#8 Setgel

By a random chance, I was born in Mongolia and spent 19 years of my life as an urban Mongolian in the heart of its capital city Ulaanbaatar before I moved to the states.

Being a Mongolian, I ought to agree with the greatness of the classic conqueror Temujin, known as Chingis Khaan, by whom many are impressed. Yet in my view of the world, what I truly carry onto my day-to-day life is not the brave blood of Chingis, but something beautiful and brilliant about Mongolian culture. It’s called setgel.

In my conversation with my dad, he mentioned that he thought of setgel as an organ. How it can get sick, and you won’t feel well. So, you know how people feel sick to their stomach or their guts have this magical intuition and I think that is setgel speaking.

To me, setgel, pronounced as setkil, сэтгэл (ᠰᠡᠳᢈᠢᠯ), is a word for one’s inner self in Mongolian. This is where all inside self (“dotood” setgel) like feelings, mind, heart, mood, intention, and spirit blend together.

I believe setgel carries the flavors of everything Mongolia has been through - Shamanism, Buddhism, Communism, and Democracy, all blended into one word.

Until recently, I never tried to think of or explain about setgel because it comes naturally to all Mongolians. There is no English-equivalent of setgel, as it has diverse utilization in Mongolian literature and culture. Dr. Elizabeth Turk at University of Cambridge describes, in her paper, setgel being loosely translated into “mind.” In my mind, that’s too loose. Here is my attempt at defining setgel through its language use.

Some of collocations that involve setgel and other words that have the same root as setgel, along with my attempted translation to English from Mongolian:

As you can see, you can show, lose, gain, and do all sorts of things with your setgel. Each combination means something different.

For fun background, I’d like to categorize typical Mongolians into three types for you.

Regardless of their types though, all Mongolians know what setgel is and they all got some to show.

What I am interested in practicing, teaching, and learning more about is “setgel gargah” or showing setgel in our daily lives. I’m convinced setgel is an attitude we carry, flourish, and practice in a way we treat and respect other beings that are not self. 

Not saying that self is unimportant, but saying that setgel is not for self. With no society and civilization around us, setgel doesn’t make a lot of sense. Although it seems like setgel could be translated as self based on the collocations above, it only exists in relation to other beings - people, nature, or work. You can’t really show setgel to self, because it’s implied that everyone has setgel for themselves. It requires an other. However, the whole thing starts inside for the outer world.

My daily American adult life revolves around English full-time: my work, relationships, and hobbies are embraced in English. After spending most or all of my adulthood in the states, I noticed one thing that lacked in this Western individualist inner work and societal norm was setgel. I didn’t come to a full realization until very recently. Again, it comes to me, a Mongolian, naturally. I never had to think about it or try to explain about it to anyone. 

Setgel first came up when I tried teaching my partner some Mongolian culture. Even though he didn’t grow up there, now he is well practiced and tells me about how certain people are lacking setgel.

At work, my manager described the setgel I show for my work as ownership. When I work though, I don’t think in terms of ownership. Rather, I will do my best by showing setgel for any task I am asked to do.

The thing is that to show or carry setgel around, you don’t have to make a huge effort and save someone’s life every day. Well, you can, but that’s not the point of showing setgel. It’s all about the little things. It’s about not parking like a jerk in a packed parking spot so someone can use the parking spot next to you. It’s doing something that you would do for yourself, but for someone else without expecting any return.

A few days ago, I was part of a heartfelt Christian wedding. As I enjoyed the wedding so much even as someone of a different spiritual path, I realized setgel could be translated as the concept of serving others in the Christian faith.

It’s about having compassion, being considerate, and becoming aware of the all the other living beings around us. I know it’s cliche to say that we need to protect the environment but with setgel, it goes without saying because all the animals and eco system are living beings that we also need to show setgel for … duh!

Somehow, setgel is also easier to show to family. As a matter of fact, it’s kind of expected from a Mongolian family, depending on the dynamics. Interestingly, I notice setgel most easily in friends whose roots trace back to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the Himalayas, or parts of South America. I may be biased, but I think these cultures share something quietly in common with Mongolia. A thread of Shamanism, Tibetan Buddhism, or a Soviet-era collectivism that wired people toward community over self. Setgel is Mongolian, but people who carry it aren’t always.

Today, I want to invite you to practice showing setgel in one small, unreturned act this month. To a stranger, a colleague, or the ecosystem around you.

On the journey with setgel,

~ Soka ~