Dhamma for everyday decisions

Buddhist learning for children, teenagers, youth and young adults, adults and seniors. Understand the teaching, examine a situation, choose a responsible action and reflect on its effects.

Try the everyday Dhamma practice ↓Open learning workspace →

All TRIBS courses and certificates are free of charge, offered in goodwill through Dhamma service. A donation is not a condition of learning or receiving an eligible certificate. Certificate eligibility still follows the published programme requirements.

Four domains, in every question

Every question is considered through all four domains. Longer responses also include References and Works Consulted. A multiple-choice selection alone cannot show every domain: add a reason, a next action and a supporting value, using spoken, visual or written responses. Domain marks and task weightings must be stated in the assignment brief; these are not automatically equal.

Knowledge and Understanding

Explain the relevant teaching accurately; distinguish the source teaching from a modern example.

Critical Thinking

Identify what is known, what is assumed, whose interests matter and why another option is weaker. Consider intention, context and consequences.

Application

Propose a specific, workable action, explain how to carry it out and how to repair harm or check the result.

Dhamma Value

Show honesty, non-harm, compassion, responsibility and wisdom in the response. We assess the reasoning and conduct demonstrated in the task, not spiritual attainment or a person’s worth.

References and Works Consulted · longer responses

Identify and use relevant sources, passages and authors or translators; separate quotation, paraphrase and personal interpretation. Cite sources you actually checked. AI is not the authority for a sutta it mentions.

Feedback that helps you improve

For each applicable domain: Developing — names an idea but needs support; Progressing — partly explains it, with gaps; Secure — accurate, justified and specific; Extending — evaluates alternatives, limitations and how to improve. No relevant evidence means the domain cannot yet be demonstrated. Teachers state numerical allocations before assessment, accept defensible alternatives and avoid counting the same error twice. Feedback names one strength, one next step and an opportunity to revise.

The same depth of care, different ways to respond

Children · Sunday Dhamma School

Use pictures, stories and safe role-play. Choose an answer, give a spoken reason, demonstrate an action and name a value. A drawing or supported response can show understanding; an essay is not required.

Teenagers · Sunday Dhamma School

Compare scenario choices and multiple-select options. Give reasons, practise a response and present a short case. Use a 200–250 word application when appropriate to the learner and task.

Youth and young adults

Work with consent, digital sharing, credit, group responsibility and community service. Combine short reasoning, a 200–250 word application and a presentation with questions.

Adults

Apply Dhamma to family, work, shared property and community decisions. Use discussion, practical projects, presentations or written reflections matched to the brief.

Seniors

Offer equally thoughtful work through discussion, audio, demonstration, supported writing or a presentation. Adapt text size, pace and access needs; age does not set a ceiling on reasoning.

Borrowing: permission is the beginning

Follow the owner’s agreed conditions. Care for the item and return it where the owner asks. If no location is specified, return it to the place it came from when appropriate; ask if uncertain or if that place is unsafe. If it is damaged, lost or misplaced, tell the owner and help put it right.

This is a practical application of the second precept, care and responsibility, not a verbatim canonical return-location rule. Forgetting, carelessness, deliberate disregard and intentional appropriation are different. Do not automatically call every misplaced item theft. Consider intention and effects, then repair what can be repaired.

Core ideas, lived in real situations

Non-harm

Care for living beings; pause before acting and choose a feasible response that reduces harm.

Not taking what is not given

Respect permission, ownership, agreed use and returning shared resources. Credit and digital licences require attention too.

Responsible relationships

Adults examine sexual responsibility, consent and commitments. Children use age-appropriate teaching about body boundaries, permission and trusted-adult help; this is foundational safeguarding, not a complete definition of the third precept.

Truthful and considerate speech

Check facts, distinguish uncertainty and communicate truthfully without needless cruelty. Correct misleading posts and give proper credit.

Avoiding intoxicants that lead to heedlessness

Explore clarity, impaired judgement and responsibility through age-appropriate examples. Broader digital distraction is a related reflection on heedfulness, not identical to the fifth precept.

Wisdom and reflection

Connect generosity, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, kamma as intentional action, mindfulness and compassion to choices; do not reduce Dhamma to etiquette alone.

Quizzes, application and presentations

Use knowledge MCQs, scenario MCQs, multiple-select questions with explanations, short or medium responses and practical demonstrations. A typical application may be 200–250 words. Presentations develop clear communication, source use, listening and responses to questions. Suggested formats: children show-and-tell; teenagers a short paired case; youth, adults and seniors a case presentation or demonstration. Assess all four domains, adding References for extended work; speaking speed, confidence and slide decoration do not substitute for understanding. Oral, audio or supported formats can be agreed for access needs.

Advanced work: two supported routes

Where the advanced assignment offers this choice: up to 500 self-written words, or up to 1,000 AI-assisted words. Follow the specific brief. Both routes use the same four domains and References criterion; longer AI output does not earn extra marks by itself. The 200–250 word task remains a separate, shorter format.

Disclose the tool, how you used it, relevant prompts or a short process summary, what you changed and which claims you checked.
Read the original sources and verify quotations and references. Identify errors, bias or weak reasoning in AI output. You remain responsible for the final work.
Be able to explain and defend your reasoning in a short discussion. Keep a brief draft or process record.
Keep personal, student and private temple information out of AI prompts. No paid AI subscription is required.
A fully supported non-AI route remains available. Younger learners use teacher-mediated activities and age-appropriate tools; independent child AI accounts are not required. Any permitted language or accessibility support should be disclosed according to the brief.

A ready-to-use lesson and assessment sequence

Explain a core teaching with its source, then ask learners for an initial view without grading it.
Discuss the borrowing scenario. Ask: What permission was given? What is uncertain? Who is affected? What changes if the owner requests another location?
Use the practice questions below. For each: choose, justify, propose an action and name the supporting Dhamma value.
Apply: give a 200–250 word response, or an agreed oral/demonstration equivalent. Advanced learners may use the two routes above when the brief permits.
Present a practical response, answer one respectful challenge and identify the sources used.
Record feedback separately under the four domains, plus References for extended work. Let learners revise; confirm course-specific marks and certification rules separately.

Try the everyday Dhamma practice

Ungraded practice. Answers stay on this page only, are cleared when you leave or reload, and are not sent to teachers or used for certification. For each case, choose all defensible actions, explain why, say what you would do and name a Dhamma value. Feedback is guidance, not an automatic assessment of all four domains.

1. The borrowed speaker

You borrowed a speaker from a cupboard. The owner now asks you to put it on the office shelf.

Choose all defensible actions

Return it safely to the office shelf as requested.Put it back in the cupboard because the original place always wins.Ask for clarification if the office is locked or the shelf is unsafe.