Help Ariyananda Serve Global Mental Health

Contribute to helping the world move towards a more caring and compassionate place with an understanding of our common humanity

by supporting Ariyananda to study Global Mental Health MSc at King's College London

I have been sitting on the meditation cushion and contemplated suffering, but now it is time to get up and do something about it.

If you care about people's and our planet's wellbeing, if you think healthy minds are the answer to today's global crises, if you share the same vision of a more caring and compassionate world but don’t have the time and energy to do it yourself, you can do it by supporting me to study for the MSc Global Mental Health at King's College London starting in September 2022.

Whilst thrilled to receive an unconditional offer for this incredibly rich course, where I will learn how to develop policies, systems, services, clinical interventions and other methods to evaluate services and interventions for people's wellbeing, I couldn’t help but feel concerned about how I am going to cover the tuition fees, £14070, as I am not eligible for most scholarships and student loans because I already hold an MA, and I am too old.

Me and my Aspiration

My name is Huicong Luo in Chinese, or Ariyananda in Pali meaning noble bliss. I guess my teacher gave me this name with the hope that I would bring bliss to the world. “May everyone abide in wellbeing… May all beings be released from all suffering”, two lines in one of my favourite chants say my motivation for applying to this course. As a committed Buddhist practitioner with an activist spirit, I don’t want to just sit on the meditation cushion and have this nice thought, feeling blissful myself – I want to maximise the good, act and make tangible change in people’s lives. It is the same reason why I quit my job teaching Chinese and translation.

While I enjoyed teaching, I felt something was missing. The most meaningful moments I found in the teaching years were 1) when a student from my Chinese class who was suffering from depression said to me after we had a long chat, “I could talk to you for hours. It’s very therapeutic”; 2) after I offered a short guided meditation at the beginning of a college event, participants commented, “I feel really good and peaceful.” It was their wellbeing that I cared about most, and I thought perhaps that’s what I should be doing instead, but I felt hesitant and unsure.

Alongside this teaching role I took up a part-time MA by research with the support of a staff bursary. It was a self-chosen interdisciplinary project using art-based phenomenological approaches to study pain experience with a focus on contemplative practices and culture, drawing on the sciences and humanities, which the examiners commented was fascinating, innovative and ambitious. This powerful learning experience not only brought me knowledge, insights and various research skills but also the opportunity to see with my research participants their vulnerability and to understand human experience more deeply. More importantly, it showed me how research can help alleviate suffering, and helped me answer the question that I was asked 12 years ago in a bookshop in the Himalayas: what is the meaning of your life. A clear answer came as I was finishing writing up my thesis: to dedicate myself to the wellbeing of all beings. That was when I quit my job.

The Global Mental Health MSc

To implement my vision, the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London provides fertile ground. With my background in the arts and humanities and the fact that the research skills I gained were self-taught because my MA was purely by research, without systematic training I feel like a computer which has a good system but waits to be equipped with more software to work at full potential. The MSc, which is about changing the situation where people with mental health issues in low resource settings cannot access evidence-based treatments, is exactly the software needed for my mission. Being equipped by the MA, my learning from Mind & Life Institute’s conferences and a distinction from Copenhagen Business School’s Social Entrepreneurship course, along with the MSc, I can visualise how I will be contributing to mental health services with creativity, professionalism, and compassion.

Why I need your help

As I already hold an MA, I am not eligible for most scholarships or a postgraduate student loan. I have also tried many charities and foundations – few are mature student-friendly. And while I was working, I was also supporting my husband who was studying at the time, which means I have not got much savings. While a small part of the fee is secured, it still leaves me a good balance to pay. It may be a difficulty, but I take this as the first task towards a more caring and compassionate world.

Bringing forward the vision of everyone abiding in wellbeing is not easy, but I have faith in doing good, and I hope you do too.

I will do this work on your behalf. I will carry all of you in doing this work for all beings. For those interested, I am more than happy to provide updates or reports on how it goes. And if you like, I can offer contemplative movement sessions as a thank you, in person or online, depending on where you are.

My deep gratitude to you for being here, reading it and donating.

Ariyananda