Ms Elaine Gerbrick was my favourite teacher
Wonderful Ms Elaine Gerbrick, my art teacher in Land O’ Pines Elementary School in Howell, New Jersey. I would have loved to reconnect with her but sadly she passed away in 2004. This is the only picture we can find of her and I am grateful for it. I have printed it out to keep in my house. I wished I had looked for her sooner.
Dear friends around the world,
In school, the teacher that touched me the most was my art teacher, Ms Gerbrick. I wish I could find her again. I would really like to send her a beautiful letter, to tell her how she has affected my life. She is very difficult to locate. I miss her very much. She knew exactly what was going on at home because I eventually told her. You know, what was incredible about her was her sensitivity and perception. I had this amazing experience with her in school.
One day during class, she wanted us to draw a picture-graph, which was to use pictures, without words, to tell a story. So I drew six pictures in six slots on an A4 sheet of paper. I drew a story about a person going for meditation. First, I drew the person walking towards the mountains and in the next slot, he finds a mountain and was in a cave. Within the next slot, I drew the seasons, four smaller slots within one slot that showed rain, snow and sunshine. After that, I showed him with longer hair and thinner. In the next slot after that, I drew some animals around him. Finally, in the last slot, I drew a neat picture of him in the cave meditating with long matted hair, with one ray of light going from his heart to a deity in the sky. This deity looked Indian-like and had six arms, I didn’t know who it was when I drew it. She was a six-armed deity sitting on a lotus and this ray of light from the meditator’s heart went to her heart and they connected. That was the end of my picture- graph. I drew that in my sixth grade. It was so cool, I wished I still had that picture with me. I imagined that the meditator communed and had a vision of the deity he was meditating on and he became enlightened. That picture-graph expressed my personal longing.
Throughout my life, I wanted to go to a cave and meditate. Even as a child, I believed that if I went to a cave, meditated and identified with the deity, I would become one with the deity. That was why I drew that picture-graph. That was what I knew as a kid so that was what I drew most of the time. My art teacher belonged to the 60s, so-called hippies, the flower-people generation. She always wore very darker muted colored clothes and didn’t care what people thought of her as she was very into the moment and into art. She was very individual and unique. She loved expressing things through art. She was such a great teacher and speaker.
I showed her my picture when I finished it. I must say, my artwork stood out from all the other kids as they were drawing very ordinary scenes like going shopping at the mall and stuff. When I showed her my picture of the meditator, I tried to explain what it was about, “Ms Gerbrick, let me explain this to you…” She stopped me from explaining and she just stared at the picture. She was a very tall lady with long fingers. She held the picture and just looked at it silently.
After a while I asked her again, “Can I explain it to you, Ms Gerbrick?”
Ms Gerbrick was in the local papers for being awarded a place in a coveted film workshop
She just nodded her head and said, “I perfectly understand.” Then she said, “This is just wonderful!”
I said, “Well, this person became one with the deity.“ “I understand,” she said. I think she wasn’t silencing me up because she didn’t want to hear me. She totally understood and was enjoying it; I never forgot that. She understood my spiritual longing through my drawing. That was so rare to find. The kids in the class didn’t understand my spiritual drawing at all. I didn’t see this type of spirituality in books or tv much. That was really what I thought would happen if I went to a cave and meditated. That was why I always thought about meditating in a cave. That was why I have always had a big fascination with caves, mountains and lakes; I always imagined meditating amidst such landscape.
It seems like yesterday when I was sitting in my room quietly drawing. Can you imagine me as a kid drawing all this? I was just this little strange kid drawing little Buddhas and making Buddha pendants to give away to people. At that time, they just thought I was just a “weirdo” and they told me, “I am not going to wear no green god!” I drew Green Tara and colored her and covered her with saran plastic wrap to protect my little ‘masterpiece.’ I attached string for it to be worn. No one would wear my green god! I would draw do colored pictures of Tsongkapa, Buddha Shakyamuni, Manjushri, Vajrapani, Avalokitesvara, Green Tara, White Tara and so on.
