The Man on the Bridge and the Mother Who Jumped into the River

A man was about to jump off a bridge to end his life out of despair, but by saving a mother and child who leapt into the river, he forgot all about his intention to die.

Below, the river lay calm and quiet. The wind blew briskly through the gaps of the old concrete bridge, carrying the smell of pond mud and the distant sound of a train whistle. On the bridge railing stood a silent man, his hands gripping the cold iron bars. His shirt was soaked with sweat, though the sun was not shining. In his heart, sorrow piled up like a heap of rotting garbage: he loved a woman who betrayed him, and his parents seemed to love him less than his siblings. His eyes were red, and his heart pounded like a drum that had lost its rhythm.

"Everyone in this life has been cruel to me. Forget it—I'll give up on life and just jump,"

he muttered to himself, his voice choked with tears.

He was a deeply sensitive soul, heartbroken by love and burdened by feelings of inadequacy within his own family. For months, he had carried this private sorrow. Today, he quietly made his way to the river, climbed onto the bridge, and intended to end it all. Standing there, he began to relive each painful memory, and the more he thought, the more meaningless life seemed.

"I loved her so much, and yet she married someone else. My parents are devoted to my brother, but they never loved me the same. You see? Everyone is like that,"

he said to himself, his trembling hands reaching to climb over the railing.

Before he could jump, a mother suddenly came running frantically onto the bridge, dragging her small son. Breathing hard, eyes wide with panic, she said not a word—she simply embraced her child and leapt into the river. A splash rang out, and water sprayed across the man's face. He jolted back, and in that instant, all thoughts of suicide vanished.

"Oh God, the mother and child are drowning! I have to save them!"

he shouted, and rushed down after them. Swimming with powerful strokes, he grabbed the hem of the woman's clothing and pulled both mother and child to shore. He cried out:

"Help! Somebody help!"

Passersby rushed over to give first aid. The woman regained consciousness, and the little child wailed loudly. The man sat down, breathing a long sigh, and as he looked at the mother and child, his heart suddenly felt light.

"I came here to die, but seeing them alive is enough,"

he thought to himself, a faint smile appearing on his face.

That was the turning point: death no longer called his name. Through the act of saving another person, he forgot his personal sorrow. He returned home and went on living, and the urge to end his life dissolved completely. In his next life, he will be a joyful, optimistic person, free of despair—because of cause and effect (karmic law): he wished for others to live, and so his own wish to die faded away.

He became someone who cherished life, and from time to time he told this story to his friends, his face glowing each time he told it. The old pain is now only a faint lesson of the past.

The Meaning of the Story

When we give rise to the aspiration to save someone, when we wish for another person to live, the thought of suicide immediately disappears. This is cause and effect (karmic law): a selfless act transforms negative states of mind, bringing peace and optimism in lives to come.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang