In short
Themes: Buddhism; respect for all; kindness; karma.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a story from the Buddhist religion - the story of 'Delightful the Horse'.
Resources: The framework to download / print (pdf) and an image to display of the word 'Respect'. You will also need a few images of greetings cards or real greetings cards and balloons that you could display at the front of the space.
The video
JONAH: Hello, I'm Jonah and this is a story about a man and his horse.
Once, there was a very rich man who bought a horse at the market. He named the horse Delightful.
The owner loved the horse very much and they became great friends.
STORY NARRATOR: Over time, the horse grew big and strong and worked hard for the man, pulling heavy loads and working all the year round. He realised that he was lucky to have the man as his owner, so Delightful treated the man well and made him feel loved.
JONAH: One day, Delightful decided he wanted to do something special for the man to say thank you. So, he said, 'You should enter me for the strongest horse contest. I think I can win for you.' The man thought that would be great.
STORY NARRATOR: So, when the day of the competition came, the owner was very excited about the thought of winning.
OWNER: My horse is so strong; he could pull a hundred carts. I'm going to win that competition and that trophy.
KIDS: Ooh!
STORY NARRATOR: But when the contest began, the owner worried that Delightful wouldn't win, so he started to shout, 'Hurry up, you silly horse, and win me this contest!'
Delightful felt upset. The owner normally treated him with respect.
JONAH: The owner watched in shock as another horse won the competition. He was left feeling very embarrassed.
OWNER: I feel ashamed. I know that you can pull one hundred carts and more, but when the time came, you left me looking silly.
HORSE: But you treated me with disrespect by shouting at me in front of that crowd.
OWNER: You're right. I'm really sorry. You've always been very good to me.
HORSE: Well, thank you, and I promise that in the next contest, I will try to win, if you treat me with respect.
JONAH: When the contest day arrived, the owner asked Delightful to please pull the carts. He spoke to him kindly and with respect. The crowd thought that Delightful would embarrass the owner again and just stand still. But, he didn't, he heaved and he pulled and he won the contest!
STORY NARRATOR: And so the owner was rewarded for showing Delightful respect.
JONAH: Thanks for helping me tell this treasure story. It's based on an old Buddhist tale. We'll see you again soon. Bye-bye!
This story is a Buddhist story elsewhere called Delightful the Bull. In the story the man and the horse - called Delightful - have a good relationship. Delightful suggests that the man enter him into the strongest horse competition. When the day of the competition arrives the man begins showing off and, worried that the horse will not win, he shouts at Delightful and treats the horse without respect. Afterwards the two of them speak about what has happened and agree to enter another competition. This time the outcome is different…
The moral of the story is that treating people harshly does not lead to reward; but respecting others with our words brings honour.
Duration: 3' 26"
Final words: 'We'll see you again soon! Bye-bye!'
Video questions
- What was the relationship like between the man and Delightful? (The man loved the horse and the horse worked hard for the man)
- Who suggested entering a competition? (Delightful)
- Why didn’t the horse win the competition? (He didn’t compete his best because the man spoke unkindly to him)
- How did the man feel when the horse did not win the first competition? (He felt ashamed and embarrassed)
- How was the second competition different? (The man spoke to Delightful with respect and the horse won the competition)
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Respect. image
Click for the full size image.
Suggested framework
1. Entry
Play your chosen music as the children enter and display the images of greetings cards or real greetings cards and balloons.
2. Introduction
Show the children the images and/or objects and ask them to think about what they are and what they have in common. They all show ways of greeting other people - eg wishing people a happy birthday, or a card for another special day like a wedding day or an anniversary.
Explain that the story everyone is about to watch helps us to think deeply about the way we treat other people - not with cards or gifts but with our words…
3. Play the video
The duration is 3' 26'' and the final words are 'We'll see you again soon! Bye-bye!'
4. After the video - Time to talk
You could begin by asking the Video questions above to aid pupils' recall of the story. Then lead a discussion about 'respect' by asking the following:
- What did the man learn from the events of the story?
- What does it mean to speak to people 'with respect'?
- Do you think that respect for everyone is important? Why?
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity for reflection
Let's spend some time now thinking about respect…
Think about the way you treat your friends - think in your heart about how you greet them and speak to them…
Think about other people that you don’t actually know - maybe people who work in a local shop, or people who live in your community. Even though they aren’t your friends, how would you greet these people with respect?
Take a moment to imagine what the world would be like if everyone spoke respectfully to others all the time…
How will you show respect for others today…and in the days to come…?
7. Opportunity for prayer
Begin with your usual form of address (‘Dear God’, 'Dear Lord', ‘Let us pray’, etc) and:
Thank you that we can choose how we use our words and how we act towards other people.Help us to speak with respect…
And to reflect on the times we find it easier or harder to be respectful.
Amen.
Suggested songs
'Our school' - All about our school, no 9 (© Kate Walker / BBC)
In our school
We work together,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We think of others,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We make good friends,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.In our school
We work together,
Yes, in our school
We try to help each other
Make our school
A happy place to be.
In our school
A happy place to be!
'Build up' (All about our school, no 12)
Verse 1:
Every word you say, (wo-oh)
Every game you play, (wo-oh)
Every silly face, (wo-oh)
Every single place, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Verse 2:
Every joke you tell, (wo-oh)
Every name you spell, (wo-oh)
Everywhere you go, (wo-oh)
Everyone you know, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Build up!
Build up!
'Let us with a gladsome mind' (Come and Praise, no 8)
