Sanika Babtiwale 

     When I first received this assignment, I was considering two pieces to repurpose. One was a research essay I wrote for my Introduction to Information Studies class about user experience design. The other was a research paper for my Women in Buddhism class about two Buddhist goddesses, Tara and Guanyin. I decided to go with the Buddhist goddesses piece because it was more interesting to change into a new format. Also, it gave me the opportunity to experience a different writing style than I was used to. I have always been comfortable writing formal, academic pieces over fiction, so I took the chance to turn this analytical essay into a work that entertains others but also illuminates the deities of a religion that remains a mystery for many people around the world.

 

      My original idea for repurposing my piece was for the Buddhist goddesses to simply have a conversation about today’s generation and how its actions does not make any sense to them. This was only going to be a small piece of a larger play, so I expected to immediately jump into this conversation and jump out. I had not thought about the personalities or any other details that the goddesses would talk about in draft one. When I started writing this scene, I realized the characters had no personality. As a result, I went back through the goddess articles from the class and looked up how the characteristic of each goddess should be structured. Once I had those details, I formulated a brief character summary at the beginning of the play. After that, I started the piece with one of the main goddesses waiting for the rest of the characters to show up, as it was most fitting for her to be the one “in charge” of the others. I introduced the main element of the piece quickly, and tried to include as many details as I could about that part. In the middle of writing that discussion, I decided to bring in the foil to the scene. Without even realizing it, I had created an argument in the piece. I froze after I noticed what had happened because I did not know how to resolve the issue. I continued writing the piece and hastily made the goddesses patch up. After my instructor looked at it, I received feedback that the argument was only natural. I was also told the piece could be more “textured.”

 

      In order to make the conversation more realistic, I decided to incorporate more details about the goddesses’ world. I did some research on other deities and looked through the articles I had received from my class. In the end, I added in celestial beings such as Sitatapatra and Amitabha and famous followers like Machig Labdron and Dawa Drolma. Including these additional details made me feel more confident about the flow of the dialogue. As a result, the personalities of the goddesses were much more visible than before. Instead of feeling apprehensive about Vajrayogini, the foil, I used her to guide the latter half of the conversation since she disagreed with the majority.  My conclusion also became more fitting because I transitioned into a lighter tone. Vajrayogini was also useful in this part, as her sarcastic nature served as a cue for others to leave. I ended the skit with Vajrayogini sitting by herself, but still feeling satisfied because she is proud of her dynamic personality. The other goddesses would have felt uneasy after a dialogue without closure.

 

     I thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece because I was able to explore writing a script and work with various voices. I hope you can come to appreciate the goddesses and enjoy the fiery Vajrayogini as much as I did.