A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities Anecdotes:

1
Angulimala, a blood-thirsty murderer who lived during the time of
Buddha, had terrorized the realm of King Pasenajeet.

Once he attempted to murder Lord Buddha but failed.

Despite this, Buddha forgave him and smiled at him.

A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities Anecdotes:
1
His calm demeanor left such an impact on Angulimala that it
changed his heart and he became a monk.
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Buddha chose a smile as his reaction whiche42not 56
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A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities Anecdotes:
OR 2
India, a nation surrounded by two hostile neighbors, had already
fought three wars by the early 1970s.
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At the same time China had already conducted e 42
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a nuclear test in the
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1960s. for
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Given the international affairs at the time, to protect itself, it chose

to adopt a policy of ambiguity about deciding to go for a nuclear
test.

In fact the first nuclear test was named ‘Smiling Buddha’.

A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities Anecdotes:
OR 3
Tulsi Daas Ji says, “Tulsi is sansar me bhanti bhanti ke log. Sabse
hans mil boliye, nadi naav sanjog.” (There are different kinds of
people in this world.
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It is very important for us to greet everyone
f o r
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a boat that lives in harmony with theOn river to reach the shore.)

He gives a message of always keep smiling as it is a good way of

solving problems.
A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities Anecdotes:
OR 3
In mythology also, the Gods are always represented smiling,
irrespective of whatever the situation is, be it Lord Vishnu, Lord
Shiva or Lord Brahma.
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In fact, when Lord Shiva was asked tofodrink
ath
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tikr poison, he smiled at the
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army of devas and asuras and drankOnit.

He chose the smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities about his feelings,
which increased his respect manyfold among everyone.
BRAINSTORMING
1. What is a smile?

2. What do you mean by ambiguities?

3. Importance of smile as a vehicle for allgmaambiguities

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in all the
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walks of life r r itikr
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4. Is a smile always a positive sign?

5. Does it always solve the problems?

6. Conclusion
 What is a smile?
• Smile is an expression, generally considered an expression of
happiness, but it's certainly much more than that.

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• Mother Teresa once said, “Let us always meet gm
a il.c each other with a
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56
smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
ath
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• Not just love, it is the beginning of many more feelings and

relationships. Remember, when you first entered the class as a kid
and there was another kid, among all those strangers, who smiled at
you, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
 What is a smile?
• The smile of your interviewer, which made you more confident. The
first innocent smile of your kid, how precious that feeling could be.
Smile is a symbol of hope and kindness.
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“Peace begins with a smile. The world always a
25
t h o re4 looks brighter from
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behind aOnsmile.”
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• Smile is indeed an expression of pureness. However, wickedness

hidden behind a smile is also equally real.
 What is a smile?
• The demonic smile of Ravana while abducting Sita or Dussashan
while stripping Draupadi of her modesty were some of the most
dangerous smiles.
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• Likewise, the smile of a fake friend is far 25
at h o re4more dangerous than the
tikr
rudeness of a foe. So a smile is Omuch
n ly for
r i
more than what one can
comprehend.
 What do you mean by ambiguities?
• Ambiguity is lack of clarity, presence of uncertainty and the
possibility to be understood in multiple ways.

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• It is the notion that there are multiplegmaiinterpretations, l.co and
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perspectives on a specific subject and that a t ho
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the world is not always
kr
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black and white. Ambiguity permeates
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o every aspect of adult life.
r

• At times when you don’t know how to deal with this ambiguity
present around you, perhaps smiling back at it could be a right thing
to do.
Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• Smiling is a powerful means of social communication and influence.
It is a good way of solving problems without letting the world know
about them.
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• In our lives we often find ourselves in theathosituations
25
re4 where we do not
kr
riti
know how to move forward, whichOnlycan fo r
often be frustrating as well,
but a smile can be one solution for such situations.

• Here the statement by Muriel Spark holds very true, “It is impossible
to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles.”
Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• Importance in Personal life: Showing your real emotion might affect
your image in front of others and your relationships.

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• So to avoid impulsive reactions, one can choose gm
a il.c to smile. It gives
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time to think and then make decisions and a t ho
re not let people know what
4 25

kr
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one truly feels. O n ly f
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• So a smile is also a symbol of patience. Or maybe in a debate, if you

don't get anything or don't have counters, then a smile makes the
audience and others keep wondering about your meanings and
interpretations and you can save yourself from embarrassment.
Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• Buddhist Philosophy of Madhyam Marg is also a manifestation of
this idea only.

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• Buddha himself chose to smile as a vehicle gm
a il.c of ambiguity in his
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56
personal life, be it when Angulimala attacked a t ho
r e 42 him, when anyone
kr
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asked questions from him, or any Oother
nly
fo r
instance, he always smiled
before taking any other action.
People to hide any emotional trauma, loss of loved ones.
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Concerned about being judged by others, you256don’t
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want to reveal your weakness.
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To be accepted by your chosen reference
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ly group.

The expectation of social media.

Emotional labour (Hoschild)

Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• Smile gives the courage to fight for justice and stand for truth.

• When the British decided to hand over a 23 year old young man, all
om
they wanted to see was fear in his eyes, but they
gm
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• Bhagat Singh took even his last breaths smiling, as this smile was
On
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giving him courage to fight for the independence of his motherland.

Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• A warm smile is the universal language of kindness, compassion and
forgiveness. Mahatma Gandhi always followed the ‘philosophy of
smiling and turning the other cheek’.
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• As he himself said, “ I’m to die by the bullet 25
at h o re4 of a mad man, I must do
tikr
so smiling. God must be in my heartOnlyand
for
r i
on my lips.”

• Gandhi ji perhaps did not mean smile to be a vehicle of ambiguity

but he certainly meant smile to be an integral part of human
conduct because of its aforementioned virtues.
Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• Importance in Public life (bureaucracy): The Government of Egypt
trains its government employees to smile.

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• The Egyptian government has been training gthousands m a il.c of its young
6@
employees to build a “new leading generation,” a t ho
re 4 25
as part of its efforts
kr
riti
to improve the level of services provided
O n ly f
o r
to citizens.

• This led to many sarcastic jokes on social media, but smiling is

considered to be an important skill that the government employees
(bureaucrats) should acquire in order to deal with the situation, no
matter what it is and how they might be feeling about it.
Importance of smile as a vehicle for all ambiguities the in all walks of life
• We often feel perplexed by seeing two foes smiling at each other
and shaking hands with each other, like Russia and USA, but this is
how diplomacy works.
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• Numerous ambiguities are present in apolitics. t
25
h o re4 Many decisions are
kr
riti
handled differently depending on national
O n ly f
o r
interests by using a smile.

• For instance, despite Indo-Pak differences, representatives from

both nations greet each other with smiles in different international
forums, as it's better to maintain the ambiguity than to openly
display hostility.
Is a smile always a positive sign?
• Smiles have a lot of virtues as discussed above and can solve many
problems just by avoiding them for a while but fake smiles might
harm as well.
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• We are living in a world, where every second 25
a t h o re4 person is dealing with
kr
riti
stress, anxiety, depression, etc. butOnwe
ly f
o r
try to give an impression of a
happy life by smiling.

• At times required to express real emotions, at least to our close ones

to save our peace and feel light.
Is a smile always a positive sign?
• Other than doing self-damage, fake smiles can harm others as well. A
smiling person would never let you know his next move and you
never know when he would become a danger to you.
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krath
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On
Does it always solve the problems?
• Smile has a lot of potential for solving the problem but it is also an
escapist tendency to ignore conflict.

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• One thing about smiles is that not all of themgmaare il.c honest displays of
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pleasure. ath
ore
4 25

kr
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On

• At times one just smiles to avoid confrontation and conflict, which

might later become too big to control.
Does it always solve the problems?
• For instance, since independence India-China had border disputes
and despite knowing it we always chose to smile at it and keep it
aside, without addressing the issue.
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• The consequence of which was the 1962athwar 25
ore
4 and a painful defeat for
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riti
India. O n ly f
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• So choosing a smile as a vehicle for ambiguities does not always

work, at times it can be counter-productive.
 When women in family is expected to deal with all the suppression, a il.c
om discrimination
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With a smile as it is considered to be the display of her perseverance…
r e 42
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An escapist route wrt patriarchy. r ri
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Conclusion
• Smile has both the potential i.e. problem solving and problem
avoiding potential, depending on one's attitude.

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• Life is uncertain, so it's very important for us gto m a il.c have patience and a
6 @
positive attitude, even during tough times. a t ho
r e 4What
25
else could be better
kr
riti
than smiling to deal with tough times?
O n ly f
o r

• However, one should know when not to smile and not use smile to
avoid challenges, as ambiguity is not always desired.
Conclusion
• Therefore, a smile indeed is a chosen vehicle for all ambiguities and
one should know to smile at the right time, at the right place.

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• “Remember even though the outside world might gm
a il.c be raining, if you
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keep on smiling the sun will soon show a t ho
reits face and smile back at
4 25

kr
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you.” O n ly f
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 m
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