-by K S Devina
An Educator's Diary #1
“Love is not patronizing and charity is not about pity. It is about love. Charity and love are the same. With charity you give love. So don’t just give money but reach out your hand
instead.” - Mother Teresa
As a passionate solo traveler, I’ve traveled to lots of cities and villages, but it was when I started volunteering with the needy that I found the higher self within. In June 2019, I happened to go to Zangla Monastery, also known as Changchub Chöling, in Zangskar, Ladakh, in the Indian Himalayas. Zangla is a small village that is well known for its pristine beauty. I volunteered for the monastery and learned that “Deprivation introduces you to the genius slumbering within you.”
While teaching 25 nuns for a month, I got to know their survival issues as well as the gaps in their awareness. The areas where I was challenged most were quality education, health and hygiene, digital literacy, language arts, waste management, and the promotion of religion and culture. I strongly felt that I could not do much to resolve these issues in a short time. All I could do was navigate the problems and map possible solutions. I did not feel the sense of euphoria I usually do after volunteering at a place. Here my journey was to explore the new horizons that are accessible to the nuns of Zangla Monastery.
In spite of financial instability, I could not drop the idea of sharing the knowledge I had attained. I stumbled many times due to financial crises, but chose to crawl instead of stopping.
The year 2020, the lockdown year, brought lots of insights and wisdom that equipped me
better than ever. I planned a new curriculum based on the New Education Policy 2020 to
enhance the quality of education at the monastery. The objective was to prepare the students to face the world by combining modern education with spiritual teachings. Rote learning was to be replaced by experiential learning, role play, fun elements in learning, concept building, peer learning, and so on.
With many events and programs in mind, I reached Zangla in April 2021 to bring about positive change. To ensure the students’ good physical and mental health, I introduced
morning yoga training. All the nuns attended classes and practiced yoga with dedication.
On July 6th, the birthday of H. H. the Dalai Lama, each nun took a pledge to integrate at least one teaching in their lives. That was the unique gift they presented to His Holiness, who always aspires to create compassionate human beings.
After two months of rigorous training, we decided to display all our efforts, initiatives, and projects in an exhibition titled, “Our Culture, Our Identity.” All the nuns put in untiring and relentless effort to set up five stalls in the main bazaar of Leh, the capital of Ladakh. There, they displayed posters, stone inscriptions, manuscripts, yoga demonstrations, waste recycling projects, mandala construction, a quiz corner, origami, and a culture tree. The students’ exhibition was greatly appreciated and was reported in the local Reach Ladakh newspaper.
When we returned to Zangskar, we organized the same exhibition in Padum and Zangla to create awareness among the local people and encourage them to preserve their culture and environment.
I had always wanted to elevate the quality of education in the monasteries, so the next event I planned was a teacher training program on Teacher’s Day, September 5th. The resource person was Rigzin Angmo, the activity coordinator at SECMOL (Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), who guided the teachers in learning about contextual teaching. As an educator from Delhi, I walked the audience through the highlights of the National Education Policy 2020. I also introduced the attendees to creative teaching strategies they can implement to make the process of teaching and learning more effective.
I demonstrated some pedagogical strategies to integrate art, experiential learning, sports,
and fun elements into the classroom in ways that are appropriate for Zangskar. At the end
of the program, the vibrant young students of Changchup Chöling Monastery presented a
song dedicated to the teachers. The event proved to be a great tribute to all the teachers as the leaders and changemakers of society.
The nuns at the monastery were also guided in learning about waste management and
the segregation of waste materials. The young nuns along with the older ones cleaned the monastery compound. After segregating the waste, they reused plastic bottles for planting saplings. They used other waste materials, such as cello tape rolls, dish soap containers, and broken cups, and transformed them into useful things. The nuns of the monastery participated enthusiastically in all the activities, making the program a great success.
We left no stone unturned in setting an example as ambassadors of cleanliness in Zangla.
