Kim Kyoung-a(33), a family medicine specialist at Ulsan Je-il Hospital, possesses a pleasant and bright laugh like a spring flower. She is known as a kind doctor who embraces minds, always listening from her patients’ points of view. A born-doctor, Kyoung-a, who says she is the most happiest when her patients feel better, started Maum Meditation while attending her medical school and through it, she confirmed her true path. She is researching the relationship between body and mind. This is her story of a mind-subtraction that is as gorgeous as a spring flower.
“At a such month, at a such day, at a such time, I pronounce someone without pulse and heartbeats as dead.” I feel the emptiness of life when on a sleepless night, someone still dies after all the medical interventions I could possibly do was done. So I had thought many times about wanting to be at least a bit helpful person in this world while I still had a life, like this moment.
In family medicine, many patients with internal medicine issues come. I try to listen well to think of treatments for them and also endeavor to embrace their minds.
“What do I do if the illness doesn’t go away?” “What about my social life?” these fears and anxiety…. I explain thoroughly to ease their minds. Just by telling them the illness could be cured by this and that, their facial expressions are better and the treatments are easier then.
“Depending on how one makes up his mind, the symptoms are also different.”
After I started meditation and found out about the power of mind, I strive to address their minds first. I saw many illnesses being cured just by emptying the minds through the meditation; from mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic disorder to physical disorders such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, breast cancer, leukemia, stomach cancer, etc.
In the Oriental medicine, they view diseases from holistic perspective, ‘A human is a small Universe, body and mind is one’; for the Western medicine, we are used to diagnostic thinking, such as ‘A disease is being caused by a virus, so the virus should be eliminated.’ It was difficult at first trying to explain the mechanism of curing diseases through emptying of the minds.
But it’s a definite fact that stress and anger could change the body’s hormone or blood pressure to cause illness and through emptying of the mind, the illness could be alleviated.
Now, doctors and researchers who have done Maum Meditation are currently researching to scientifically prove the relationship between illness and mind. As a family medicine specialist, I feel that I am truly fortunate and thankful that I am able to view illness from the mind perspective, not just symptoms of the body.
I started Maum Meditation during my medical school years. You could say that being a medical student is an accomplishment of a dream, but at first I wasn’t sure. Military-type of relationships, busy study schedules, strained atmospheres, and attitudes of pursuit for money and prestige……
Is this really the life I wanted? Do I have to be a doctor to be happy? Wasn’t I here because of the expectations of my parents and social connections?
In midst of my fierce wandering, I started Maum Meditation. It felt like I could find answers of my life. As I meditated, I was shocked to find out that I had built and was imprisoned in my own mind world instead of living in the true world.
I wanted to escape as soon as possible. So one by one, I ardently threw away. Then, at one moment, I was enlightened; ‘I now have escaped my mind world, the world was originally one, this is the true world.’
Then the wandering stopped. During my middle school years, I chose the profession of a doctor because, ‘I wanted to be a person to help.’ I walked that path, and this dream was to be achieved. Even though I thought, ‘Do I have to be a doctor to be happy?’ I was speechlessly happy when I was able to save emergency patients through the medical knowledge I had. Instead of thanking for the happiness, I had false delusions of the mind world that caused moments of anguish upon anguish and wandering upon wandering. Now it is about living in a present instead of a past, and living the life that I truly wanted, instead of living other people’s idea of ‘good life.’
Once my thinking itself changed, I was thankful to go to the hospital to see patients waiting for me every morning. My dream of a kind of doctor I wanted to be, was to be the primary doctor for only one person at a time, to easily consult about their family and illness history or any problems they may have. But I had thought it might be difficult in reality, but I have a faith that Maum Meditation could make this possible.
As a member of Maum Meditation Medical Association, I participate as a medical volunteer regularly. Before, I had thought I could help others only if I had a lot of money or power, but it wasn’t true. If one has an intention to share, then one could share even the smallest thing.
The member from Maum Meditation Medical Association said, “It is only right to volunteer without asking for something in return, for someone who was enlightened to oneness with the world.”
Thusly, I always would like to continue to walk the path of a true doctor without the mind of attachment.
Written by Choi Chang-won and Photo by Kim Hye-jin
