Attending Dr Hanh Tho’s Speech that Inspired Me

Dr Tho is one of the disciples of venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. Venerable Thich Nhat Hanc is Vietnamese Buddhist, author for more than 100 books and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. Dr Tho who works Programme Development Coordinator at the GNH Centre. He was invited to Royal Institute of Management as an eminent speaker in first inspiration session of 2013 on 20^th February. He talked about applied Buddhism to Happiness.

I was in and out of sleep through whole speech because tiring class and extra class coupled with late sleep earlier night.  I couldn’t understand many things. However, I loved a story of a woman in the war torn Darfur.

The Red Cross had set up the ad organization where malnourished baby was given enough nutritious diet. Like any other women with breast feeding baby, she was given diets to feed her baby. When she came next week for baby’s evaluation, Red Cross officials were surprised because baby was still underweight.

Then officials enquired her on the matter. She told them that she fed other children with ration given to baby. After discussing, Red Cross officials decided to give rations to other children also. Another month passed and lady came to let officials do her baby health evaluation.

Red Cross officials were confused because baby was still underweight. Upon enquiry, they found out mother didn’t feed her child sufficiently because she knew that if her baby gain normal weight, the rations would be discontinued and other family members who depended on rations would starve.

As the parent, she would love to pamper her youngest child with nutritious food but she had other children whose survival she had to ensure. As a mother, she wouldn’t give up rest of her children and family members at the cost of one child. I was moved because that woman had to sacrifice health of one child to ensure survival to rest. While I don’t eat expensive food, I throw food complaining either of its taste or flavor. But in one part of the world, they don’t even have that tasteless morsel to feed on. I was also shocked by statistics that 20% of world’s ‘haves’ population consumed 80% of world resources.

I also remembered another anecdote of college student at Sherubtse. The student threw food on the table complaining of its taste. Just then the-then Vice Principal and now the Education Minister Mr Thakur Singh Powdyel walked past. He enquired student about his unbecoming behavior. Upon, receiving the complaint on food’s taste, the boy was asked to meet him at His Office.

Next morning, the boy went to VP’s office. VP told that boy that he would be sent to Ethiopia on scholarship. The boy was further directed to report later. When he reported a month later, he was told that documents were being processed in Thimphu and she should wait till further notice.

The wait never seemed to end. The boy somehow realized VP had wanted to know about condition of Ethiopians one of the poorest people in the world and how they struggled to get a morsel of food.

To get the food when mother can starve her child, people who enjoy the abundance should think twice before dumping food into bins, before we let it rot, before we let date expired. The world’s resources don’t belong to those who can afford. It belongs to all human being as God created them equal from his own body.  When I say this, I am not preaching because we know for sure how many hunger we can fight with food that are wasted in bins.