The Tara (aka the ‘Green God’) that I drew colored in as a child for my cousins to wear
I would try to explain, “But it’s a goddess!…” They would scream back at me, “I don’t care!” It is really hilarious now when I think back to all of it and how my friends wouldn’t wear these Buddhas. Most of my American friends didn’t know really what I was drawing and I would make smaller paintings of these Buddhas and pretend they were protection amulets. I use to think I have to make this to pass to people so they would be protected. I use to do this always naturally.
Ms Gerbrick’s class was once a week in Land O’ Pines School and it was a class that I really, really looked forward to. Ms Gerbrick was, to me, a very tall and lanky lady. She wore a lot of jumpsuits with turtlenecks and she didn’t wear much make-up and she had short, greying hair and to me, she had a wonderful face that was very pock-marked, but to me she was beautiful. She was direct, she was extremely warm, she was no-nonsense and at the same time, extremely caring. I enjoyed the classes because I enjoyed listening to her, I enjoyed listening to what she had to say, I absorbed her thinking and her way of teaching. There was so much about her that just I really, really liked. So a few years back, I went looking for her through the Internet and I had a few friends help me look for her, and I found out that she had perhaps passed away. I was really looking for her picture. Even contacted Land O’ Pines school but it was long ago. Not many remembered her or had her picture until we found it from a newspaper clipping and I was grateful to find her picture. I have it framed up in my room now.
Recently, just a few days ago, I decided to confirm that she has passed away because you know, sometimes information can be wrong. We found that there was an obituary on her and she really did pass away. Learning this brought a lot of sadness to me. Her classes were innovative and challenging, and we would do all kinds of works of art, whether it was on copper sheets – we would draw images on copper sheets – or making clay items which I liked the most. There was painting, crayons, sketching, many, many things. The incredible thing is that she would look at every person’s sketch, every student’s sketch and think about it and comment on it, and she really cared. She really cared what you were trying to express in art.
Art class for us in Land O’ Pines was not a selective course, but a mandatory course which I was very happy about. At times, Ms Gerbrick would really, really shout at the top of her lungs and bang the table because some of the students were quite rowdy or wasteful with the materials. She scolded us there was not a big budget for the arts department, so we had to take care of the equipment and materials and not waste it. Some of the students weren’t respectful and they didn’t listen but the minute everybody calmed down, she would immediately calm down and talk in an even tone. She would never hold grudges. She never treated any of us any differently, or better or worse; she was equal with everyone, she was warm. For the kids who were receptive to Ms Gerbrick, she was extremely, extremely caring and helpful, and this touched everyone. I found out later that she had moved a lot of people. She really cared. That was the impact she had on me.
I was having a particularly difficult time at home, being that my parents were not getting along very well but they would not, of course, divorce while I was there. Still, they were not getting along very well. There was a lot of fighting at home. There was a lot of shouting, screaming and there was a lot of disharmony at home. A lot of the disharmony between my parents overflowed on to me so I got punished a lot. I was hit and I was shouted at a lot, and many of the things that were said to me were very, very hurtful for a child. Things like…my mother would say things to me like, “You’re never going to be anything or amount to anything when you grow up. No one’s going to like you. You’re just like your father. You have a big mouth. You’re selfish.” I mean, she would say things like that over and over to me, daily. That went on for, you know, years. I believed it for a while.
A Shakyamuni that I sketched and crayon colored in as a child. I was always drawing and painting Buddha images, wrapping them with clingfilm to waterproof them, and then passing them out to family and friends. Instinctively I knew wearing Buddhas would bless and protect them.
What I realised later on is that she was suffering a lot because she had some marital problems with my dad. They loved each other but as the old saying goes, you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them. She had a lot of issues with my dad, and so I was the one that she’d take it out on. I understand now that she just didn’t have anyone to take it out on. She wasn’t a cruel or evil woman at all. My mother was, in fact, a very nice person but she just didn’t have anyone to take it out on. And so I would get the brunt of her anger as a result of their marital discord. Many times I would have to keep it inside of me, the pain, the beatings and the sadness and all of that. And I remember one day after class, we had finished and all the kids had left, and I stayed behind to show Ms Gerbrick something that I had sketched and drawn. Somehow we started talking about my family.
