Great Construction

“The Irresponsibility of Doctors”
Medical Science Fragments Twenty-seven

     As is often reflected in the testimonials of my followers, there are some individuals who indignantly call doctors irresponsible, and since these people do not know the truth, it is not unreasonable that they would think so. The real situation is as follows. Doctors in good conscience try to heal people, and indeed exert their best efforts at treatment, but often recovery does not proceed as they think it should, and since they cannot help but become apathetic, they may even let slip pessimistic remarks.
     For their part, patients are told in the beginning that they will recover in so many weeks or that if they are hospitalized their conditions will certainly improve, and so they trust the doctor, but as time passes, the results turn out differently, and while expenses go up, their condition gradually worsens, even to the point of death, and they plead with their doctors. But the doctors do their best making use of all the possible methods and techniques they know and still either there is no improvement or the condition worsens. Doctors gradually realize they do not understand what is going on and get to the point where they cannot answer the questions of their patient even to their own satisfaction.
     I continually hear of these ordeals, but as I always say, although contemporary medical science appears to be quite advanced, in fact rather the opposite is true, so it is indeed the doctors who are to be pitied.

Eikô, Issue 192, January 21, 1953
 translation by cynndd