Dr. Niranjala Tillakaratne and Mihiri Tillakaratne are conducting lessons for the Dharma Vijaya Sunday School with the advice of Dr. Ven. Walpola Piyananda. The mother and daughter duo conducted a lesson on study skills and college applications in October, on gratitude in November and on Visakha, the Buddha’s greatest female lay disciple in December 2020.

They plan to teach at least one lesson per month. They will send the students the material related to the topic, reading comprehension questions, and discussion topics a week in advance. There is a Google form for students to sign up for the question(s) that they are interested in addressing. Students then can read, research, and think about the question(s), and share their thoughts with the rest of the class.

Link to the Gratitude lesson:

https://www.facebook.com/dharma.vijayavihara/videos/3511645318915978

Description of the lesson:

“This Thanksgiving is an unusual one, in the midst of a pandemic.  We usually get together with others to celebrate and tell others how we feel about them.  Let us take this moment to reflect on what we are thankful for, and more importantly, express our gratitude for ourselves and others.

  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please do the following before our talk about gratitude on Sunday.

  1) Write a letter thanking someone who you appreciate.
Write and deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who you would like to thank.  You send the letter through text, email, or by reading the gratitude letter over the phone.

2) Answer at least one of the following questions and be prepared to discuss:
* What have others done in your life that you are grateful for? What is one thoughtful thing someone did for you recently?
* Have you had a chance to help someone recently, and how did that make you feel?