10/08/2026
WTA Scholarship 2026 recipient #3 is Tenzin Rangdol.
Tenzin is studying Biology at UW Madison. To list a few of Tenzin's many achievements, she is a People Scholar, STEM Academy graduate, a High Honor student and was on the Deans list at MATC.
Our heartiest congratulations to Tenzin and wishing her success.
Tenzin's essay on 'Tibetan Buddhist Ethics and Self Immolation',
In Buddhism, there are two broad traditions called “Mahayana” and “Theravada.” Tibetan Buddhism is part of the “Mahayana” tradition, which actually means “Great Vehicle.” One of the core
beliefs of Mahayana Buddhism is that you shouldn’t only practice for your own gain to achieve enlightenment but for all sentient beings as well. One such example is the bodhisattva, who pursues enlightenment while working to relieve the suffering of all sentient beings.
There are some core Tibetan Buddhist ethics, which are compassion, non-harming, generosity, bodhicitta, selflessness, karma, and self-sacrifice. First, compassion is essentially wishing the happiness and well-being of all beings and actively trying to lessen their suffering. Second, non-harming means avoiding intentionally hurting other living beings. This also includes learning to control your anger, hatred, and other actions that can cause other beings suffering. Third, generosity means being willing to give to others without being selfish. This can mean giving food, money, time, or helping someone who is in need. Fourth, bodhicitta is the desire to reach enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Fifth, selflessness means not always putting yourself and your own needs first. For example, instead of always thinking that your own happiness is more important, you try to recognize that other people’s happiness
and suffering matter too. Sixth, Karma is the idea that intentional actions have consequences. For example, positive actions such as being compassionate and kind to others lead to positive karmic outcomes, while negative ones such as lying and hating lead to negative karmic results.
Finally, there is the idea of self-sacrifice, which basically means giving up something that is important to you in order to help someone else. It doesn’t always mean giving up your life. For example, it could mean giving your food to someone who is hungry, or giving money to someone who needs it. Self-sacrifice is important in Tibetan Buddhism because it shows how seriously a person takes compassion and concern for other beings. When an individual willingly gives up possessions, comfort, and ultimately perhaps their own life for the benefit of other sentient beings, they emphasize that the well-being of others transcends their own needs and desires.
I believe that these ethics of Tibetan Buddhism are values that can be extremely beneficial in everyday life and in the present time. In particular, I think compassion and selflessness are the ones most important to me because they remind us to think about other people’s feelings and needs instead of only focusing on ourselves. I also think self-sacrifice can be meaningful when it comes from a genuine desire to help someone. However, I do not think that a person always needs to make a huge sacrifice to show that they care about others. Even small acts of kindness, such as giving someone your time, helping a friend, or sharing what you have, can show compassion. Overall, Tibetan Buddhist ethics teach that being a good person is not only about improving yourself, but also about caring for and helping the people and beings around you.
