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Our Experiences: Being a Motivated, Resilient Student in the Face of Adversity



Hello everyone, my name is Ridhee Gupta. Currently, I am a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo in Canada studying Physics and Astronomy. I was first exposed to Nichiren Buddhism when my mom started chanting back in 2014. I didn’t consistently take up the practice myself until last year when the pandemic hit Canada. At the time, no one knew how long the pandemic would last. I remember when we went into lockdown, on March 13th.


I was halfway through my four-month internship at the time. I expected to finish my internship in person at the end of April and fly home. It is when my flight home got cancelled and I finished my internship online the realization that this might last longer than a couple of months started creeping in. In the beginning of May, when I started my first fully online study term, is when I started attending SGI meetings. At first, it was just to be a part of a community of people who were going through similar experiences that I was and met every week for support and encouragement.


I started chanting to find a sense of control on everything around me that couldn’t be controlled.

Before the Summer 2020 term, I hadn’t done great at school. Yes, I was passing. Yes, I had enough grades to stay in my program. But these grades never reflected what I was capable of. I had realized that my grades suffered because of low self-confidence and self-worth I had. I chanted for me to be confident and able to keep up my good grades and to get job that would contribute to my learning.


Sensei Ikeda says: “Nichiren Daishonin teaches that the spirit that “not to advance is to retreat.” The point is to continue forging ahead despite any storms or hardships that may arise, to be fearless and advance like a lion.” (Faith Into Action, pg 105) That term, I applied to around 100-150 jobs but got only two or three interviews.

... first become indispensable wherever you are, this will open the path leading to your next phase in life.

I cold emailed Professors to see if they were hiring but did not receive any response. I got a job three days before my work term. I considered myself lucky. Within the first few weeks though, it became clear that I wasn’t the right fit for the job or the company. I dreaded the thought of waking up in the morning and starting work, team meetings made me more nervous and self-doubtful. Since I couldn’t just quit or change jobs, I chanted for ways I could make my job better for myself and the company. President Toda said that first become indispensable wherever you are, this will open the path leading to your next phase in life (Faith Into Action, pg 45).


Everyday though, things got worse, until my supervisor informed me that they had made a technical mistake and therefore my contract became void. This was a ray of hope. It also caused a lot of uncertainty. I had to find a job again within a month to get co-op credit and maintain my student status. Mystically, one of the Professors I had cold emailed four months ago responded offering me an immediate placement. This was the immense protection I received from the Gohonzon - to lose a job and gain one on the same day. This work was something that I absolutely loved and reignited my interest in my subject and my future goals. The project I was involved in was something I was doing for the first time. My project involved automating three telescopes used to detect very small outer solar system objects. I wanted to finish the project, but I had only two months of internship left. So, I did the only logical thing. I offered to volunteer for his research group while I took 5 courses the next term.

For context, 5 courses are a lot and require organization and time management to be able to get

through them with good grades. Most students normally make sure they are only doing 5 courses

and nothing else. Taking up research volunteering would make it harder for me to do better in my

courses. But I took it up anyway. I chanted to find better ways of managing my time and being able to stay motivated enough throughout the term to finish all my courses to my satisfaction.


At this point, it had been around a year and a half since I had been home, and I missed everyone

terribly. Ontario was going into another lockdown, so the heavy restrictions were weighing on me.

This caused a lot of mental health challenges. In addition to this, me, some fellow students and

alumni were trying for the third time to get the Waterloo SGI club officially approved by the

Waterloo Undergraduate Society. This wasn’t easy since we had to convince people we follow a

different faith than another Buddhist club on campus. It required multiple hours of meetings within our group and with the Society leaders to convince them to give our club an official status. With continuous chanting and faith in my abilities, I finished the term on a good note. For my last

internship, I received a prestigious fellowship and internship at a well-known MNC. I successfully

finished my project with my Professor, and I am setting up my undergraduate thesis with him. And I finished my academic term with a 92% term average and term distinction. Through the continuous support and dedication of fellow students, alumni, and SGI Canada members, I am also proud to report that I am the first President of the official University of Waterloo Soka Gakkai International Club.

When I look back on first year, given how poorly I was doing in school, I never expected to be here at this point. Now that I am, it gives me hope for the future, and for whatever failures might be coming my way. This experience helps me see that failures don’t define my life and some failures do not mean I am incapable of success.


President Ikeda says, “The real struggle in life is with ourselves. The true secret of

success is the refusal to give up, the refusal to fail; it lies in the struggle to win the battle against

one's own weaknesses.” And I am determined to win this inner struggle against all odds and

obstacles.


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