Think about a recent change in your
life (big or small)
On rough paper – write your answers to these
questions
Don’t put your name on the piece of paper!
•
•
•
•
Describe the change
Explain what was good about the change
Explain what was bad about the change
Explain how the change affected you
Is it easier to live if you accept that
your life is always changing?
• Think
• Pair
• Share
Today’s learning question
Q
What is Samsara and is it a
useful way to understand
life?
To answer the question, we will need to enquire
into Hindu beliefs
Look at the Hindu sacred text
• Each table has a different explanation of Samsara
• Discuss the explanation given.
• What are your ideas about Samsara so far?
• Write your thoughts on the sugar paper around the
sheet.
• Move to the next table and repeat to develop your
ideas on what Samsara might be.
• Read what other groups have written – what can you
add?
Key word: Samsara
Hindus believe that everyone has a soul
(atman) that survives the death of the
body and returns to live again in a new
body.
Death
Life is constantly changing. Every living
creature is born, lives, dies, and is reborn.
Hindus believe in reincarnation.
This cycle of life, death and rebirth is
called samsara.
Birth
Birth
Death
Atman = soul
Samsara – quick check!
• Close your book!
• Pair up and label each other A and B.
• Person A: Can you explain what samsara is to the
person next to you?
Samsara: The cycle of life,
death and rebirth. A Hindu
belief.
• Person B: Did they explain samsara correctly?
Time to write…
Is the idea of samsara useful?
Discuss this question in your pairs and then
write your responses individually.
• It is useful because…
• On the other hand, it is not useful because…
Answer the key question in 10 words
exactly!
Q
What is Samsara and is it a
useful way to understand
life?
What is Samsara?
Read the text.
Discuss what the
meaning could
be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
‘The quality of the soul decides its
future body. Its thoughts and
actions can lead it to freedom, or
lead it to bondage in life after life’.
A verse from the Upanishads
(Sacred Hindu Texts)
What is Samsara?
Read the text.
Discuss what the
meaning could
be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
‘The soul is born and unfolds in a
body, with dreams and desires…
and then it is reborn in a new
body, according to its former
works’.
A verse from the Upanishads
(Sacred Hindu Texts)
What is Samsara?
Read the text.
Discuss what the
meaning could
be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
‘When a man knows God, the
God of love, then he leaves
behind his bodies of
transmigration’
A verse from the Upanishads
(Sacred Hindu Texts)
What is Samsara?
Look at the
painting.
Discuss what
the meaning
could be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
What is Samsara?
Look at the
painting.
Discuss what
the meaning
could be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
What is Samsara?
Read the text.
Discuss what the
meaning could
be.
Discuss what it
might tell us
about samsara.
Write your ideas
on the sugar
paper.
‘Just as a man discards old clothes
and buys new ones the atman
discards worn out bodies and
enters new ones’.
Verse from the Bhagavad-Gita
(Hindu Sacred Text)