Toongabbie, Sydney, Australia, 26 March 2012
Pema Yangchen, aged 6, received a prestigious “Friendship Award” from her school, Meadows Primary (Seven Hills, NSW), which has over 300 enrolled students.
Pema is the only Tibetan student in the school.
This award is given to a student who has contributed the most towards students’ friendship and harmony.
Pema is honoured withthis prestigious award for her altruistic caring nature. Teachers and school staff observed Pema always busy at looking after the needs of other students; for instance, during lunch time, Pema would ensure her classmates are not missing out on their lunch, and when in the class, that other students have their stationeries and other things with them, and, in the wordings of the award certificate, “reminding others to do their job at school.”And she does all this voluntarily, out of a sense of care for others.
Pema’s father, Mr Tenzin Phuljung, asserts, “This award represents the ideals of our rich Tibetan spiritual heritage, that we should be mindful of others’ needs, while at the same time looking after ourselves.”
Pema’s mother, Mrs Chozom Wangmo, says, “She has always displayed such caring nature.” Lama Dharma Rinchen, a spiritual teacher in Sydney, describes Pema’s nature as, “of bodhisattva-like virtuous thinking” and admires such qualities in a Tibetan child.