Ms Gerbrick is not the type to pry at all, but somehow we talked about my family and what happened. I told her what I was going through at home and just how much pain I had. I knew she couldn’t do anything for me because back then, you know, teachers couldn’t do much about what was going on at home. She lent a sympathetic ear, and I realised she couldn’t say anything negative because it would be interfering in people’s family. But at the same time, she wasn’t the type to keep quiet and watch a child suffer either. After I complained and I told her what was going on at home, especially all of the things my mother was saying to me. All of the things my mother was saying to me hurt very badly, and it was very demeaning, demoralising and damaging to a young mind, especially when it comes from your own mother.
I think I broke down a little bit and I cried in front of her. She waited a few minutes and she thought about it and she said to me, and it just stuck with me all these years until now…she never criticised my parents although she understood what was going on, and she just said to me, “Do you know sometimes what people say to you that hurts, is really what they’re saying about themselves?” That blew me away. I said to her, “You mean I’m not all of these things I’m told I am? Selfish and all that?”
She said,
“Well, you know, sometimes when people have a lot of pain and they know some things about themselves, they kind of project it onto others or they say to others what they subconsciously know about themselves. So when people say negative things to you, whoever they might be, it’s not about you. It’s not even really for you; it’s not about you, it’s about them. So we need to just not let it sit in our minds. We let it go in our ear and out the other one; in one ear and out of the other one, and just forget about it. And don’t think.”
And I said, “But it’s my mother!” and she said, “Yes, even if your mother says that, don’t hold on to it because maybe she’s in a lot of pain and she’s just saying that because she has nowhere else to express what she feels about herself and her situation where she’s kind of stuck.”
It just blew my mind. I never, ever thought that people would say so many hurtful things to other people but it actually meant something subconscious about themselves. Later on, when I studied a little bit of sociology and psychology, that really is the case. So what Ms Gerbrick said turned me around a lot, you know, and I started looking at myself a little bit better. I started thinking about myself a little bit better and I started having a slightly better opinion about myself. I wouldn’t say I had a good opinion about myself but it became better because when I started meditating and thinking about the things that my mother had said when she was very down, it was really about herself and or her husband, my dad. It wasn’t really about me because I wasn’t those things that she was saying, I realised. I do love my mom though. I know now as an adult she went through so much.
RIP Ms Gerbrick (1934 – 2004). How sad that the first time I see my teacher’s face in over 30 years is in her obituary.
Ms Gerbrick’s talk with me really just hit me so deep. The care, the kindness, the compassion, the time and the genuine wisdom that she conveyed to me was really amazing. I mean that she’s one of the most impactful people that I have ever met in my life, that has affected me deeply and still affects me to this day. I found out later that she’s affected a lot of people and students like that, that she was just a really warm, wonderful person and she didn’t take her teaching position as a job but as something she cared about, kids she cared about.
Sadly for me, I left New Jersey when I was 15 / 16 in 1981. I never was able to communicate with Ms Gerbrick again. I was not able to locate her and tell her how much her advice had helped a child which was me, and then help me as an adult as I still reflect back on what she told me. I still tell other people the same thing when I come across the same situation because it really just makes sense. I wanted to write her a long letter, I wanted to send her some gifts, I wanted to send her some pictures, I wanted to send her flowers, maybe chocolates to tell her that I’m alright now and that I’m grown up – hopefully mentally I’m grown up also – and that I’m fine and that she made such an impact on me, her student. I didn’t have that chance so what I’m going to do is, I’m going to print out her picture and I’m going to put it near my Buddha statue and I’m going to do prayers and make offerings for her, that she will be okay and really find a good rebirth, be at peace and continue her spiritual journey, because she was a very spiritual person to me. She had to be a spiritual person to have been able to interpret the art – the spiritual art – that I had presented to her, that she could interpret to me.
I guess teachers all around the world who take the time to care about their pupils, to talk and to listen and to have the reaching out to their students, it does make a huge difference in their little minds. Maybe as kids they can’t express what I am expressing now but surely as they grow up, they become adults, teachers like Ms Elaine Gerbrick helped to form young people’s minds to be a better person, to like themselves better and, in the process, to like other people better.
Ms Gerbrick’s influence on me as a child was really huge and this blog post is a dedication to her and about her, to thank her and at the same time to let teachers around the world know, please reach out to your students. It makes a difference. Young people need someone to care, to listen to them and give them good advice that will affect them forever like what Ms Gerbrick did for me.
