6-8 July 2016, New Delhi
Compassion in Action: Celebrating the Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and HH Dalai Lama Programme by a group of young Tibetan and Indian social activists residing in Delhi, led by Empowering the Vision office was launched on 6 July 2015, to coincide with H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday and the centennial celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa to join the freedom struggle. The programme laid emphasis on celebrating the legacy of these two leaders, both of whom are tireless champions of compassion, peace and non-violence. With creative workshops held in schools and through outreach activities over a year the group helped spread these messages. As a closure to this yearlong programme, Empowering the Vision Project (ENVISION) in collaboration with members of Lunar Energy (a creative group of theatre activists), organized a three day event 6-8th July 2016 that comprised of an Inaugural Talk, Panel Discussions and Exhibition & Creative Workshops in New Delhi to take the message to a larger audience.
On 6th July, first day of the ‘Compa
ssion in Action’ event and the 81st birth anniversary of HH Dalai Lama, a festive atmosphere was created at the India International Centre (IIC) auditorium, for the inaugural address by HH 17th Karmapa. Continuing with the programme of spreading awareness on the subject, a short audio-visual on the school outreach activity was screened for the audience along with an abridged version of the “Compassion in Action” theatre performance by Lunar Energy.
HH the 17th Karmapa upon arrival was escorted by ENVISION Director Youdon Aukatsang, Deputy Director Nyima Chodon and Jaya Iyer of Lunar Energy to inaugurate the event by unveiling the Compassion in Action calendar and also to bless the Exhibition of artwork by school students on display outside the India International Centre Auditorium. The inaugural talk was preceded by a beautiful performance of songs and poetry by students of Samyeling TCV Day School. Following this HH Karmapa delivered the inaugural address ‘Working towards a Compassionate Society’ to an audience of over 200 Tibetans and India
ns and a few eminent personalities in attendance, listening to his every word earnestly.
HH the 17th Karmapa stressing on the cultivation of compassion in our daily lives, explained that all human beings have the fundamental potential for compassionate living. “However”, he observed “the nature and the environment in which a person is brought up, the kind of education he/she has obtained, how the emotions of a person are nurtured can compartmentalize and limit the degree of compassion in each of us”. In essence, HH Karmapa encouraged everyone to hold on to our humanity, our shared inter-dependence, through compassionate living. The inaugural talk was followed by a Q & A session that saw many from the audience interacting with HH Karmapa on how to cultivate compassion in these materialistic and troubled times.
After an auspicious beginning, the second day began with the opening of Exhibition and creative workshops at Alliance Francaise’s Galerie Romain Rolland. All the paintings, creative writings, theatre and audio-visual from the school outreac
h workshop organized by the Compassion in Action team over the one year were displayed at the exhibition. The creative expressions of students on the theme ‘Compassion in Action’ from eleven participating schools were neatly, and beautifully curated for public viewing. Students from eight schools (which comprised more than 400 students) visited the exhibition with their respective teachers and participated in the creative workshops –magic show, image theatre, treasure hunt and story telling.The Exhibition & Creative workshops were enthusiastically received by the participating students and the general public alike. The exhibition was open from 10 am-7 pm on 7th & 8th July.
Running parallel to the Compassion in Action- Exhibition and Workshop on 7th and 8th July were the Panel Discussions on Compassion & Social Movements and Compassion & Education at the India International Centre Annexe with eminent personalities from different fields of expertise and social engagements.
On 7th the panel discourse was on the inter-relatedness of ‘Compassion and Social Movements’ moderated by Jaya Iyer, theatre activist and founder Lunar Energy..Ms. Jayawati Shrivastava, Former Director of the Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education, who has worked with underprivileged women, young people and children over two decades began the discussion with a poignant observation, “Compassio
n has become out of fashion these days,, however we must recognize its importance. I believe that compassion is a big part of learning.” Ven Lobsang Jamyang, Founder and Director of Tong-Len Charitable Trust in Dharamsala, spoke of how the teachings of the Dalai Lama and the great Buddhist philosopher Shantideva, both played an important role in his own growth in developing compassion for others and how at Tong-Len he is ensuring young children in the slums whether Buddhist or Hindu or any other is embraced with that compassion.
Professor Anand Kumar who is the National Convenor of Swaraj Abhiyan, a former Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a life long friend of the Tibetan Movement enlightened the largely Indian audience about the Tibetan Movement and how the movement stands for truth and justice. He said this moral power of the movement has meant that the Tibetan cause has withstood the might and the challenge of Chinese super power. Professor Kumar’s address was followed by Dr. Indu Prakash Singh, a human rights activist, author and leader of the Urban Knowledge Activist Hub of Action Aid India addressed the issues and challenges of human rights’ defenders and social activists through the perspective of his own involvement in such movements. However, he stated that despite the problematic issues and challenges, one shouldn’t get discouraged but rather should seek new approaches for the welfare of people in need.
The third and final day’s panel discussion on an important topic “Compassion and Education” was moderated by ENVISION’s Director Youdon Aukatsang. The discussion laid bare the state of our modern education system that focuses more on the development of the brain but less of the heart. Key panel speakers were Karma Chungdak, (Director of Sambhota Tibet
an Schools), who started his career as a teacher, and stated that education is a birth right of everyone and should be available and accessible to all. He explained in detail the “Three Pillars” of the 2005 Basic Education Policy of the Central Tibetan Administration: Freedom, Altruism, and the Upholding of Tibetan Heritage. Karma Chungdak cautioned against the “corporatisation of education”.
Anuradha Sen, Director of the Curriculum and Teacher Empowerment Team at Shiv Nadar Schools, began her speech with a quote by Aristotle, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education.” She engaged the audience by asking to distinguish between “education” and “learning,” and emphasized the importance of inculcating values and moral ethics in students, as it is a great way forward for a more compassionate society.
Duke Tsering, Principal Tibetan Children’s Village, Selakui, Dehradun evoked extreme emotions of laughter and sadness with his personal story of education and learning while growing up in the confines of a traditional system and in exile. He emphasized that real education is experiential and should not be confined to conformity, rote memory, and examination alone. He strongly believes that most current educational systems in the world–and in India in particular–are very repressive and actually harmful to innovative and creative minds. The discussion ended with a lively and interactive Q & A session.
The three-day event encapsulated the yearlong initiative
beautifully as was evident in the feedback received during and after the event. Many individuals came forth to congratulate the organisers on this unique event of building young minds and adults alike to understand and take forward the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and HH the Dalai Lama. It is suffice to say that with the involvement of over eleven Indian and Tibetan schools and over thousands of students, teachers, activists, exploring, sharing and interpreting Compassion in Action, the yearlong programme and the event was a resounding success.
Empowering the Vision is grateful to everyone who extended their love and support in making this yearlong programme and the three-day event fulfilling and impactful towards building a compassionate society.