Jesus, Jazz, and Buddhism

The incident you see in the video happened in Foshan, China. A two-year old girl named Yueyue was run over by two cars in the middle of the road. Eighteen people passed by her and ignored her. Finally, she was grabbed by the 19th passerby, an old trash collector.

Unfortunately, Yueyue died yesterday, taking her despair for this world with her.  Two-year old Yueyue doesn't know why those adults didn't help her.  We should ask. Two-year old Yueyue doesn't have the ability to question the society.  We should do that.

It is hard for me to watch this video. I don't know why those people passed by her so easily.  Now, in China, those 18 passersby have already been blamed by millions of people. Their lives are disturbed totally. I bet they are under extreme pressure now. The two drivers who ran over Yueyue have been arrested and claimed that they didn't see her at that moment. Who knows? It is not only Yueyue and her parents' tragedy, but society's tragedy, too.

We can see that Yueyue was struggling on the ground after being run over by the first van. According to the witnesses, she was crying at that time, too. Therefore, it was obvious that she needed help at that moment. However, some passersby said that they didn't know that Yueyue needed help and thought she might be playing on the ground. How ridiculous! We can see Yueyue's blood on the ground even through the video, and we can see her crying! Some passersby admitted that they knew she needed help, but they were afraid of being mistakenly caught as the trouble-causing driver, since similar situations happen like this all the time in China. There is a lack of trust and loving-kindness in China today.  People are afraid of each other.  If we are to learn from Yueyue, we must imagine the world from many different people’s point of view.  I’ll start with Little Yueyue.

Little Yueyue is on her way to heaven.  Even if she had been saved, there will be a large scar on her deep heart. She did nothing wrong to the world, but the world killed her in a cruel way. She had unimaginable pain as she lay on the ground, both physical and psychological. Nobody came helping her, watching her dying in the middle of the road. This is a person's life. An only-once life!  She would live with this scar. 

I have a feeling for what she might feel if she were alive. I was run over by a bicycle when I was very young, living with my grandmother. A middle aged man rode his bicycle over my feet. I was so lucky that my grandmother just stood next me. She shouted to that man but he rode really fast and ran away. I cannot remember what happened next. All I remember is the shock at that moment. I could not feel the hurt at that very moment. The only thing in my head was the fact that a man who was around my dad's age run over me! Though kids cannot remember everything clearly, there will be some things they never forget. 

Perhaps the passersby have already received enough psychological punishment from everywhere these days. At the same time, they have also found enough excuses for themselves. However, in my eyes, if you really want to help others, you need no reason for it. If you don't want to help, you can find thousands of reasons.

To me, there are two main thoughts among Chinese people which cause this situation. The first one is that to make myself safe, I had better not be involved into other people's business. The other one is that I do what the others do. Never be the first one to try something new.

These two main thoughts are the real murders behind this "accident". Actually, I am not surprised when I heard the news. However, if any one among those 18 passersby could have broken these two thoughts, Yueyue might not have died. If anyone stopped the second car, if anyone put her on the side of the road, if anyone called 120, and if any one treated her as their own kid, she might not have died. If only one person could have stood out to help her, there would be more and more people who might have joined them, and she might not die. However, time can never flow backward; the young life die under many people's eyes.

She is poor and collects the dirty trash in the "clean" city. However, she has the cleanest heart in that city. When other people asked her why she was not afraid to do what she did, she said that she never thought about it actually. There was no time to think, the girl was dying and facing the possibility that being run over again.

The trash collector may not have a good education. She may not have enough food to eat. She may feel it is hard to live in a modern city. But she is the one who dares to face the god. She is the one who treats other people's lives seriously as her own. She is the one had no time to think and did what she thought that she should. She is the one I admire.

Most of us are spectators to this accident, directly or indirectly. When we watch the video, we blame the drivers and passersby. But if it happens in our real life, can we make sure that we will stand out to save Yueyue without any hesitation? When we praise the trash collector, do we really care about the poor people in our own city? When we feel sorry about Yueyue's death, can we guarantee that the similar things won't happen again?

If all that we do is just to feel anger in front of a computer or television, this "accident" will happen again soon. We need to change our thoughts from the root. We Chinese people have lived on this planet for more than 5000 years. We have lots of experience and pass them down from generation to generation. However, the world is developing. If we hold our thoughts too tightly, we cannot fit into the new world. If the price of protecting ourselves is to kill the other, what do we live for?

For changing our thoughts, we should start with ourselves. The president of Peking University told his students that whenever you meet anyone who needs help, go to help him/her. If you are afraid of being sued, Peking University can find a lawyer for you. If you lose, Peking University will pay all the money for you.

Little Yueyue, good luck on the way to the heaven.