The nuns of Changchub Chöling Monastery showed their genuine concern towards the
medicinal water sources near the village of Zangla. That these water sources have potent medicinal properties is evident from the number of people who become cured from many diseases after drinking this natural spring water. Unfortunately the same medicinal water is being polluted by visitors. Recognizing the danger, the nuns of the monastery decided to revive the medicinal water by cleaning the spring. On September 25th, they freed the area around the spring from chips wrappers, plastic bottles, clothes, chocolate wrappers, and other trash. They then placed dustbins around to help keep the medicinal water clean.
In an effort to sensitize people to cleanliness, the students at Changchub Chöling Monastery organized a poster-making competition in Zangla. The monastery invited all artistic young people to express their imagination through painting and encouraged them to become changemakers. Students from 5 to 15 years old, from various schools around Zanskar – Karsha Gonpa School, Zangla Government High School, Dugjen School Photang, Pipiting Lamdon School, Rainbow Public School, and so on – participated to showcase their creativity. The event began with the lighting of a lamp and chanting, and was graced by the presence of several distinguished Buddhist teachers: Geshe Tsewang Rigzin, Gen Mingyur, and Gen Sonam. These teachers encouraged students to participate and develop their imagination.
An appealing song, “Mission Paani,” was performed by the students of Changchup Chöling to sensitize those who gathered to the importance of saving water. At the conclusion of the event, they mesmerized people with a beautiful dance performance that illustrated how to wash one’s hands properly. The guests appreciated the initiatives of Changchup Chöling Monastery to create a cleaner Zangskar. The young students propagated the message, “My dream India is a clean India.”
Changchup Chöling Monastery conducted their Annual Debate Examination on October 9th. The monastery invited residents of all the other monasteries in Zangskar to be part of the event to help revive this valuable Buddhist tradition. The event was attended by people from different walks of life, who benefitted from the wisdom that Buddhist philosophy offers. The students of Changchup Chöling, who have been studying Buddhist philosophy for many years, currently under the supervision of Geshe Tsewang Rigzin, demonstrated their logical reasoning skills on topics such as Collected Topics (Düdra), Commentary on Valid Cognition (Tsema Namdel), orik etc. The debates were followed by a cultural program that conveyed the message of cleanliness, water conservation, environmental protection, and the importance of preserving one’s cultural heritage. Teachers and students shared their insights with the villagers and emphasized educating the hearts of the students, not just the minds. This event will surely uplift the mindset of the people and help them appreciate Buddhist philosophy and its relevance for current issues.
The nuns at Changchup Chöling Monastery are doing their best to preserve and promote
their ancient Buddhist cultural traditions. To promote an appreciation of mandala art, the nuns at the monastery were given training in this richest visual aspect of Tibetan Buddhism.
A mandala is a symbolic image of the universe. Under the supervision of Geshe Tsewang Rigzin, the nuns are learning about mandalas for peace, mandalas for wisdom, mandalas for wealth, and so on. October 19th, the nuns took an examination on their study of mandalas to check their learning progress. All the nuns put forth their best efforts to present the beautiful mandalas they created and explain their symbolic meaning. This initiative helped to inspire and motivate the nuns and the local villagers to propagate the messages conveyed by each mandala.
With this, the year came to an end but plans for moving forward to discover more ways
to benefit the monastery are just beginning. Just knowing that we are helping a neglected population make the world a more peaceful place is tremendously gratifying. It reminds us that “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others without expecting anything in return.” Believe me, you will definitely find a new and better version of yourself.
With each passing year I tried adding new projects as per the requirement of the nunnery. We began Digital and media literacy, vocational classes on Saturday, SEE learning (Social Emotional and Ethical), Bird Education and Environmental project in association with Wipro and Navikru foundation.
For sustainable development and continuous flow of money, we started making cheese and paneer. We also made products using mountain herbs. We exhibited our work in Manali and Bangalore.
The entire idea of this education is to amalgamate monastic education with secular and alternative education i.e "Education for Life". I strongly believe that my mission of growing leaders may not complete in my life time but I am sure that this torch would be carried ahead by my younger kids growing in my supervision.
Note: A part of this write up was earlier published in Jamyang Foundation's Newsletter
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