Two Same-Aged Acquaintances Struck by Sudden Accidents Within One Week

The Buddha asked a monk: how long is human life? The monk replied: within a few days. The Buddha said: you have not understood the Way! He asked another monk: how long is human life? The monk replied: between meals. The Buddha said: you have not understood the Way! He asked yet another monk: how long is human life? The monk replied: between one breath and the next. The Buddha said: excellent! You have understood the Way.

- Excerpted from the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections Spoken by the Buddha

Two things happened in the last few days. One was that a cousin of my wife suddenly had a ruptured cardiovascular vessel and nearly died; he was unconscious in the hospital for two days before finally waking up. Although he woke up, his consciousness is still not clear. The other was that a university teacher I have known for nearly ten years was suddenly in a traffic accident with cerebral hemorrhage; she was unconscious in the hospital for a day and a night and fortunately also woke up. Several of her relatives have turned to me for help when ill, and many of her friends have been introduced to me through her, so we are already as familiar as old friends.

These two people close to me are roughly my age. The cousin with the ruptured cardiovascular vessel is more than three years older than me, and the university teacher is about my age. My wife's cousin is from my own village; we grew up together, and I am even more familiar with him than my wife is. He was a classmate of my elder brother, and his father was my first teacher. Learning of his sudden cardiovascular rupture, I was stunned and did not know for a moment how to express my feelings. Fortunately he was only unconscious for two days and finally woke up.

This university teacher has also communicated with me quite a lot. She cares for the whole family, young and old, and I know her family situation very well; she herself, her child, her husband, her parents, and her parents-in-law have all come to me for solutions to various illnesses. After waking from her coma, she contacted me immediately, hoping I would guide her toward a speedy recovery.

At this moment, both of them are in the hospital's intensive care unit, continuing to receive treatment and medical observation. Of course, judging from my experience, they have actually both escaped death, and the later sequelae can probably also be treated in time. Although they will be somewhat affected, the impact will not be too great.

In the past two years, one of my high school classmates and one of my older male cousins died suddenly one after another, and I myself was in a car accident a year and a half ago and nearly lost my life. These death-related accidents happening one after another to myself and to my peers around me have filled my heart with sorrow.

My late teacher once told me that parents are a wall separating us from death; while our parents are alive, we psychologically feel that death is still far away. At that time I fully agreed with his words. But now that I have reached middle age and watched some people around me suddenly take their final bow, I feel that his words are not entirely correct. Even with parents alive, the deaths of our peers-or near-misses with the Grim Reaper-are enough to make us realize how close death really is.

Buddhism says that life and death are a great matter, that impermanence is swift, and that human life lies only between one inhalation and exhalation; this saying may be more accurate. My wife's cousin is still temporarily in a state of unclear consciousness and is difficult to communicate with. But my university teacher friend has woken up and needs some professional help. I gave her some advice and tried my best to reassure her, telling her to set everything aside and rest quietly.

A year and a half ago, I myself was lying in a hospital ward just as she is now; only then, my treatments were basically all designed by myself. At the time I told my wife not to alert anyone-including my father and my own elder brother-lest constant reassuring calls prevent me from resting in peace. Only at the end of the first week, once it was certain there was no life-threatening danger, did I tell my relatives and friends that I had been in a car accident. In handling my own sudden accident, I displayed well-trained composure, thanks to years of professional training.

It was also after that car accident that my wife and I set our phone and bank card passwords to be as shared as possible. We realized that at our age, accidents can happen at any time. To avoid unnecessary trouble for the other party in handling financial matters after an accident, we made these preparations in advance. After all, the surviving partner still needs to go on living and caring for the family.

I also signed a body donation agreement many years ago. I asked my family to donate my body unconditionally after my death, so that usable organs could continue to function and the rest could be used by medical students for anatomy study. I have loved medicine all my life and believe in the principle that everything should be put to use, so after my death I hope this mortal body can still contribute a little residual heat to training future doctors.

Actually, going through an accident in which one escapes death is not a bad thing. I often console those who, like me, have cheated death: the near-death experience can help clear away many meaningless distractions from the mind. Just in these past two days, the friend who had the car accident was still anxious about her child and her work. I consoled her that this is an opportunity for the child to grow. In November of the year before last, after my car accident, my son cared for me for a period; children should grow through such accidents and learn to take on some responsibility.

This is also an opportunity for self-growth. After returning from a round trip to the gates of hell, we inevitably have some thoughts different from before. The soul of a survivor is baptized. The things we once found hard to let go of can now be let go; the worldly pictures whose truth we once could not discern can now be seen clearly. We may no longer be willing to waste time on meaningless matters, nor allow others to waste and consume our precious lives.

Life is short, impermanence is swift, and life-threatening accidents can happen at any time. My greatest feeling after my car accident is that, as middle-aged people, we still cannot be careless and die casually; our sudden death would leave the rest of the lives of our minor children and our elderly parents who have lost the ability to work in pieces. Death from an incurable disease is unavoidable, but sudden death caused by our own carelessness or a poor lifestyle is truly not worth it.

Yesterday my junior fellow apprentice called me to tell me that his own physical examination results had shown some problems, and he hoped I would guide him to resolve them better. He works at a grassroots hospital where staying up late is routine, and he is frequently on 24-hour continuous shifts. Although his diet is relatively light, overwork obesity has caused high cholesterol and abnormal liver function, and he is afraid he might suddenly collapse. My junior fellow apprentice is more than ten years younger than me, the beloved only son of my master; his daughter was born less than two years ago, and he bears the heavy responsibility of supporting his family, so he has no choice but to obey his superiors' work arrangements.

This is a microcosm of ordinary people like us. Thinking of myself at about his age, when I too once worked like a man possessed, I could not help but sigh. All living beings struggle to survive in this world, and it is not easy for any of them. The toils of certain stages of life are unavoidable for everyone; whether one can get through them sometimes depends entirely on fate. But in any case, treating ourselves a bit better and not overdrawn our bodies too much is, after all, the better path.