The Road That No Longer Calls the Names of the Dead

**Summary:** After the death of Nun Lieu Nghiem, the master returned to the road where accidents frequently occurred to hold a prayer ceremony. Afterwards, that stretch remained peaceful for over ten years.

On the forty-ninth day after Nun Lieu Nghiem passed away, the road before the church was still noisy with traffic. Wheels rolled one after another over the asphalt, and gusts from large vehicles whipped dust onto the roadside. Right at this spot, a passenger bus had once swerved and struck the nun, even though she was walking correctly and had almost reached the other side.

This was not the first accident in this area. For years, a few people had died each year on the very same stretch of road. The repeated incidents caused fear to accumulate in the people’s hearts. Every time they heard a sudden screech of brakes or a crash, they would startle, wondering who the next victim might be.

The nun’s death made that pain feel very close to the temple community. Unable to simply view this as an isolated incident and let time erase it, the master prepared a memorial ceremony and decided to return to the scene of the accident. What he wished to do was to pray for those who had passed and for the road to no longer witness further heartbreaking deaths.

Before the ceremony began, someone watched the stream of vehicles and said anxiously:

"This section has constant traffic, and there are deaths every year. What should we do?"

The master replied:

"First, let us sincerely pray for the departed souls to find deliverance, and then pray for this road to be at peace."

Another person asked:

"Can a single ceremony really change anything?"

"We must not give up and neglect the matter just because we do not know the outcome. When suffering manifests before our eyes, we must find a way to help."

Amidst the sound of passing vehicles, the ceremony proceeded. The chanting rose steadily, unable to drown out the city noise but holding everyone in a deep, tranquil focus. Each person remembered Nun Lieu Nghiem and the other victims who had perished here, their hearts wishing they would no longer be bound to this accident-prone stretch.

The master performed the ceremony with sincerity, praying for the spirits to be guided to the temple and for no more fatal accidents to occur in that area. No one stood there to display anything extraordinary. Everyone shared one simple wish: from that day forward, those who passed by might return home safely.

"May we pray for the departed to find peace," a Buddhist devotee whispered softly.

The person beside them with joined palms added:

"And may no more families have to receive tragic news on this road."

The master reminded them:

"Keep your hearts truly sincere. Do not pray only for those you know, but for all who travel this way."

The ceremony concluded that day. The stream of vehicles continued, the road’s shape remained unchanged, and dust still lined the roadside. To the naked eye, nothing seemed different. But the turning point of the story only became clear with the passage of time.

One year went by, and the road saw no fatal accidents, unlike the years before. Then the second year, and the third, remained peaceful. People continued to pass through, and the vehicles still drove daily before the church, but the painful cycle had ceased.

That peace lasted for over ten years. For those who had witnessed several deaths each year, this long period without accidents was a tremendous change. The pain of losing the nun could not be erased, but from that loss sprouted an action that protected the lives of countless others.

Later, the master heard that accidents had begun to reoccur on that road. This news became a reminder that peace is not a state achieved once and considered permanent. The practitioner and the community still needed to continue their prayers, while each traveler must maintain mindfulness, respect traffic laws, and never become complacent.

Thus, the story of the road before the church is not just about one memorial ceremony. It shows that when facing places prone to accidents, we should not be indifferent or dismiss them as merely the victims’ karma. Compassion needs to be transformed into concrete action within our capacity: warning each other, being cautious when passing, praying for the departed, and wishing for peace to come to all.

After more than a decade of calm, those who know the story still remember the ceremony on that forty-ninth day. In the midst of a road full of engine noise, a group of people had stopped because they did not want death to repeat itself. They could not change the past, but they used compassion and responsibility to strive for a better outcome for the future.

**The Meaning of the Story**

Faced with spots where accidents frequently happen, we should not be apathetic, claiming it is only the victims’ karma. Compassion must be turned into action, into prayers and the conscious effort to protect the peace and safety of the community.

*Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.*