I thank you so much Ms Gerbrick. I miss you very much. I wish I had found you again in all these decades. You will be remembered forever Ms Gerbrick,
Tsem Rinpoche
Howell, New Jersey in the United States, and the town where I grew up. It is the red dot on the right.
The red area is Howell. In this map you can see Howell’s position in relations to New York City to the north and Philadelphia to the south, which is another big city with a lot of Kalymks living there. New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey where I lived is known as the Tri-State area and there are a lot of Kalmyks living here.
My childhood home in Howell, New Jersey. I went back there to visit in 2013 and it looked almost exactly the same. There’s now a very nice family living there. Would be neat I can stay in this house again. I liked our back yard very much.
The huge backyard behind my home, which I was responsible for maintaining and upkeeping. I would have to mow the grass, tend to the vegetable patch, rake up the leaves, etc.
Walls with colourful artwork. During the holidays, the kids would enter an art contest and the winners would be allowed to paint on paper and attach their artworks along the corridor with their different designs. I loved this and often won the competition to have the chance to paint on the walls.
A plaque inside the school commemorating the library. This was one of my favourite places in school.
Inside Land O’ Pines Elementary School. Overall, I did not like going to school and found it to be unnecessary for me because I wanted to be a monk when I grew up, and I didn’t see how studying would help me. But there were a few teachers there who really made a difference in school. I liked our principal Mr Thompson who was a nice man and always friendly. Very reasonable too. Ms Schaffren was another teacher who was kind and always bought donuts for all her classes and the kids liked her. I got along with her very well. I liked her very much. She was tough but kind. Ms Ruben the lady in the school cafeteria was very good person, with a big heart and also joked a lot with the kids. I loved seeing her daily during lunch. I liked the librarian Mrs Weidenbacher and I volunteered in the library to put books away for her on my free time always weekly. Ms Gerbrick was one of those caring teachers that reached out. Thank you to all wonderful teachers in Land O’ Pines and to Ms Gerbrick.
For more interesting information:
- Tsem Rinpoche draws cartoons
- My Childhood in Taiwan…Revisiting…
- Visiting my parents – Tsem Rinpoche
- I LIKE THIS PICTURE OF MY MOTHER
- Happy family for Kalachakra
- My Short Bio in pictures
- I’m Requesting Ordination in 1987
- VIDEO: “(Re)visiting an Extraordinary Life: The Tsem Rinpoche Biography Group in the USA”
- Avalokiteshvara, Turkey Swamp, Marc & Me | 观音菩萨、火鸡沼泽公园、马克和我
- When I Had No One Else…
- My First Guru in New Jersey
- It Wasn’t Easy in New Jersey, but My Cousins/Aunts Helped…
- Tsem Rinpoche Bio Group Goes to USA
- Dhaneshwar Bhagawan Dorje Shugden | धनेश्वर भगवान दोर्जी शुगदेन। | தனேஷ்வரர் பகவான் டோர்ஜே ஷுக்டேன் | धनेश्वर भगवान दोर्जे शुग्देन। | རྡོ་རྗེ་ཤུགས་ལྡན།
- THIS IS ME IN HOLLYWOOD IN THE 80’S
- My Precious Teachers
- They were not wrong
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1984 Los Angeles-Left to right: Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen, His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, monk assistant to Zong Rinpoche and the 18-year-old Tsem Rinpoche prior to ordination. Read more- https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/me
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A poem inspired by seeing a picture of my teacher, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche…
In the sport of correct views,
all that is correct is just a view,
without permanence or substance.
As long as we hold onto views,
our sufferings are gathered
to be experienced without end.
Without the strong methods of emptiness
and compassion, bereft of merit,
we sink deeper without respite.
To arise from this samsara is but
a dreamscape on the deluded mind.
Therefore seek the guru, who confers the yidam,
hold your vows and fixate on liberation
free of new creations. Free of new experiences as
there are none.
