For many years now I have been helping young people who are struggling to pay their tuition fees, get to school, travel to colleges outside Bhutan, go for rehab, etc. I accept 3-4 cases a year. I can’t afford more. Wish I could. In recent years I have been doing a little more.

Back then I used to come across them during my official tours (my former colleagues will remember some). In recent years they are mostly referred to me by my friends and former students, because people facing difficulties come from their age group. They come from all corners of Bhutan – Sharchop, Ngalop, Lhotshampa, Khengpas.

I also don’t meet most of the beneficiaries because there is no need to really meet, take selfies and blast on the social media. Some, of course, I do run into them casually. Few months back I met a pharmacist who told me that I paid his travel expenses to go to Chennai for his scholarship – back in 2007.

There is, of course, one commitment they have to make. They have to practise similar level of kindness to two or three random strangers in a distant future when things are settled in their life. It can be to a struggling student, or a family. By making them commit to something like this the beneficiary receives the help with dignity, and with a promise to pass the favour to someone else in future – and not to receive it with shame, victimism or self-pity.

They must also pass the message of spreading kindness to their beneficiaries in future. This way we multiply the act of loving kindness to as many people in the world. Basically, a pyramid-scheme to spread and multiply goodness and compassion.

Nothing is legally binding. It is just a word of honour that I tell them to remember to uphold. I assure them that problems in life are temporary. They will get themselves firmly on their feet and when they do, they must help others, just as they received help.

I haven’t kept the count but I started somewhere in 2004. So, 20 years multiplied by 3 means I helped around 60 people through this simple pyramid scheme. In turn, if they helped 2 each means there are at least 120 kind people, if not more, in Bhutan.

Yesterday, I helped the third word of honour candidate for the year, through a mentee. The beneficiary is a high-school student, who was otherwise getting dropped-out, because the only source of funding – her grandfather, is hospitalised for over two months now. And her parents cannot afford to let her continue in a private school.

I did not meet the candidate, but I fully trust my mentee/referee. The second candidate, whom I met last month, was for buying him an air ticket to New Zealand. He was going on the Earn&Learn program.

I am sharing this personal initiative, one among many similar things I do, encouraged by someone, to lift the mood in these depressing times.

Loving-kindness (Skt. maitrī; Dz. བྱམས་པ་, jampa) and compassion (Skt. Karuna. Dz. སྙིང་རྗེ་ nyingjey) are the core practices in Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhism. As a country that is founded on these ideals and values, we must never forget to practise them. This is what makes our country (still) a good place to be. We cannot take them for granted, though. We must nurture these values by practising them.

I know it is not easy. Nonetheless, while we maybe limited by our means to help others, we can still cultivate some jampa and nyingjey in our thoughts and prayers.

After all, nyingjey literally means “Supreme Heart”.

🥰😍🥳