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They asked me to talk about “positive destruction.”

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So I thought why not just talk about myself?

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I am probably the one

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that has seen the most deaths

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among the doctors in Taiwan.

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So I think I can share something about life and death.

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There's a joke:

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the most famous doctors in Taiwan is Dr.(?).

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You might know this joke

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After Shao Hsiao-Ling accident happened,

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a person went to Chi-Mei Hospital in Liu-Ying

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to see a doctor named Mo

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The staff in the hospital said

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that there's no Dr. Mo.

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"There is , " said the person.

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"His name is EcMo!

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He saved Shao's life!

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It’s easy to understand ECMO actually.

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Venous blood

20
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passes through a pump,

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which is an artificial heart,

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and then passes through an oxygenator,

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which is an artificial lungs,

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and in the end, goes back to the body.

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It is a temporary replacement of Cardiovascular Function.

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it’s look like this.

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It’s a machine

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operating as an artificial heart

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As a matter of fact,

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ECMO has been used for a long time.

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National Taiwan University Hospital

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has used ECMO since 1994.

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Now everyone in Taiwan knows it because of Shao ’car accident.

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It’s similar to the old saying” One can study for ten years in obscurity,

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but as soon as one passes the examination the whole world pays attention “

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It became famous

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due to the media.

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There are successful cases with ECMO of course.

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his man is a backup dancer for Jay Chou.

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He suffered an Acute myocarditis one day.

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so his heart stopped.

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Why did I put the slide,

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and why did I take a picture of him?

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His eyes opened wide,

45
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staring at the screen.

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The lines on the screen were all flat

47
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His heart stopped,

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because of Acute myocarditis.

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The heart stopped beating.

50
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This is his biopsy of cardiac muscle,

51
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ranging 100 under the microscope.

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It’s not clear enough

53
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when it ranges in 100.

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And it’s crystal clear ranging 400.

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Those blue spots are lymphocytes.

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Obviously, it’s a serious Acute myocarditis.

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The heart was soaked in lymphocytes

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and it stopped.

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He stared at the screen

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He stared at the screen.

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His heart ‘d stopped for nine days,

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however, with heart and kidney transplant,

63
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he could dance again in a month.

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It's a miracle in modern medicine

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In modern medicine records,

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he’s the one that is still alive after the longest CPR treatment.

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4 hours.

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He’d been done CPR on his way from Kuo-Tei Hospital to NTU Hospital.

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When they installed ECMO at NTU hospital,

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they found out he’d been injected 100 cardiotonics.

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So his iliac artery and vein

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were narrower than pencils

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So when they opened the wound

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trying to put ECMO in

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,they were unable to put the tube in.

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They had to do the CPR again,

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until he was sent to the OR.

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They had to saw the chest

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to put ECMO.

80
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It’s just like magic.

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It is a miracle in modern medicine without saying.

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A man ‘s heart had stopped for 9 days.

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And he was still alive,

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after 4 hours CPR,

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heart ,and kidney transplant.

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This is another case.

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It reads that ”first in the world,

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miracle in Taiwan,

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a man lived without heat for 16 days.

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This is a 56-year-old man.

91
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He had decayed teeth.

92
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The bacteria went into the blood,

93
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arriving at the heart.

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The heart then festered.

95
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The operation team in the hospital

96
00:03:57,824 --> 00:03:59,761
opened his chest,

97
00:03:59,761 --> 00:04:00,561
and was like

98
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“Well, it looks not well here. Cut it off.

99
00:04:01,945 --> 00:04:02,796
And it looks not fine here, either. Cut it off too.”

100
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In the end,

101
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the whole heart was cut off.

102
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What should we do?

103
00:04:07,861 --> 00:04:13,267
“Well, transfer to NTU hospital”

104
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I always say that NTU hospital is the line of defense in Taiwan.

105
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Well, we still had to do it.

106
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In the previous case, the man’s heart cannot beat.

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And here,

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we got a man even without a heart.

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It was cut off, after all.

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When he was transfer to NTU hospital,

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they had to use two ECMOs

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because he had no heart.

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Look at the screen,

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two ECMOs.

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It’s really incredible I have to say.

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He had no heart,

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so ECG showed flat lines.

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There is no heart after all.

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This is his CT result.

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There should have been a heart

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in his thorax.

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However, there was no heart.

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There were only tubes.

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After 16 days,

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they did the heart transplant surgery.

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Cardiologist surgeon Dr.Wan showed me this.

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He said that when he was doing the surgery,

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he should have seen a heart in the thorax

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after opening his chest.

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But there were only tubes

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connecting to the ECMO.

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The patient had no heart at all.

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And after the surgery,

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he was discharged.

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This is The Straits Times in Singapore.

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A friend of mine sent me the e-mail from Singapore.

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He told me that we were in the newspapers.

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16 days without heart
.

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A person had lived for 16 days without heart.

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But after receiving heart transplant,

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he still went home healthily.

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This is the other case.

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He’s a 26-year-old aboriginal.

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He went swimming when he was seriously drunk.

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He thought he was Li Bai I guess.

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But the pond was really dirty.

