. Emerging Expected Exceeding Explain sme different ideas f and hw t achieve it; Explain sme ideas abut Cnsider what ideas f Gd Christian and Jewish scriptures imply, and what difference that might make t Christian understandings f Offer reasns fr differing views f the imprtance f spiritual and earthly (B2). frm Christian and Jewish scriptures Explain a Christian view f hw t achieve (A1). Describe Buddhist understandings f the Frmulate an accunt f hw culd be derived frm Gd (A2). Analyse different ideas f and hw t achieve it; Analyse nn-religius values and ffer an accunt f secular (C1). Analyse and evaluate ideas abut the nature f and hw t find it, in religius and secular wrldviews. Offer insight and explanatin, with evidence, in respnse t the key questin. un/ Identify and analyse causes f and Evaluate religius and nnreligius cmmentaries n the discntentment and the slutins t un, it the light f path t Buddhist teachings abut dukkha and types f pursued by Cmpare a Christian view t tanha thers (C3). a Buddhist r Humanist view Cnsider and weigh up arguments f hw t achieve (A3). equating with the end f craving (A3).. Step 5: Develp teaching and learning activities Cnsider and weigh up arguments abut the imprtance f actively seeking t help thers as a path t in Christianity Cnsider the methds, purpse and value f attempting t measure Offer thughtful respnses t the suggestin that the wrld needs agreed secular ethics and practices t take up the slack in building cmmunities fllwing the decline f religin. Weigh up the value f actin in cntributing t (B2). Develp active learning pprtunities and investigatins, using sme engaging stimuli, t enable pupils t achieve the utcmes. Dn t frget the skills yu want pupils t develp, as well as the cntent yu want them t understand. Make sure that the activities allw pupils t practise these skills as well as shw their understanding. 3

4 LESSON OBJECTIVES Teaching and learning ideas and activities RE Tday Services / A Unit f wrk fr Key Stage 3/ 2016 LEARNING OUTCOMES What is? Students will learn t: Find ut different ideas f and hw t achieve it; Analyse these different ideas f and hw t achieve it; Cnsider the methds, purpse and value f attempting t measure Explre what peple mean by. Ask students fr their ideas f what is and what things they think bring. They culd bring in images r music as a prmpt. Thinking abut what brings will help t clarify what they think is, s d bth tgether. T get beynd a list f material gds, give sme headings e.g. what makes yu happy at hme, at schl with friends, abut the wrld, inside (yur mind r heart, r spirit ). Get students t draw a target bard thse things they think are mst imprtant fr near the centre, thse least imprtant further away. Cmpare their ideas. Analyse the class s respnses t what brings. Add a few Happiness is qutatins (Ggle search fr Happiness is images) if necessary. Ask students t srt them int categries. What categries d they cme up with? Yu might suggest sme: e.g. hw lng the lasts; hw much impact it has; whether it cpes with difficulty/suffering in life. Cmpare their categries with the fllwing ideas: Is smething t d with Overall satisfactin with the way life is ging Emtin Flurishing in life Having a sense f purpse Pleasure The transcendent beynd the material wrld? Ask students t see if they can put these types f in a rank rder. Cnsider whether sme are mre enduring r better than thers. Which nes and why? Yu might like t cmpare this with the ways in which gvernments seek t measure peple s. Sme f the abve categries are easily measured (Hw happy d yu feel right nw, n a scale f 1-5? this is easier than asking t what extent yu have a sense f meaning and purpse in life ). Yu might ask students t cme up with a way f measuring these different stands f a series f questins n a scale, fr example. Get them t decide hw helpful r nt these measures are. Ntes: Fr cmparisn, yu might have a lk at the Office fr Natinal statistics: index: Nte that the UK des nt always d very well n wrld measures. Lk at inf n f children ( and the Children s Sciety Gd Childhd Reprt )Nte the wrld index: Bhutan is ne natin that has priritised the f its peple alngside their material prsperity: it measures GNH (Grss natinal ) as well as GNP (grss natinal prduct): This idea was prmpted by Buddhist cncerns with, which will be explred later. These activities lay the fundatins fr students achieving the fllwing utcmes thrugh the unit: Emerging: Explain a Christian view f hw t achieve (A1). Cmpare a Christian view t a Buddhist r Humanist view f hw t achieve (A3). 4

5 LESSON OBJECTIVES Teaching and learning ideas and activities LEARNING OUTCOMES Hw des fit in Christianity? Students will learn t: Speculate as t what Christian teachings might say abut and hw t achieve it Find ut sme ideas abut frm Christian and Jewish scriptures Cnsider what ideas f Gd these texts imply, and what difference that might make t Christian understandings f Evaluate the imprtance f actively seeking t help thers as a path t in Christianity Cmpare Christian ideas with secular understandings f human nature. Christians: in relatinship with Gd Building n their wrk in the first sectin, ask pairs f students t cmpile a list f advice they think that they might find in the Bible, if it gave a Recipe fr Happiness. What wuld they expect t find n it and why? Use the Bible verses n Resurce Sheet 1. Ask grups f students t use this t cme up with a biblical recipe fr. Cmpare with their wn versins abve: are there any surprises r puzzles? The translatins given use the wrd happy. The Bible uses the term asrey (ashrey) in the Old Testament and makaris in the New Testament. Bth can be translated as happy, althugh many translatins use the wrd blessed instead. This is perhaps t indicate that is smething t be seen as a gift frm Gd, rather than a human prergative. Substitute the term happy fr blessed in the texts n Resurce Sheet 1 and ask students what difference it makes. Draft and cmpare descriptins f a happy life and a blessed life. See if students can identify three ways in which a believer s relatinship with Gd might affect their. Explre what part belief in Gd plays in this idea f. Frm the texts, what is Gd like? List the attributes, such as judge, prtectr, watcher, frgiver, etc. Ask students t begin t evaluate hw far it might affect a persn s if they believe that there is an all-pwerful, all-gd Gd wh is lking ut fr them. Discuss sme ideas arund this, and include questins abut hw suffering might fit in. Christians: derived frm actin Lk again at the texts n Resurce Sheet 1. Get pairs f students t identify hw many f them are t d with actins twards thers, nt abut a believer s internal state r relatinship with Gd (althugh presumably all three are linked). Findings f mdern psychlgy shw that caring fr thers is ne f the key ways f gaining. Ask students t cme up with three reasns why they think this might be the case. Discuss what it tells us abut human psychlgy - that we find in making thers happy, r that we like t find smene wrse ff than urselves? Yu might ask sixth frm psychlgy students t cme t yur lessn and reprt n altruism r bystander research prjects they have studied. Watch this fascinating RSA animate vide n the empathic civilisatin : This is 10 minutes lng, yu might like t just shw the first 5 minutes up t where the psychlgist makes the case fr humans being hm empathicus. Hwever, it is extremely watchable, even if students dn t understand every wrd. These activities will help students t wrk twards achieving the fllwing expected utcmes: Emerging: Explain a Christian view f hw t achieve (A1). Expected: Frmulate an accunt f hw culd be derived frm Gd (A2). 5

6 Link back t Christianity and the teachings explred abve. Ask students t evaluate hw far it is pssible t see Jewish and Christian teachings abut lve f Gd and lve f neighbur as a recipe fr. Place these tw statements at either ends f a cntinuum line. Statement 1: These Christian teachings are rules impsed t cntrl individual behaviur. Statement 2: These Christian teachings create a humane recipe fr human. Get pairs f students t label different places n the cntinuum and explain why smene might agree r disagree with this placement. They might lk at them frm different perspectives frm Christian insider t critical secularist viewpints. Ancient Judaism and the teachings f Jesus are nt the nly traditins t realise that lve and cmpassin are the basis f a healthy sciety. Discuss hw far it is pssible t be happy as an individual if thers in yur sciety are suffering. Yu might ask students t d a simple Hw happy are yu right nw? assessment n a scale f 1-5 (this assumes in terms f feeling). Then lk at headlines t d with sme f the majr challenges facing humans at the mment: terrrism, wars in Syria and elsewhere, the migrant crisis, pverty, etc Nw d the assessment again! Nw lk at the statements evaluated abve in sectin g) and see if students can amplify any f their earlier cmments and ideas. Ntes: There is a unit in Questins: Meaning, Purpse and Truth ed. Stephen Pett, RE Tday 2012, which prvides resurces and activities t address the questin: Is the purpse f life? cmparing Christian and secular perspectives. 6

7 LESSON OBJECTIVES Teaching and learning ideas and activities What is a Buddhist view f and hw t achieve it? Students will learn t: Describe Buddhist understandings f the un/ discntentment and the path t Identify and analyse causes f and slutins t un, it the light f Buddhist teachings abut dukkha and tanha Reflect n whether Buddhism fcuses n an internal persnal path t mre than an active fcus n making the wrld better Cmpare the idea f the Bdhissatva with key Christian teachings abut lving yur neighbur. Buddhist Revise students understanding f key Buddhist teachings f the Fur Nble Truths. Play this clip utlining Buddhist beliefs abut suffering: The fact f discntentment in the wrld is the 1st Nble Truth. The fact that humans cause discntentment thrugh craving is the 2nd Nble Truth. Lk fr examples (e.g. in a few episdes f sme n-ging TV sap peras) f hw dukkha unsatisfactriness, discntent, dis-ease, un is a key feature f life. Using the TV sap example as a start, ask students t list ways in which life in their wrld tday can lead t craving (e.g. TV and web advertising; scial media, e.g. selfies n Instagram and Snapchat). Remind the class that the Buddhist slutin is t cease craving things that d us harm. Frm the TV sap, identify examples f hw experiences f un are caused by craving, and hw craving brings discntentment in the lives f individuals (e.g. never being satisfied with what ne has; nt accepting that suffering is part f life). Lk at the initial activities dne in this unit. Revisit sme f the examples f students came up with (e.g. the Ggle Happiness is search), alng with the ther categries discussed (e.g. as feeling, emtin, life-satisfactin, transcendent). If a Buddhist idea f is abut a cessatin f desire, hw many f the ideas abut explred s far wuld crrespnd with a Buddhist idea? Yu might draw a Venn diagram with three circles verlapping: ne labelled Buddhist, ne Christian and ne Secular. Students culd take each f the examples f explred s far and place them n the Venn diagram, explaining their placements as apprpriate. Display the Buddhist Wheel f Life, using the excellent CLEO resurce which takes viewers thrugh each sectin f the wheel ( Fcus n the Realm f the Hungry Ghsts creatures wh are never satisfied. Ask grups f students t create a cllage/artwrk f mdern hungry ghsts. Get them t express their respnse t the idea that mdern Western living creates hungry ghsts, where peple crave nt just drugs but als scial media, cnsumerism and bdy image. Buddhist actin fr Revise the Buddhist steps fr ceasing craving the Nble Eightfld Path. Get students t map examples f hw each f these steps might have made a difference t the experiences f ur lngsuffering TV sap characters. Which steps wuld be mst effective, in which circumstances? LEARNING OUTCOMES These activities will help students t wrk twards achieving the fllwing expected utcmes: Emerging Cmpare a Christian view t a Buddhist r Humanist view f hw t achieve (A3). Expected Cnsider and weigh up arguments equating with the end f craving (A3). Weigh up the value f actin in cntributing t (B2). 7

8 Sme peple suggest that Buddhism fcuses mstly n ne s internal, persnal state f r un, but there are plenty f examples f Buddhists wh are active in bringing change t cmmunities. Get students t write up a few brief case studies abut e.g. engaged Buddhism ( ); Buddhists invlved in scial actin ( Sulak Sivaraska received 28th Niwan Peace Prize); Buddhist charities ( Tzu Chi Fundatin ). Find ut abut the rle f the Bdhissatva in bringing peace t thers. Explre the Buddhist prayer f dedicatin by Shantideva, 8 th C Buddhist master frm India. ( ) As a Bdhissatva, his aim is t delay his wn Nirvana in rder t bring gd t all beings everywhere. The Bdhicaryavatara r A Guide t the Bdhissatva s Way f Life suggests that ne s wn destiny might be subservient t the destiny f thers. It is an imprtant pem fr many Buddhists, particularly in the Tibetan traditin. List the ways in which Shantideva seeks t bring t thers. Cmpare this with Christian teachings explred earlier. Return t the RSA animate. Get pairs f students t write a brief script fr either a Christian r Buddhist visin f hw and why psitive actin t help thers can make peple happy. Limit it t 200 wrds. Chse tw f the best scripts ne Buddhist and ne Christian. Read ut script (slwly!), while the class sketches what they hear. Gather the sketches tgether, with the scripts, t create an RSA-animate- style cllage fr display. Ntes: Questins: Buddhists (ed Stephen Pett, RE Tday 2012) includes materials n Buddhist teachings abut dukkha (un/discntentment) and tanha (craving). 8

9 LESSON OBJECTIVES Teaching and learning ideas and activities What des a secular view f lk like, and hw des it cmpare with ideas in religin? Students will learn t: Cmpare sme ideas abut frm psitive psychlgy with ideas studied within religin. Find ut abut the Sunday Assembly and cmpare it t traditinal religius services. Offer thughtful respnses t the suggestin that the wrld needs agreed secular ethics and practices t take up the slack in building cmmunities fllwing the decline f religin. Secular ideas f The Actin fr Happiness campaign ffer 10 steps t, drawing n the findings f psitive psychlgy. Ask students t see what their tp three ideas wuld be fr this, based n their learning s far and their wn ideas. Lk at the 10 Keys nte similarities and differences with their wn ideas. Cmpare these 10 keys with the religius teachings: can they find any verlap? Explre any reasns they can think why this is the case. Find ut abut Sunday Assembly grups and what they d. Nte their mix f mindfulness, celebratin f life, cmmunity actin. Match these actins with the 10 keys abve, and with any f the religius teachings explred s far. Cmpare the Sunday Assembly services and cngregatins with the equivalent religius ceremnies. Get students t list similarities and differences, ffering reasns fr bth. Ask students t cme up with sme thughtful statements abut hw a religius idea f a gd life cmpares t secular views, with reasns and explanatins. (Yu might cnsider the fllwing questin: Why shuld I lead a gd life when the gd life is n ffer? A fully wrked unit n this is available in Questins: Beliefs and Teachings, ed Blaylck and Pett, RE Tday 2009). Return t the Wrld Happiness Reprt ( ) In its summary f chapter 3 Prmting Secular Ethics, it says: T supplement what is seen as a glbal decline in the impact f religius ethics, this chapter ffers the principle f greatest as ne that can inspire and unite peple frm all backgrunds and cultures, and ne that is in harmny with majr religius traditins. T sustain peple in living gd lives living rganizatins are needed, including thse already prvided by many religins, in which peple meet regularly fr uplift and mutual supprt. Ask students t reflect n a few questins, perhaps via a wheels within wheels apprach (tw circles f chairs, inner circle facing utwards twards uter circle, whse chairs face in: students sit ppsite smene fr 2 minutes and discusses ne questin 1 minute each; then all inner students mve ne chair t left and have anther cnversatin n questin 2; etc etc.) Questins might include: Hw far might ffering the greatest inspire and unite peple frm all backgrunds and cultures? In what ways d religius traditins give peple uplift and mutual supprt? Why might sme argue that religins have been failing in this? LEARNING OUTCOMES These activities will help students t wrk twards achieving the fllwing expected utcmes: Expected Analyse nn-religius values and ffer an accunt f secular (C1). Exceeding Evaluate religius and nn-religius cmmentaries n the types f pursued by thers (C3) Offer reasns fr differing views f the imprtance f spiritual and earthly (B2) 9

10 What chance is there f living rganisatins (such as the Sunday Assembly) ding a better jb than religius traditins? Hw far culd these secular living rganisatins be better at bringing feelings f, r experiences f pleasure, r a mre lng-lasting sense f meaning and purpse? What difference des it make that peple dn t agree n what we mean by? Is the mvement ffering a secular alternative t religin? 10

11 LESSON OBJECTIVES Teaching and learning ideas and activities Shuld be the purpse f life? Students will learn t: Describe and accunt fr different recipes fr Analyse and evaluate ideas abut the nature f and hw t find it, in religius and secular wrldviews. Offer insight and explanatin, with evidence, in respnse t the key questin. This unit has explred sme Christian, Buddhist and secular ideas abut and hw t attain it. T find ut hw well students have made sense f the ideas, yu might get them t wrk in pairs t describe sme recipes fr frm these three perspectives (Christian, Buddhist and secular). Cmpare these with the examples given n Resurce Sheet 2. T prepare fr answering the unit key questin, put the 12 statements belw n separate pieces f flipchart paper arund the rm. Give students sticky ntes t write n and add their respnses t at least six f the statements. 1. Persnal prayer and cntemplatin make yu happier than wrking fr justice in the wrld. 2. Wealth and success make yu happier than self-denial and mderatin. 3. Faith in Gd makes yu happier than secular atheism. 4. Pleasure is the highest frm f and we shuld get as much as we can. 5. Life is much t imprtant t spend chasing. There are mre imprtant things t d. 6. It is mrally wrng t pursue ur wn when there is s much suffering in the wrld. 7. If nly I had mre mney, I wuld be happy. 8. Selfless giving is the best way f living. Deep will cme as a by-prduct. 9. Happiness in the here and nw is limited; in heaven is cmplete and eternal. 10. Making the wrld mre like the kingdm f Gd is the best way t fr the greatest number. 11. If we culd stp craving stuff and sensatins, we wuld gain cntentment with what we have and wh we are. This cntentment r equanimity is a settled, lasting. 12. Happiness is nt a serius purpse fr life. Give each grup f three r fur students ne f the sheets with all their cmments. Get them t analyse and sum up the cmments, and reprt back t the class. Make a nte f the mst persuasive respnses and use them t seed a class discussin. Give students the key questin: Shuld be the purpse f life? Get them t prvide a written respnse which draws n their learning in this unit. They might take fur f the statements given abve, including a Christian, Buddhist and secular viewpint and ne ther, and use these t structure an argument. Or yu might get them t d a ping-png argument, with pairs taking up ppsing views and cnstructing an argument ne way r the ther Ntes: Essential RE: Happiness (ed. Stephen Pett, RE Tday 2015) gives 32 pages f resurces and ideas fr explring in RE, including Christian, Buddhist and secular surces and respnses. It includes explratin f hw peple handle suffering and un, using the Bk f Jb; and explres ethical hednism using Jeremy Bentham s hednic calculus, in a way that links GCSE and A-level ideas t thse explred in this KS3 unit. LEARNING OUTCOMES These activities will help students t wrk twards achieving the fllwing expected utcmes: Expected Analyse nnreligius values and ffer an accunt f secular (C1). Exceeding Evaluate religius and nn-religius cmmentaries n the types f pursued by thers (C3) Offer reasns fr differing views f the imprtance f spiritual and earthly (B2) 11

