Buddhism

Buddhist Cub Scouts can earn the Metta Award, a religious emblem that nurtures understanding of loving-kindness and Buddhist teachings through family engagement.

What to Expect

The Metta program guides your Cub Scout in exploring Buddhist faith and values with a parent or guardian. Work is done with an approved Buddhist instructor over about three months, completing a minimum of 12 hours of instruction. The program welcomes any Cub Scout interested in Buddhism, with parental permission and at least three months in Cub Scouts. Most families complete the program over several weeks or months, with regular sessions rather than rushing through all requirements at once.

What’s Included

• Faith-Based Lessons: Elementary introductions to core Buddhist concepts including the Four Noble Truths, impermanence, interdependence, the Middle Path (balancing one's life), and compassion toward all beings.

• Family Practice: Activities that encourage loving-kindness and goodwill in daily life and family relationships.

• Service: Acts of compassion and mindfulness that reflect Buddhist values of reducing suffering and helping others.

How the Metta Program Works

• Student Instruction: The program covers essential Buddhist teachings on a non-denominational basis, allowing Cub Scouts from any Buddhist school of thought to participate. The instructor may adapt requirements to reflect specific traditions and practices of your particular sect or denomination.

• Parent Involvement: Parents actively support their Scout's learning journey and participate in discussions about Buddhist principles at home.

• Buddhist Instructor: The instructor must be an ordained Buddhist minister, monk, or a layperson recommended by ordained clergy and approved by the National Buddhist Committee on Scouting. The instructor provides guidance in Buddhist teachings and evaluates the Scout's completion of requirements. Instructors serve as spiritual guides, helping young people understand and apply Buddhist principles in their lives.

How to Get Started

Contact the National Buddhist Committee on Scouting at bcascoutinginfo@gmail.com to request information about the Metta Award program. The Committee will provide an "Application to Teach" form for your prospective instructor. Once the instructor is approved, course materials and application forms will be sent. After your Scout completes all requirements under the instructor's guidance, submit the completed application with the registration fee. Then contact your Pack Religious Emblems Coordinator to arrange:

• A certificate or temple recognition for your Scout, as appropriate.

• Presentation of the purple religious emblems knot at a Pack ceremony.

Religious Emblems Coordinator

REC@Pack1402.org