Does Fate Decide Our Life and Death? Part 1 By Master Jueyue

Does Fate Decide Our Life and Death?
By Master Jueyue
Narrated by Jingtsan/Kyle
(Part 1)
A common saying goes,
Life and death are decided by fate,
Riches and honor come naturally
If life and death are predetermined
From the moment of birth,
How can we explain the miraculous cures achieved by doctors?
If everything is predestined,
Who holds the reins of our destiny?
What determines our life and death?
If life and death were determined by fate,
Why is it that some destined to die young
Live long and healthy lives?
We often assert that,
Driven by karmic force,
No one acts freely.
As between the power of karma and the Buddha,
Which one dictates life and death?
As between self-power and other-power,
Which one is more potent in altering life and death?
1. Karmic Force Dictates Life and Death
When I first decided to study medicine, I was motivated by an ideal to save lives and heal the wounded. Back then, I believed that doctors, with their exceptional medical skills, had the power to work wonders, turning the tide and altering the course of life and death. However, both medical literature and the harsh reality conveyed one undeniable fact to me - doctors treat illnesses, but cannot alter destinies.
In the Biography of Huatuo, I read about a particular medical case.
A seriously ill man sought treatment from the legendary physician Huatuo, who declined to treat him, saying, "Your illness is serious and requires abdominal surgery. But without treatment, you would still have ten years left to live."
The man could not bear the pain and pleaded for treatment. After Huatuo performed the surgery, the man swiftly recovered. Yet, ten years later, he passed away from the same disease. It dawned on me then that a doctor's ability to save a life hinges not on his medical proficiency but the patient's unexpired lifespan.
Even if Huatuo were to return, he could not resurrect the dead once their life was over. Even if we are not sick, we could lose our lives suddenly under countless circumstances. People have passed away in their sleep, during meals, or even in the operating room where the patient has survived, but the surgeon died.
Many entrust their lives to doctors, believing that with enough money for the best hospitals, the most advanced equipment, and the finest doctors, their lives are secure, no matter how severe their illnesses.
In reality, our life and death are not in the hands of doctors, nor determined by illness, but by fate. Even the most skilled doctor cannot control his own life and death. The death of Mr. Ni Haixia is a case in point and left a deep impression on me.
He was regarded as a genius in modern times, highly skilled in the five Chinese arts of Taoist practices, traditional Chinese medicine, fortune-telling, divination, and physiognomy. He was so adept in fortune-telling that he could predict how much time his patients had to live.
Despite being hailed as "the Last Hope for Cancer Patients”, he could not cure his own cancer and could not avoid the inevitable fate that awaited him. At one point, rumor had it that he might have used the "fake death" method to escape his fate. But the death of Ni Haixia was an irrefutable fact.
In the face of death, all are equal. Even the most skilled doctors cannot alter this. There is a saying, "Every sip and bite is preordained," meaning that the hand one is dealt at birth determines what life has to offer us.
Another saying goes, "Life and death are decided by fate, wealth and honor are governed by heaven." Here, "heaven" symbolizes "the law of nature". In a similar vein, karma and its forces are governed by the law of nature, the law of cause and effect.
The so-called "determined by fate" actually means “determined by our karma”. Every bit of karma created through our action, speech, and thought shapes our destiny. In other words, we create our own fate.
(To be continued tomorrow)
(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team; edited by Householder Fojin)
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