OznAsia

In countries such as Thailand and Cambodia I observe that spirit beings are often a part of local belief systems. Often these beings are considered to be evil. These beliefs come from Animism that dominated these cultures before Buddhism was introduced. Unlike some religions, Buddhism doesn't usually attempt to replace existing religions but offers its teachings as further enrichment. Over the years the two have blended. It is not uncommon to find Buddhist monks refer to spirit beings. In fact, such beings have been adopted into Buddhist teachings.

In my early study of Buddhism I read several books by Trevor Ling whose interest was largely with the Theravada Buddhism of Burma. Recently I discovered a book of Ling's 'Buddhism and the mythology of evil' first published in 1962 which discusses the various mythological 'evil' creatures and compares them to Mara as a symbol of evil.

Ling points out that Buddhist teachers have embraced the existing folk beliefs rather than contradict them but have used the all-encompassing name of Mara. Instead of trying to teach that these beings do not exist (as I'm aware of Christian missionaries doing in Cambodia) the Buddhist teachers have used them as a way of describing that which is a distraction from ones path. The stories may describe horrible beings that do terrible things but this is intended as a metaphor for our own inability to concentrate on our path. Ling also sees the Christian concept of Satan in the same light.

The problem this raises in teaching religious paths in the modern world is that science has cast doubt on the existence of such beings. However the existence of distractions from ones path is very real. Ling suggests that perhaps the symbols of Satan and Mara have had their day but the reality which is symbolised by these mythological creatures is still relevant.

'If, because the symbol is outworn and irrelevant in a scientific age, it is discarded, then the reality to which it pointed has no longer any representation by means of which men may be constantly reminded of it. There is thus a need to find other effective ways of speaking of this reality which these symbols formerly represented.'

Buddhism and the mythology of evil
A study in Theravada Buddhism
Trevor Ling
first published George Allen & Unwin, 1962
republished 1997 by Oneworld Publications, Oxford

Labels: Asia, book review, Buddhism, Burma, Cambodia, folklore, religion, storytelling, teaching, thailand

On my first visit to Cambodia some years back I met a few young people and as we were chatting some made some disparaging remarks about Thai people. 'How many Thai people do you know?' I asked.

'None,' came the answer.

'So, tell me—How many fingers do you have?'

'Ten.'

'Mmmm. Same as Thai people. And what about toes? How many toes do Cambodian people have?'

'Ten.'

'Just like Thais. How many eyes do you have?'

'Two.'

'So do all the Thais I've met. And ears—How many ears do you have?'

'Two.'

'The same as all the Thai people I know. You know,' I said. 'Thai people are even more like Cambodian people than I am. You can be friendly with me, why not Thai people?'

I don't want to put these people down. I don't want my Thai readers to think any less of them. They simply didn't know better. They'd never met any Thais but they'd been taught to dislike them. They perceived differences but I pointed out how much Thais and Cambodians have in common. How different their attitudes might have been if they were taught this as children instead of being told lies.

Mem Fox is an Australian storyteller and children's writer. I know that Mem and I share similar attitudes on this issue and others. It seems that Mem has undertaken to write a book to teach the same concept that I was talking about. It goes...

'There was one little baby who was born far away.

'And another who was born on the very next day.

'And both of these babies, as everyone knows,

'had ten little fingers and ten little toes...'

The text of the book does not mention any differences at all but Helen Oxenbury's illustrations show babies from many different races and the book subtly and beautifully suggests that we all have more in common than we are different.

I've bought copies of this book for my grandchildren. Maybe I should buy a few for my friends in Cambodia.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Mem Fox, Helen Oxenbury
Penguin / Viking, 2008
Mem Fox's website

Labels: book review, Cambodia, children, children's books, family, fear, Mem Fox, prejudice, storytelling, thailand, tolerance, trust

I was recently asked for a few tips on working with kids. Here's some of what I've learned over my time as a professional storyteller.

Everyone is a storyteller. Don't think you can't do it. You probably already do but don't know that's what you're doing. When you tell your friends and family about some incident at work or from some other aspect of life, you might notice that they pay you full attention. That's because you are weaving an interesting narrative and they want to find out what happens next.

When you tell stories to kids you can use stories from life, folktales or contemporary published stories. The way to hold their attention is with a story that keeps them guessing about what is going to happen. If the story surprises them they are satisfied. If they can guess what's coming that's boring. Don't rush it. Draw it out and you'll keep them on the edge of their seats.

Reading to kids from books is great. It shows them that the good time they're having is coming from literature. That encourages them to turn to books for entertainment and leads them to literacy. However, if you can let go off the book and tell the story from memory, you make eye contact with the audience, you read them and from their feedback you know how to pace the story, what to emphasise, what to leave out. Storytelling with a book is great. Storytelling without a book is way more powerful. Try it.

When choosing stories, it's not actually wrong for a story to have a message but if the message value is higher than the entertainment value forget it. Even 'bad' kids will sit and listen for hours if you entertain them well but start giving out overt messages about what they should or shouldn't do and you lose them. If your message is so subtle that they don't even notice it, the story can do it's own work on their subconscious.

For all performers, remember the audience comes first. Don't get caught up in your own ego. It can happen so easily. You start thinking how cool you are and then you lose it. The trick is to make them feel cool about themselves and they'll keep coming back for more.

If you teach kids, look for what they're doing right, not what they're doing wrong. So called 'bad' kids have had people telling them bad stuff about themselves so much they've turned right off. To turn them back on find what they do well and let them know. The same applies to adults too. We all need a self-esteem boost from time to time. But don't be patronising. Even kids can see through that.

I've always found kids to be fun. I had a ball for nine years working as a full-time storyteller. Make sure you're having fun and they will too.

Labels: children, kids, performance, storytelling