12 Resurce Sheet 1 Here are sme texts frm the Bible t d with. Happy are all wh take refuge in Gd. Psalm 2:12 (NRSV) Happy are thse wh respect the LORD, wh want what he cmmands. Psalm (NCV) Happy are the peple wh knw hw t praise yu [Gd] Psalm 89:16 NCV Always be jyful. Pray cntinually, and give thanks whatever happens. 1 Thessalnians 5:16-18 NCV Happy is the persn whse sins are frgiven, whse wrngs are pardned. Happy is the persn whm the LORD des nt cnsider guilty and in whm there is nthing false. Psalm What d wrkers gain frm their til?... I knw that there is nthing better fr peple than t be happy and t d gd while they live. That each f them may eat and drink, and find satisfactin in all their til this is the gift f Gd. Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 (NIVUK) The apstle Paul wrte: I have learned the secret f being happy at any time in everything that happens, when I have enugh t eat and when I g hungry, when I have mre than I need and when I d nt have enugh. I can d all things thrugh Christ, because he gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 Jesus said: Lve the Lrd yur Gd and lve yur neighbur as yurself. Matthew 22:37-39 Happy are thse wh cnsider the pr. Psalm 41:1 (NRSV) Take delight in the LORD, and he will give yu the desires f yur heart. Psalm 37:4 (NIV) Jesus said: Thse wh want t d right mre than anything else are happy, because Gd will fully satisfy them. Thse wh shw mercy t thers are happy, because Gd will shw mercy t them. Thse wh wrk t bring peace are happy, because Gd will call them his children. Matthew 5:5-9 (NCV nline) The apstle Paul wrte: Our light and mmentary trubles are achieving fr us an eternal glry that far utweighs them all. S we fix ur eyes nt n what is seen, but n what is unseen, since what is seen is temprary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Crinthians 4:16-18 (NIVUK) 12

13 Resurce Sheet 2: Recipes fr A Christian Recipe Hw t be happy: advice frm Ancient Greece Dn t wrry abut the gds: they re nt interested in yu [neither are fate nr chance] Dn t wrry abut death: when we exist, death is nt yet present, and when death is present, then we d nt exist. Pleasure is the key t, but we need t think abut what will bring us cntentment and what will bring anxiety. Everything we need t be happy is easy t get hld f. Yu shuld learn t lve the simple life: it s easier t avid anxiety if yu dn t get the taste fr indulgence. Epicurus, BCE Be full f jy in the Lrd always. I will say again, be full f jy. Let everyne see that yu are gentle and kind. The Lrd is cming sn. D nt wrry abut anything, but pray and ask Gd fr everything yu need, always giving thanks. And Gd s peace, which is s great we cannt understand it, will keep yur hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Brthers and sisters, think abut the things that are gd and wrthy f praise. Think abut the things that are true and hnurable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. D what yu learned and received frm me, what I tld yu, and what yu saw me d. And the Gd wh gives peace will be with yu. Advice frm the Apstle Paul, in his letter t the Philippians, Chapter 4 verses 4-9 (New Century Versin) A Buddhist path The Eightfld Path is the furth f the Fur Nble Truths the means thrugh which Dukkha can be ended. It is divided int three aspects f Buddhist practice: Wisdm Right View Right Intentin Ethical Cnduct Right Speech Right Actin Right Livelihd Mental Discipline Right Effrt Right Mindfulness Right Cncentratin What makes peple happy? A secular respnse Being with ther peple When we can trust peple and be trusted We re nt t keen n change It s better if we dn t try t cmpare ur status with thers all the time As we get used t things, the benefits f mre stuff sn wears ff, s we shuld nt run after having mre stuff Our inner life is as imprtant as ur uter circumstances, s we shuld accept urselves better and feel mre fr thers. Adapted frm Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessns frm a New Science,