The Woman Who Lost Her Memory

The story of a female lawyer who was assaulted by a juvenile detainee, leading to memory loss and a shattered life, yet she maintained her faith in God, unable to understand why He allowed her to suffer.

The telephone rang loudly in the small office of the juvenile detention center. The scent of floor cleaner mingled with the sweat of wayward children. The lawyer, a woman in her thirties with bright eyes and a gentle smile, was leaning over a case file on her desk. She had worked here for nearly ten years, witnessing daily the young lives already stained by sin. She felt compassion for them but also understood clearly the boundary between kindness and discipline.

That afternoon, as she walked past the common area, a girl about seventeen years old stood near two young men. The girl’s eyes darted furtively as her hand secretly passed something to them. The lawyer stopped, her voice stern yet not lacking in tenderness: “You, go to your room now. Don’t do anything foolish.” The girl looked at her, her eyes full of fury, but then turned and walked away. The lawyer sighed and returned to her desk. She had no idea that in the shadow of the hallway, the girl was quietly picking up a wooden chair and following behind her.

The chair came down on the lawyer’s head like a hammer blow. A dry, cracking sound echoed, and her body crumpled onto the cold floor. The girl did not stop, striking again and again until blood flowed and soaked the victim’s black hair. The lawyer lay in a coma for two full months. When she awoke, she remembered nothing. She looked at the man sitting by the hospital bed—her husband—without knowing who he was. She saw photos of children on the bedside table and asked, “Who are these children?”

People had to retell her past: about her children, her husband, and the work she had once loved. She struggled to live, but everything had collapsed. She lost her job, her family fell into poverty, and illness plagued her. Pain accumulated until she thought of death as a release. She arranged everything and wrote a farewell letter, but then considered how her husband and children would not receive the insurance money. She forced herself to live, though her heart overflowed with bitterness.

One evening, sitting by the window looking out at the street, she whispered, “Lord, I still believe in You, but I do not understand. Why do You place me in such harsh circumstances?” She bore no resentment, only a deep pain intertwined with a vague faith. She still went to church, still prayed, though her heart held countless unanswered questions.

The Meaning of the Story

This story illustrates the helplessness of faith in a supreme being when confronted with inexplicable suffering. Meanwhile, Buddhism teaches that all suffering or happiness is created by oneself through the law of cause and effect (karmic law), not arranged by any divine being. Understanding cause and effect helps people take responsibility for their actions and not blame fate.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang