We all have the ability to learn without limits and without limits is a proven fact after listening to the story of Professor Wiriya Namsiripongphan.
From the first teaching in the school for the blind that “The blind can do anything” became a light for Professor Wiriya Namsiripongphan who lost his ability to see since the age of 15 from an accident. It made him change his perspective and start learning in a new world.
Throughout his life, Professor Wiriya has overcome many challenges that have tested his potential, both in terms of his studies, his work as a university lecturer, and his role in helping the disabled in society in many organizations. Challenging those limitations has been an important variable that has allowed him to learn and see the light of human value in himself and others.
Belief and faith have always acted as a light that guides every step of life up until the present.
Learn without boundaries
Although Professor Wiriya lost his ability to see, it was a turning point in his life that allowed him to start a new learning path, which gave him the opportunity to develop his potential and use it to help others.
“Learning is the development of our abilities to their full potential according to our abilities. Learning can come from both inside and outside the classroom. Often, I learn outside the classroom because when we want to develop ourselves outside of what the teacher teaches in the classroom, we need to find knowledge by ourselves, follow and listen to successful people. I like to listen to the stories of successful people, read books about success, and use those things to develop ourselves continuously,” said Professor Wiriya about the learning methods that helped him develop himself until he was successful in both his studies and work, as well as dedicating himself to helping society all along.
“I think that human beings can develop without limits. Therefore, we need to study and learn in as many ways as we can and continue to develop ourselves to be better, to show our abilities as much as we can,” he said of the goal of learning that is integrated with life goals.
Belief changes life changes.
Professor Wiriya said that as a visually impaired person, he saw that Thai society still lacked confidence in the potential of the disabled, and changing that belief was very difficult or almost impossible. Therefore, what he had always learned was to develop himself until society saw his abilities and accepted him.
“Therefore, I often tell my friends that we need to develop ourselves, we need to show them that disabled people like us can do many things. When society sees more and more of this, society’s beliefs will gradually change, just like in Western society where they encourage disabled people to do challenging work. For example, they raised funds for blind people who wanted to climb Mount Everest, and they succeeded over 10 years
ago. This is a culture that encourages people to think outside the box, which will empower society, and will make society have more and more good things,”
said Ajarn Wiriya, who said that he himself has also gone through a learning process to gain confidence in his own potential. This process began on the first day he enrolled at the Bangkok School for the Blind.
“At the Bangkok School for the Blind, I met Miss Genevieve Caulfield, an American blind woman who founded the Bangkok School for the Blind and the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, and Sister Rose Moore, the school’s mother. They taught me to recite the first mantra, ‘Blindness can do anything,’ and then find a challenge to do because challenge can bring out the potential of blind people. And the greatest challenge for humans is to turn misfortune into opportunity.”
Ajarn Wiriya said that one of the first lessons in his life that helped him change his beliefs about himself was learning to walk with a cane. Although it was difficult at first, he was later able to walk with a cane nimbly and was able to realize for the first time that his visual impairment was not a limitation. This made him realize the teaching that ‘blind people can do anything’, which was the beginning of challenging his own limitations even more difficult.
“At first, I didn’t believe much. He told me to chant, but he also told me to practice. He told me to walk with a cane. At first, I was still clumsy. He asked his junior to help me walk with a cane to my accommodation and to the dining room. I practiced until I could do it and I started to feel that it was true. At first, I couldn’t think that a blind person could walk anywhere by themselves, but I could. The next day, I practiced washing clothes, washing cups and bowls, and I could do it too. So I thought that the mantra ‘the blind can do it’ was true. Then I started to do one or two things at a time, doing everything at the same standard as a sighted person. Other people use their eyes, but I use my hands,” said Ajarn Wiriya about the important learning that started from a small belief that would lead to a big change.
The Light of Being a Giver
The next important lesson that Professor Wiriya received from the teachings of Miss Genevieve Caulfield was that “The blind must know how to give.”
“When you taught me, I didn’t understand. I asked you how we can give when we have a hard time helping ourselves. You said smiles. The smiles of blind people have helped many people who donated money to the foundation stop thinking about suicide. Many people have changed from thinking about suicide to doing charity work to raise money to help the poor instead. This is what we were taught,” said Professor Wiriya. He said that the Bangkok School for the Blind has an annual blood donation tradition, which is an activity that applies the teaching of ‘blind people must know how to give’ to practice so that blind students can gain experience and feel the gratitude from giving for themselves.
“When we started doing it, we started to realize that giving is happy. I think these two things are very important for a blind person like me because when we change our beliefs, we will start doing challenging work and we will start helping others,” said Professor Wiriya about the ideas that shaped his valuable growth.
Professor Wiriya firmly believes in the ideology of working for others, which was instilled in him at the school for the blind. This inspired him to apply for the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, and overcome many obstacles until he was able to become the first visually impaired professor of Thammasat University. Professor Wiriya did not stop there, but also challenged himself even more by working hard to prove how capable he was by working to the best of his ability and seizing new opportunities by applying for a master’s degree at Harvard University in the United States to bring back knowledge to share with students and to benefit society as much as possible.
Seeking challenges for continuous development
“The belief that we have potential has really changed my life. It has turned a worthless life into a powerful life.”
When I established the International Foundation for the Disabled, I used the slogan, “Invite Thais to join in changing disabled people from a burden to a strength.” Because when we see disabled people as a burden, they will be a burden. But when we give disabled people an opportunity, they can be a strength. My seniors and juniors at university told me that even a blind man named Wiriya can be a professor, so why can’t other people? They are all dedicated. Therefore, this is an opportunity for us to encourage others to continue fighting in life.
“I don’t regret being blind. I feel that being blind has created many good opportunities for me, making me happy. For me, being blind is no longer a misfortune, but an opportunity that makes me proud of myself today.”
Professor Wiriya said with pride and he also emphasized the ‘belief’ that is the heart and important foundation of learning that has allowed him to develop his potential throughout his life that “Belief is the heart and important foundation of learning. It has a great impact on people’s learning. If you want to be successful, you must have three beliefs: One – love challenging work and turn misfortune into opportunity. Two – know how to give. And three – when you can help yourself, you must continue to help others.
“I think these three beliefs, when they enter our subconscious, will automatically drive us to develop ourselves. We will continuously look for challenges to do. Challenging work will elevate us and it will drive us to the right place,” said Professor Wiriya, who used beliefs as a driving force in the learning process to change his own life.
What Professor Wiriya told us is a story that proves that we all can learn without limits and without limitations.
The story references an interview with Prof. Wiriya Namshiriphongphan.
From the Transformative Learning Project
Supported by the Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth)
For more articles about the Transformative Learning Project, please visit:
Mr. Pod – Thanachai Ujjin Learning through fun and peace can create a better change for us.
Ms. Tang – Ab Amphai Rattanaphanu learned from life lessons by being a student of nature and the philosophy of sufficiency economy.