~ Tsem Rinpoche
Composed in Tsem Ladrang, Kuala Lumpur on July 7, 2014
A poem by Tsem Rinpoche
I was walking past a second hand shop on Western Ave selling old things. They had a Japanese-style clay Buddha which was beige in colour on the floor, holding the door open. I thought the shopkeeper would collect a lot of negative karma without knowing if he kept such a holy item on the floor as a doorstop. So I went in to talk to him, but he didn’t look like he wanted to talk or that he even cared. So I asked him the price and he said US$5. I purchased it so he did not collect more negative karma. I was 17 years old and that was in 1982.
I escorted my new Buddha home and washed it lightly and wiped it. I placed it on my altar and was happy with the Buddha. I would do my meditations, prayers, sadhanas, mantras and prostrations in front of this shrine daily. When I left for India in 1987, I could not bring this Buddha along and gave it to a friend. It was a nice size and I made offerings to this Buddha for many years in Los Angeles. In front of the Buddha I placed His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s photo. I remember I was so relieved that the price was affordable. But US$5 that time was still expensive for me but worth it I thought. But I was happy to have brought the Buddha home. Tsem Rinpoche
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Tsem Rinpoche at Kechara Forest Retreat, Bentong, Malaysia
H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche is very devoted to his root guru, H.H. Zong Rinpoche.
Dear friends,
This meme is powerful. Who you hang around with and the types of attitude they have is who you will be influenced by many times and who you will become in the future. Look at your friends and the people that always surround you to know who you will become.
Tsem Rinpoche
Too often we are focusing on ourselves rather than others’ feelings. We forgot that a simple smile, a kind word, lending an ear, an honest compliment, a helping hand or any small act of kindness gives impact on someone’ life. Therefore, always be kind to others. We are not doing a favor for anyone, it is simply because everyone deserved love and care. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this with us.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this lovely and touching story of Ms Gerbrick. Ms Gerbrick sounds like a very wise and spiritual person who can see beyond the superficial facade people put up. Ms Gerbrick inspired me on how to inspire more people with positive speech and action. Thank you to bio-team who went to USA to take pictures on Rinpoche’s school.
We should appreciate all teachers, especially those teachers who show so much care, attention and time to us. The time when rinpoche told us that his teacher taught him that people say hurtful things because they might be feeling like that inside. Very insightful and very spiritual advice given.
Ms Gerbrick sounds like a very wise and spiritual person who can see beyond the superficial facade people put up. And, very caring too. Her students are so very blessed to be taught by her or even to connect with her.
It’s amazing how she could totally understand Rinpoche’s drawing about meditation in caves. And, have wise words of comfort and understanding with regards to the situation at Rinpoche’s home back then.
Just wish there were more teachers like her around.
Thank you Rinpoche for writing this post on your art teacher, Ms Elaine Gerbrick. This teacher sounds amazing I also have a favorite teacher too, Cikgu Shahzalina. She thought us History in Form 1 last year and she was also my class teacher. Usually History can get very boring but she made History very interesting. At times, she will make the class laugh.
Teachers also can be your friend, not just student that you know at school. RInpoche is so lucky to have found a teacher like this and I hope she takes a good rebirth near the Dharma.
Dear Rinpoche
By Reading what Rinpoche’s draw during Rinpoche’s Elementary School is truly amazing to me. A kid could draw such complicated scene on a meditator and the meditator could connect with a deity, to me, there is no kid will draw this kind of art during elementary time. Rinpoche is not ordinary beings. Normal kids would just draw cartoon la, house la etc, definitely not Buddha images or meditator images.
More amazing, Rinpoche have already thought to benefit people during kid time by drawing pictures of Buddha and give to people for protection. How can ordinary kids think to benefit people by using Buddha images?
Ms Gerbrick was a very good teacher. Imagine if other teachers saw this kind of pictures, they probably would think the kid is crazy. But, Ms Gerbrick looks and admire the pictures, she even understand what Rinpoche trying to say through the pictures. Through this, I can say she was a very opened minded person and quite spiritual. Ya, I do agreed with Rinpoche that she care. Her genuine care has brought her to be a skillful person to educate the kids.
I like what she said “Do you know sometimes what people say to you that hurts, is really what they’re saying about themselves?” It blew me too. She is such a wise teacher.
Rinpoche never forget people’s kindness. Many people that come across Rinpoche’s life, Rinpoche would appreciate them and think to benefit them not only this life but to their future life.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this story. Ms Gerbrick inspired me on how to inspire more people with positive speech and action. Thank you to bio-team who went to USA to take pictures on Rinpoche’s school.
