What brings us to the Sunday School ?

Many youths today are still present in the Sunday School. But besides seeking the Truth, what else is there that attracts them to this place of worship ?

Some say its their friends, some say its the activities, some say its just purely for the learning. Well, in actual fact, all of them are true.

Friends are important in how we lead our life. And friends are the ones that will influence us the most in what we do. Knowing friends in the Sunday School brings a sense of belonging. Bonds are easily made as other youths who come to the Sunday School have a common spiritual grounding. There is no fear of someone trying to cheat you or to invade your privacy. This is the environment that the Sunday School creates.

Throughout the years, many friendships have been made and are treasured till today. Once, a friend told me that "people in Sunday School are usually good people". And that is why it is easier to trust one another. We trust them with our happy moments, times when we are down, our challenges in life and even our secrets.

The BISDS has many activities besides just pure learning of the Dhamma. The BISDS choir has been growing rapidly in the past year and was invited to be a special guest performer at last year's Nalanda Inter-Dhamma School Singing Competition.

There are also dance and harmonica classes and of course also the annual CFC and BISDS Youth Camp. It is activities like these that help to keep students in the Sunday School.

However, we must not neglect the learning of the Dhamma. It is for this reason that the Sunday School was actually founded for. For those fortunate ones, they are able to seek refuge in the Triple Gem, and the lessons they learn have been very useful in their daily lives.

One such example would be the practice of Metta mediation, or loving kindness meditation. There are 11 benefits of practising Metta meditation as expounded by the Buddha. And two of them are to be able to sleep well without dreams and to wake up fresh and alert.

It is scientifically proven that dreaming actually tires our mind because dreaming is a process of thinking which takes place and causes our mind to be active. To be able to sleep without dreams ensures that a person wakes up fully energetic and ready for the day's work.

So, these are the 3 main reasons that youths until even in this ever-evolving times, continue to frequent the Sunday School. And it is for these reasons that the Sunday School should continue to be operated and the adults should continue to give their support to the school.