Diversity Blog

I attended The Mystical Arts of Tibet's mandala lecture on Wednesday, September 21, at the Memorial Union. The lecture began with five Buddhas chanting/meditating on stage, and then one Buddha began to inform us about the mandala of Avalokileshvara, the Buddha of compassion.  First of all, the mandala is used for mediation purposes only, not religion. It helps relieve stress, reduce depression, and improve mental health. The mandala possesses three meanings, one of which is to enlighten the world. Second, the seven colors demonstrate good ideas and show Buddhas how to use life and defend their educational ideas. In addition, the mandala is indestructible due to its strong elements of fire, water, earth, and wind. The mandala also contains a detail that is called the crossed vajra, which is the foundation on which the mandala is constructed. Furthermore, the mandala contains five colors that represent the five activities of enlightment, and these colors form a circle at the center of the mandala. This circle signifies the unbreakable teaching of the mandala. The five principal colors include white, blue, green, yellow, and red and denote the five family Buddhas. These five Buddhas stand for the elimination of five negative principal mental afflictions. Some of these afflictions include ignorance, attachment, anger, and jealousy. Additionally, another aspect of the mandala is the eight petals that signify three channels; left, right, and center. Moreover, the mandala contains five five-layered, five colored walls that represent the five wisdoms and pure visions. Likewise, the mandala contains four gates at its center that exemplifies actions that benefit others like speaking gently, helping others, and training others. The mandala also contains a square that stands for truth, and each of the points stand for joyfulness, compassion, love, and mental equality. Lastly, the mandala signifies the eleven levels/stages that Buddha’s have to complete to reach the enlightment stage. To reach this final stage, you have to eliminate all negative emotions within yourself. 

In conclusion, I learned numerous facts about the mandala and a Buddha’s way of life and enjoyed attending this lecture. The only downfall was that the speaker's native language was not English, and it was very hard to understand him sometimes. He occasionally didn't talk in complete sentences, which was also very difficult to understand. Minus those minor defects, it was a very interesting and a worthwhile lecture.

        Here is an example of an mandala.

What I Have Learned and How I Have Grown

As my first semester of college draws to an end, I can certainly say that I have learned several important life skills and have grown immensely over the course of a semester. Not only have I learned copious skills academically that will assist me in obtaining a college degree and employment, but wisdom that will even more so assist me in living a successful career. For instance, I will never forget when my music theory professor told us that as we hold any job our employers are just going to fire us if we don't meet deadlines. She continued to say that when we are music educators down the road, and we don't turn in registration for honor bands, contests, and other music events in on time, we aren't just hurting ourselves, but we are hurting our students and our school's reputation. She also told us that when we are selecting music for our ensembles to play or sing, it is our job to pick something that showcases their abilities and challenges them, but not to the extent that they play the literature poorly. In addition, another music professor told us that we as music majors need sleep more than anything. He said that if we do not get an adequate amount of sleep, then we get sick and can't attend lessons or practice, which sets us behind. He stated that other majors can stay up all hours of the night and just go to class, but not music majors; they have more expected of them. He continued saying that other majors believe that music is just a candy course, but he wants to see them try it for a week. Furthermore, my flute professor told me that most students are like flowers. As a seed, you give flowers a little "encouragement" by watering them and providing them with sunlight, and they eventually grow into a beautiful flower. It is the same with students. You give them a little praise and encouragement and they blossom into great musicians. Not only have I gained wisdom from my music professors, but I have also learned skills to help me obtain a successful career by taking UST 101A. For instance, I have learned how important social media is to not only the whole world, but the professional world as well. In addition, after taking the MBTI, I learned that I shared copious characteristics with the ESTP type, which stimulated me to use these findings to my advantage in completing several of my career and life goals. In conclusion, I have learned numerous essential life and career skills and have grown immensely during my first semester of college.

What the Hixson Scholarship Means to Me

 

I can still vividly remember the day that I received a letter stating that I was the 2011 Cass County recipient of the Christina Hixson Scholarship. When I saw that envelope with the Christina Hixson Opportunity Award return address, I ripped it open and screamed after I read the first sentence. I couldn't believe my eyes! I remember turning to my mom and telling her with tears in my eyes that I was a Hixson Scholar! My whole family was just as thrilled as I was, and I couldn't wait to tell everybody that I came across!

           As a 2011 Cass County recipient of the prestigious Christina Hixson Scholarship, I am so honored and privileged to enjoy not only the great financial assistance, but all the many other unparalleled benefits and support it provides. This scholarship will sufficiently enable me to accomplish my dream of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in music education. It was especially rewarding to me to help guide and inspire youngsters in music and also in life by participating in vocal and instrumental music in school and assisting my music teachers. Being awarded this monetary gift over a four-year period is reassuring and gives me a sense of successfully pursuing and accomplishing the career path I have chosen. In addition, what better assistance to help reach this goal but a wonderful success center on campus with all the amenities in the learning and studying process of course work. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to not have the privilege of 24 hour access to the Hixson building, free printing, accessibility to great peer mentors and staff, and all the other wonderful amenities this scholarship provides. I am constantly in the Hixson study lab studying and doing homework for hours upon hours, and if it wasn't for this 24 hour accessibility, I would not be able to study and complete homework in a quite environment after late nights at the music building. Due to the fact that I am a music education major, I constantly have music, staff paper, theory handouts, lesson notes, lecture notes, and study guides to print off. It is such an immense relief to know that I don’t have to worry about paying for expensive campus printing. There is just not enough words to express how grateful I am to be awarded this prestigious scholarship and be provided with such wonderful amenities to ensure a successful completion of a college degree.
            In conclusion, I appreciate the opportunities this scholarship allows me, and I will strive to use them to the fullest extent in obtaining my career and life-long goals.