Last night I was invited to a small dinner with His Holiness the Karmapa at the Grand Hotel in Delhi. Before we ate, the Karmapa gave a short teaching on “how the mind works.” He spoke about how in the midst of our busy lives we can cultivate a more peaceful, relaxed and spacious mind. By using the “truth of impermanence” we can work with our tendency to grasp at things that are by their very nature fleeting.  We should also examine mental afflictions when they arise and understand the mental affliction and why it is occurring. I was able to ask His Holiness for some practical guidance on how we can teach young people to understand and work with their minds and he told me that I should look at it more as my students teaching me—children are natural and simple but us adults are very complicated. My root teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, also encourages his students to look to children as our teachers and see how their freshness, wonder and presence can make us more “awake.”

When I arrived at the Grand Hotel I was greeted by a number of Vietnamese Buddhist pilgrims including a number of Nuns. When I shared with them that my teacher was Thich Nhat Hanh (he is Vietnamese) they were so happy! Among the pilgrims was an elderly lady with the most beautiful smile. While it didn't feel "right" to take photos at the Karmapa event this lovely grandma and her fellow pilgrims insisted that we take photos. This Vietnamese grandma just kept on hugging me while speaking in Vietnamese…I found out from their only English speaking pilgrim that she was giving me blessings! Last night the owner of the Grand Hotel asked the Karmapa to speak about what blessings mean for him and he shared that when he receives blessings it makes him feel like he’s in a circle…I like that way of looking it at…that we are never alone, we are part of something much greater, much larger than we can ever conceive.

I have a beautiful student that has some serious learning needs and our school can no longer service him. Yesterday morning my Principal and I had a meeting with his parents to see how we can support them with new school placement. After the meeting his mother asked me to get blessings from the Karmapa for their family to support them in this challenging time of finding a new school for their son. This morning I gave the blessed white scarf I got from His Holiness to my student to give to his mother and also shared with his mom what the Karmapa said about looking at my students as my teachers and she wrote to me: "Also made me think more about my son and the bigger picture....academics are only one part. I am so grateful to you for looking beyond just that and seeing the boy." "Really seeing" our students and children for who they are so they "feel seen" is a critical part of what we do as teachers.