The Joy of Teaching Gongyo - 10 Keys for making it fun and easy ~ please share

I'm teaching my new young friend how to do gongyo, and we are having a blast. Yes, it's challenging, but she is determined to master it, and I'm happy to help her. I am eternally grateful for the leaders who helped me when I was youth division. I made it my goal to do perfect gongyo and to chant at any speed.

Teaching Gongyo has been one of my greatest treasures. One youth member had a revelation while she was learning. I'll never forget it. She realized she wanted to switch majors from marketing to education. She just completed her degree this December! These are golden moments we shared! 

How do I do it? I'll share my tips and you can write me and let me know your tips at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. 

10 Keys for teaching Gongyo  ~  
Making it fun and easy!

1. Set aside at least an hour. 
2. Meet in front of the Gohonzon.
3. Chant some Daimoku Together. 
4. Read the first part of the introduction from the Sutra book together. 
5. Read about how the vowels and the consonants are supposed to sound. 
6. Discuss the beats above the words
7. Explain that breathing is okay! Just breathe and hop back in! 

Then...

8. I recite a short phrase and the they repeat it until they get it. Some phrases are trickier than others. 

9. When we get to the bottom of a page we do the whole page at least once, usually more. My new student is incredibly willing to learn. I let her decide when she feels ready to move to the next page. 

10. When I get to the end of part one, we do the whole thing together again. 

It's okay to have fun. It's okay to laugh at mistakes! Enjoy this sacred rite!