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| "Humility," by Julie Tián. Read the story of this painting. See the other sacred teachings paintings by Julie Tian. |
Artist's Note
When I reflect on my upbringing and how my family carried ourselves, there was an unspoken expectation to present ourselves as modest and humble. But when I delved deeper into humility as defined in the Grandparent Teachings, I learned that the humility I learned and saw with my family and the Asian community is not true humility. The type of humility that we show is based on how others perceive us, it’s more so to be seen as someone who is modest and not outspoken about our own merits. It is how we carry ourselves around others, especially when interacting with people outside of our community.
Being a first-generation immigrant, when we settle here, it is not in our place to be outspoken. This results in a feedback loop of being quiet, head-down, hardworking - reinforcing the stereotype of Asian immigrants, which accentuates this expectation. We are not aware that the people we assumed to have built this country, who have a right to be outspoken, are also settlers themselves. But being humble in this way is lowering oneself, it’s not what the Grandparent Teaching of Humility represents.
Fireworks were invented by my culture and eventually were used by everyday people to celebrate accomplishments and joy. The idea of fireworks is akin to creating stars at our disposition. Nothing less humble than that, but the collective awe and feeling of being so small when we see fireworks both contradicts and gives to this humility, we’ve learned to carry ourselves with. After reflecting on the Grandparents Teachings, I now know that humility should not be focused on others’ perception of me. Instead, it is how we see ourselves in the context of everything around us.
When I reflect on my upbringing and how my family carried ourselves, there was an unspoken expectation to present ourselves as modest and humble. But when I delved deeper into humility as defined in the Grandparent Teachings, I learned that the humility I learned and saw with my family and the Asian community is not true humility. The type of humility that we show is based on how others perceive us, it’s more so to be seen as someone who is modest and not outspoken about our own merits. It is how we carry ourselves around others, especially when interacting with people outside of our community.
Being a first-generation immigrant, when we settle here, it is not in our place to be outspoken. This results in a feedback loop of being quiet, head-down, hardworking - reinforcing the stereotype of Asian immigrants, which accentuates this expectation. We are not aware that the people we assumed to have built this country, who have a right to be outspoken, are also settlers themselves. But being humble in this way is lowering oneself, it’s not what the Grandparent Teaching of Humility represents.
Fireworks were invented by my culture and eventually were used by everyday people to celebrate accomplishments and joy. The idea of fireworks is akin to creating stars at our disposition. Nothing less humble than that, but the collective awe and feeling of being so small when we see fireworks both contradicts and gives to this humility, we’ve learned to carry ourselves with. After reflecting on the Grandparents Teachings, I now know that humility should not be focused on others’ perception of me. Instead, it is how we see ourselves in the context of everything around us.