The Monk's Small Lamp
A free Mid-Autumn Festival coloring page. US Letter, portrait, ready to print.
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From the story “The Monk's Small Lamp” in Once Upon a Mid-Autumn Moon in Laos — eleven bedtime tales for ages 4–10, each with a word search and a coloring page of its own.
One candle, one dark path
At a riverside temple at dusk, a young monk in saffron robes lights lamps along the steps until the temple glows gold on its hill. Bounma holds one candle, a tian, no taller than his thumb, and wonders what good it can do. The monk leads him down a dark path where an old woman has lost her walking stick, and the small light finds it.
The picture stays at the temple: the monk lighting rows of lamps along the steps, the temple golden on its hill, and the moon.
Boun Ok Phansa and its lamps
Boun Ok Phansa marks the end of Buddhist Lent at a full moon, usually in October. It is its own festival, not Mid-Autumn. Temples glow with candles and lamps, and monks in saffron robes light the way as a blessing.
What a small light can do
- Bounma's candle seemed tiny beside the glowing temple. When does a small light matter most?
- Why did the monk lead him away from the bright temple?
- What small thing could you do this week to help someone find their way?
Count the lamps
The lamps run in rows along the steps, which makes counting natural. Let a small child count each lamp aloud while coloring it yellow.