Dawa Dolma is not just a name, its a meaning to it: A Tibetan nurse and her pandemic courage

In her meditative posture 

If you are thinking what is the relationship between a 'nurse profession' and 'Tibetan Buddhist teaching', here is a short trip into it. 

When you face an uphill task challenge, either you take it or give it up. However, Sydney based Tibetan young nurse opted to take the challenge. 

The Tibetan lass shares her experience in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic that had nurses around the world at the forefront of the duty. The service rendered by them and other health professionals during the pandemic were both risky and sacrificial. For Dawa Dolma, there are two choice given the pressure from society as well as grave personal health concerns. Either she quit the job and isolate to save herself from the virus or become a saviour. She aptly and bravely chose the latter, and she didn’t regret, but relish.

However, the brave-heart was deeply disheartened by  reports of certain nurses and health care professionals being assaulted and spat upon by members of public under the blind perception of spreading the virus, which forced many of them to camouflage their own otherwise a proud uniform. Though she feels lucky to have not encountered such incidents, she had to be cautious of what she wore during the pandemic while returning home from service. She also confessed in her Facebook post where she shared her experience, the situation had caused her some mental stress as well.

Luckily, she was able to maintain her posture, strength and grit during the most difficult period of her service. Dawa attributes her decision to stay put during pandemic to being practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and following moral teachings of His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama. When her family were cautious of the situation, she said “Nurses were like soldiers training for war”. That’s exactly what happened in the last six months. What soldiers do for country; nurses did during these six months of defining period. They saved hundreds of thousands of people from their deathbed against the viral invasion. 

Her name is apt for her profession and service. ‘Dawa’ means 'the moon', one that shines when the sun refuses to shine, and ‘Dolma’ means 'striving to liberate all sentient beings from suffering without partiality and with motherly love'. It vividly appears that her name is not just for her identity, but to meant it.