Living in at Gonville and Caius and getting a taste of student life at Cambridge was an amazing experience. It allowed me to meet very special people, including my resident tutors, and to be taught by a number of inspiring lecturers and leaders. It also vastly expanded my knowledge on a number of topics from viewpoints that I would not have considered otherwise.
Whilst my own course, 'International Politics in a Global Age' covered a range of fascinating topics, there was also a set of plenary lectures around the theme of 'understanding'. My politics lectures varied largely, including 'female education in China and Africa', 'nuclear proliferation and climate change', 'the European Union financial meltdown', 'Humanitarian War' and also very current topics such as 'the Arab spring', 'Russia', 'the rise of China in Africa' and the debatable meaning of 'democracy'.
In contrast, the morning and evening plenary lectures covered a much wider range of topics, these included 'understanding...;' 'British Secret Intelligence'; 'evolution'; linguistics; 'the Cold war'; 'building bombs' and many more fascinating topics.
In order to understand 'Understanding', we were shown an image by Hanabusa Itcho (1652–1724) called "Blind monks examining an elephant", this is based on a parable which can be seen throughout many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu lore.
The story is generally about a group of blind men who touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each man feels a different part of the elephant, such as the trunk, ear or tail. They then compare what they have felt and completely disagree with one another. This story varies in regards to how violent the conflict then becomes and whether it is resolved. However, according to the Buddhist story, the King and the Buddha are consulted. Here, the story ends with the Buddha comparing the blind men to preachers and scholars, who's realities are different but may only preach one single viewpoint, to the point of conflict.
I found this an amazing story against ignorance and intolerance. Whilst each party (in either the parable, or in the wider world of politics) may wholeheartedly believe in their 'truth', they may still be ignorant of another party or person's beliefs or 'truth'.
Whilst I was in Cambridge, I was lucky enough to also see an open aired Shakespeare play (even though it rained!) in King's college garden. I watched a string quartet performance and I also managed to attend three formal dinners, including my leaving dinner, where I received my graduating certificate.
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