Hong Kong Mini Unit Study Day 2

Our tiny happy Buddha was waiting at the top of the stairs!

Lil C took the challenge and huffed and puffed up and down the stairs 21 times! Squidgy joined her on her last trip and beat her to the top (I think he used our teleporter to get him most of the way up the stairs...).

We slowed down to learn a little more about Buddhism. First we listened to "Under the Bohdi Tree: A Story of the Buddha" by Deborah Hopkinson. I found a pretty good explanation of Buddhism for young children at Mr. Donn's Site for Kids and Teachers. We also discussed why our jolly fat Buddha statue looked very different from the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. The thinner Buddha represented in the Big Buddha statue is Siddhartha Gautama, the first Buddha. The jolly round Buddha is a Chinese monk named Budai who lived about 1600 years after Siddhartha. Budai had a big bright smile and spread happiness wherever he went. He especially loved children and would give away sweets that he carried in his big sack along with the rest of his possessions. It is said that Budai taught that the more you give, the more comes to you.