Love,
Freon
?
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing. Is true that sometines people said something bad hurt us is not about us but about themselves. We need to learn forgiving and be kind to those harsh to us. Most of the time we can not help those people or do anything in such situation but at least we do not create hatred further.
I heard of this story many years ago while Rinpoche took a number of his students including myself for a stroll in the park. I absolutely loved the story and fortunately, it was in one of the transcripts and I plucked out the story and combined it in a chapter of my book called Tales My Lama Told Me on Rinpoche’s childhood called Childhood Buddhas. (book available here – Tales My Lama Told Me )
I was just amazed at how sensitive, intelligent and intuitive she was as a teacher. She gave great and insightful advice in dealing with Rinpoche’s mother. Its rare to have such a teacher and one for whom understands the students very well and has since nurturing energy and intuition towards the students.
As I read this article, I imagined being in the presence of a kind warm teacher, when your family “scene” was almost unbearable and what a relief it was to have some one who understood and gave comfort in a profound way.
Miss Elaine Gerbrick must have found Rinpoche to be a very special child with the expression of Rinpoche’s thoughts in art. And she was able to understand how Rinpoche illustrated his imprinted desire to meditate in a cave. Her kindness in explaining to Rinpoche about Rinpoche’s mother’s accusation of Rinpoche was very impactful and definitely erased any thoughts of self unworthiness in Rinpoche’s young mind. This was very kind and thoughtful of Miss Gerbrick.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing Rinpoche’s experience and much to be learnt in the art of compassion and kindness to others in whatever the circumstances. Something that Rinpoche has always taught the world at large.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these touching story of such compassionate, kind, caring lady Ms Elaine Gerbrick .She was Rinpoche childhood teacher who has make a huge difference in Rinpoche’s life. It would be wonderful if teachers take the time to care, ,listen, talk and reaching out to their students as all these have a huge impact on them. Ms Elaine Gerbrick was truly one such teacher who cares and understands for her students like Rinpoche ,and she was an example to all teachers.
Due to her kindness , sensitivity and perception Rinpoche had a amazing experience with her in school which Rinpoche treasured so much. She was sympathetic and gentle with her students and considerate of their feelings and courteous .
I also find in this blogpost, a clear illustration of Rinpoche’s consistent emphasis on remembering the kindness of others and repaying that kindness. Rinpoche wanted to repay the kindness of Ms Gerbrick, and he left no stone unturned in his efforts to locate where she was.It was only when it was confirmed that she had passed away, did he finally accept that and let it go.
Thank you Rinpoche. I find this blogpost very beautiful.What I find most striking about Ms Gerbrick is her ability to empathise with her young students and relate and respond to their needs. Ms Gerbrick was a very warm and sincere person.She thought deeply and spoke from her heart. She expressed herself through art. That was why she could understand all of Rinpoche’s deepest emotions and longings and yearnings through his art. Rinpoche was speaking to her through his art.
When Rinpoche poured his heart out to her, she had such a remarkable way of responding to this outpouring from the heart, which to me was like the best food for the ‘soul’ and ‘pcyche’ of the young boy that Rinpoche was then. Instead of commiserating with Rinpoche in his misery (pouring oil on water), she uplifted Rinpoche’s spirits and helped restore his self-esteem which Dana had battered down
She pointed out to Rinpoche the fact that his mother was, in reality, in a lot of pain. So Rinpoche shouldn’t be holding on to the perception of the pain that his mother had made him suffer.
“Well, you know, sometimes when people have a lot of pain and they know some things about themselves, they kind of project it onto others or they say to others what they subconsciously know about themselves. So when people say negative things to you, whoever they might be, it’s not about you. It’s not even really for you; it’s not about you, it’s about them. So we need to just not let it sit in our minds. We let it go in our ear and out the other one..and just forget about it. And don’t think.”
When Rinpoche started thinking and reflecting on these words, it made him feel better and have a better opinion of himself.There and then, Rinpoche understood that the negative things his mother had said was about herself and his father. and NOT ABOUT HIM. Rinpoche began to understand his mother better.It was Ms Gerbrick’s care and compassion that made her speak with such insight and wisdom about Rinpoche’s mother.
