Submitted by Dominique Oppenheimer on the 2016 winter session program in India sponsored by the Department of English…
Week 1 in India has been overwhelming in many different ways – New Delhi and Darjeeling have overwhelmed me with various flavors, tastes, sounds, sights, emotions and a multitude of people. Over this week, I have seen concentrated urban areas and sparse rural areas, including a Nepalese mountain village called Tumling, which Wikipedia states has a population of just fifteen people. I felt the heat and inhaled the smog in Delhi, felt the cold in Darjeeling, and felt altitude sickness after a long trek up to Tumling. I have also felt the generosity, understanding and kindness of many people here who have been helping us fumbling American students.
Two pieces of wisdom that have helped me on this overwhelming first leg of my program in India, in addition to the help of the people who have guided and housed me, include two quotes from the fourteenth Dalai Lama, written on cloth scrolls that I purchased at the store at Darjeeling’s Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center. The first, entitled “Confidence in Oneself,” states:
“Human potential
Is the same for all.
Your feeling,
‘I am of no value’
is wrong.
absolutely wrong.
You are deceiving yourself.
We all have the power
of thought –
So what are you lacking?
If you have will-power,
then you can do anything.
It is usually said that
you are your own master.”
The second, entitled “Compassion,” reads:
“Usually, our concept
of compassion or love refers
to the feeling of closeness
we have with our friends and
loved ones. Sometimes
compassion also carries a
sense of pity. This is wrong.
Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other
is not genuine compassion.
To be genuine, compassion must
be based on respect for the other,
and on the realization that others
have the right to be happy and
overcome suffering, just
as much as you. On this basis,
since you can see that others are
suffering, you develop a genuine
sense of concern for them.”
These two messages have reminded me to maintain both a sense of confidence and humility while abroad – confidence for when I am feeling especially small, meager and intimidated in large cities and towns bursting with people and activity, and humility when meeting and interacting with others, recognizing the respect and dignity that people deserve everywhere.