Students study about the life of the Buddha at Shwedagon Pagoda. Pic: Shinthamanei Beikman Association

A LOCAL Buddhist organisation, the Shinthamanei Beikman Association, is offering a new course that teaches children about the life and basic teachings of the Buddha through music and art.

The 12-week course, which started on August 5, meets every Sunday morning at the Shinthamanei Beikman shrine near the eastern stairway of Shwedagon Pagoda.

More than 200 children between 10 and 16 years of age attended the course on the opening day.

“We teach them about dhamma (the way of truth) through art and music because we don’t want the kids to get bored,” said U Lin Aung Pyae, a member of the association. “Our main subject is the life of the Buddha but we also teach them how to be smart in eating, in their behaviour and in other aspects of their lives.”

He said classes have featured famous musicians such as U Hla Tun and Maung Myo Tint playing melodies on violin and piano to verses from a book by the Venerable Janakabhivamsa that contains a series of questions and answers about the life of the Buddha.

“We have also requested some artists such as Htet Moe and Soe San Win to join us,” U Lin Aung Pyae said. “This course is dedicated to prompting children to become absorbed in Buddha’s dhamma in their spare time.”

The new class is one of about 10 courses aimed at youths and children that the Shinthamanei Beikman Association plans to offer every year.