Gratitude is one of the main key attributes which Rinpoche has always taught his students to cultivate. Kindness from others is a value which we should always appreciate and remember especially more during times of need.
I have heard this story about Ms Gerbick directly from Rinpoche before during the first few years I was in Ladrang. It is rare to find a teacher who cares and most importantly who advices so appropriately during those times when Rinpoche needed someone. It was not easy for a child to go through such turmoil. No child should be subjected to this type of treatment. Ms Gerbick put whatever Rinpoche was going through in such simplistic words which was so right and still so right for most of us.
I know if Ms Gerbick was still alive today, Rinpoche would have spoil her silly by imparting dharma in how she understands and also lots and lots of gifts from Rinpoche. In this world and age, it is hard to find true kindness/ kindness without any agenda. I know I am one of the few which has found kindness from Rinpoche and my dharma family. I am indeed fortunate.
I like to read when I was young but never like to go to school and do not like teachers. As a person we always giving impact to anyone we come across, but as a teacher especially teaching younger kids, he/she gives very strong impact to a kid. We have always heard stories of how a teacher giving huge impact to a kid like the story Rinpoche on Miss Elaine Gerbrick. Teaching is more than a job to pass on knowledge or teaching a skill, it’s a soul meeting another soul, and influencing another’s life.
I agreed that Miss Elaine is a spiritual person, a person who cares sincerely, who has a warm and kind heart. Most importantly she respect another person even he/she is a kid, she never thinks kid will know less that adult. Not only she respect but more than that is she understands. I wish we would have teachers like Miss Elaine, with teaches with passion, care and love.
I thank Miss Elaine for being such an understanding and lovely teacher, I will pray for you. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
One’s kindness and compassion does changed people’s life. Belated Ms Gerbrick listened with her heart and gave advise in a very rational way, that’s where it really makes a big difference. Kids, adults and elderly are all the same, they need to be engaged and felt that there are someone out there who really listen to them and care for them. They need someone who they can relay with and be more open than keeping everything to themselves which may lead to depression. We should learn from her to be considerate.
Pray that she had good rebirth.
Ms Gerbrick was very patient and compassionate by spending her time to listen to Rinpoche said to her. Ms Gerbrick never criticized about Rinpoche’s parents and avoid to give negative effect to Rinpoche. Instead, Ms Gerbrick advised Rinpoche that when people say negative things to him, it is not about him, but it’s about them. This message implied that Ms Gerbrick knew to be sympathic and considerate to others.
I personally think that in order to be a responsible teacher, one must selflessly devote oneself and always think of how to benefit the students and constantly seek solutions to remove barriers that children face. Ms Gerbrick was one of them as mentioned.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this wonderful story of Ms Gerbrick. May she has a good rebirth and return in perfect human form to learn dharma at a young age. ?
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this lovely and touching story of Ms Gerbrick. She really was special, she had the ability to see things from different perspective to turn hatred and negativity into love and compassion. If we told someone about the negative things our parents had said to us, most people would become judgemental and criticise our parents. But Ms Gerbrick saw it differently, she saw how miserable and how much sufferings Rinpoche’s mother must have gone through. She taught Rinpoche what empthy is about. Instead of making the relationship of Rinpoche and parents worse, Ms Gerbrick helped Rinpoche overcome the ill-treatments from the parents and develop compassion for them.
A teacher’s job is not merely teaching students the knowledge from the text books, it is also about caring the student’s mental development. Ms Gerbrick had shown a very good example of a wonderful, caring and loving teacher.
Dear RInpoche,
Thank you for sharing with us the story and kind words of this kind teacher. It really touched my heart of how this teacher would be so caring and kind to give such loving advice to a kid so many years ago. I too have a similar kind teacher when i was in my elementary school. She was very kind to me even though i had caused her so much of problems. After graduated from school, a few of us from the same class would visit her periodically to update her on our life and she would enjoy listening to it and sometimes she will gives us her advice on life too. Kindness and compassion is an attribute that can change or touch people’s life deeply. People with kindness should have more respect than those who are rich or famous because they are the one out there making differences in the world.
Humbly,
Chris