Injured Buddhist

Injured Buddhist

fiction
edward w pritchard

An injured Buddhist man was brought into the urgent care center in rural Vermont. The urgent care is pretty much the only medical facility in that part of the State and it's a long drive from there to a big city hospital, so the couple who found the injured old man on the side of the road brought him to the urgent care outside of Stowe, Vermont. The couple were vacationing and after they dropped off the old Nepalese man, and found out he had no insurance, the young upscale couple paid three hundred dollar bills toward his care and then returned to Stowe and the rest of their annual vacation.

Doctor Bill Watson was the MD in charge when they brought the old man in, but he didn't attend to the elderly Buddhist because it was during business hours and the Doctor accordingly was following the stock market on his computer. The care of the injured man fell upon the resident on duty, Lisa Owens, third year resident.

Lisa gave the groggy man a complete checkup and when he awoke in a heavy accent he told her he had been hit by a backing car in a parking lot at a grocery store thirty miles outside of Waterbury. During the examination the old man told her he was a Buddhist and had never been to a Doctor before but had decided to walk to an herbalist he knew after the car accident; and must have blacked out on the road. He was sixty eight years old and had a lot of bruises but nothing seemed broken.X-rays were ordered and would be done on premises. Lisa Owens would need to take the x rays and then read them herself because of the situation with Doctor Watson that was discussed earlier in the story.

Once it was determined that nothing was broken the old man insisted that he be sat up so he could meditate. He explained to Lisa that for him or anyone to begin to heal his " big mind" must become calm and that could best be done by meditation. He told her that he would still be in pain if he meditated in the right posture but if he got into the moment, and addressed the pain and his injury, he would be on the road to recovery. Over her objections he asked her politely to help him sit up, despite his pain, which proved difficult for he was immobile and Lisa was in a wheelchair.

Once she got the old man sitting upright Lisa consulted with Doctor Watson. The old man refused medication and Dr. Watson concurred no further intervention partially in reference to the fact that the three hundred dollar retainer had been already used up.

Lisa got involved with other patients and emergencies in the small clinic and when she returned to the old Buddhist man his friend the herbalist had arrived and had given him some herbal medicines and convinced the old man to take some strong prescription pain medication which Dr. Watson had prescribed and had had a nurse bring to the old man. When Lisa walked in the Buddhist was now sitting in a lotus position and meditating while his friend the herbalist read a magazine nearby.

The old Buddhist explained to Lisa as she examined him again, for he wanted to leave soon, that just sitting in the lotus position and mediating was the proper thing for him to do right here and now, and being in the right posture was necessary for him to have the proper state of mind. That state of mind that existed to the old man now in the right posture was the proper state and the man was enlightened despite his pain.

When the old man was leaving he bowed to Dr. Lisa Owens and she shyly asked a question. What would the right posture be for her in a wheelchair if she wished to meditate? The Old Buddhist man promised to think on the matter and get back with her soon.