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He choked on water.

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As a result, he suffered from serious pneumonia.

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It was terrible.

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He’d relied on ECMO for 117 days.

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Look at his lungs.

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This is a serious pneumonia,

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due to choke on water.

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This is called cute respiratory distress syndrome.

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The lungs became white.

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He had used ECMO for 117 days.

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We can see clearly from this picture.

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His respiratory minute volume

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had not exceed 100 c.c

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for almost one month.

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But he still recovered.

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So

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in the previous cases,

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the man lived without heart,

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the man with heart that couldn’t beat,

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or the one’s lungs did not work,

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they all rode out with the use of ECMO.

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Even though they’d waited for 9 days

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or even 100 days.

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They are still alive

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after heart

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and lungs transplant.

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It is really incredible.

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To be honest,

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with the media

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and those successful cases,

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ECMO seems to be really famous

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around the island.

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Of course there are successful cases,

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such as the cases I’ve mentioned

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and Shao.

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However,

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The media usually

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only writes the successful ones.

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They don’t write failure ones.

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So we usually can’t see them.

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As a Critical care medicine doctor,

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I am absolutely to see the successful cases.

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Nevertheless, there are unsuccessful ones.

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This baby was one and half months old.

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He suffered from Congenital Heart Disease.

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After heart transplant,

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he still could not live without a heart-lung machine.

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So

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they used ECMO

196
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connected to his heart.

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But not in three days,

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his feet turned black.

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Let’s zoom in.

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Look at his feet.

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So now, as a doctor.

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You had to make the call.

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Are you going to save his life,

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by having his feet amputated.

205
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Or will you just give up

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let him go?

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00:07:34,835 --> 00:07:37,695
No matter what you do, you will suffer from pressure.

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00:07:37,695 --> 00:07:40,091
But if you can’t make the call,

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This one is definitely much more difficult.

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This is a 7-year-old boy

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suffering from pneumoniae septicemia

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It resulted in cute respiratory distress syndrome.

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So they used ECMO.

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After using ECMO,

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00:07:53,829 --> 00:07:55,044
there was complication.

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His limbs all became black.

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He stared at you with his eyes open wide

218
00:07:58,493 --> 00:07:59,316
consciously.

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00:07:59,316 --> 00:08:00,711
He could even ask for water when he was thirsty.

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But as a doctor,

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you have to make a decision.

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If you’re going to save him,

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you have to cut off his limbs

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all his limbs.

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And if you give up,

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you have to turn off the ECMO.

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Now think of this:

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two roads diverged in the yellow woods.

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The patient is conscious.

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Well, the doctor is conscious, too.

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But how do you ask the boy,

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" hey if you want to go on,

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I have to have your limbs amputated,

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00:08:26,589 --> 00:08:28,493
all your limbs.

235
00:08:28,493 --> 00:08:30,400
Or if you do not want to go on,

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I will turn off the machine."

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How do you talk about life and death

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00:08:34,421 --> 00:08:37,569
with a 7-year-old.

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00:08:37,569 --> 00:08:41,508
As a critical care medicine doctor,

240
00:08:41,508 --> 00:08:43,800
let me tell you my experiences in the past years.

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00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:45,048
In the beginning,

242
00:08:45,048 --> 00:08:47,812
I saw a patient.

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00:08:47,812 --> 00:08:48,652
Gradually,

244
00:08:48,652 --> 00:08:49,843
I saw only a disease.

245
00:08:49,843 --> 00:08:51,260
I saw a heart only.

246
00:08:51,260 --> 00:08:53,123
Fortunately, when I turned fifty

247
00:08:53,123 --> 00:08:56,585
I gradually saw a patient again.

248
00:08:56,585 --> 00:08:58,079
To be frank,

249
00:08:58,079 --> 00:09:00,505
I am good at studying.

250
00:09:00,505 --> 00:09:02,089
I had done heart transplant,

251
00:09:02,089 --> 00:09:03,057
lungs transplant,

252
00:09:03,057 --> 00:09:04,067
ECMO

253
00:09:04,067 --> 00:09:05,138
when I was about 30.

254
00:09:05,138 --> 00:09:07,888
I was the youngest chief doctor in NTU hospital.

255
00:09:07,888 --> 00:09:09,517
Chief of surgical intensive care unit.

256
00:09:09,517 --> 00:09:11,919
I was in Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center.

257
00:09:11,919 --> 00:09:13,136
And I was the vice chief of Trauma Unit.

258
00:09:13,136 --> 00:09:15,740
In my thirties,

259
00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:17,207
I thought

260
00:09:17,207 --> 00:09:20,140
medicine was such an awesome thing.

261
00:09:20,140 --> 00:09:21,678
It solved everything.

262
00:09:21,678 --> 00:09:23,982
But in my forties,

263
00:09:23,982 --> 00:09:25,414
There are so many unsuccessful cases

264
00:09:25,414 --> 00:09:27,116
with the use of ECMO.

265
00:09:27,116 --> 00:09:28,052
Sometimes the families of the patients asked me,

266
00:09:28,052 --> 00:09:29,239
“why was Shao saved,

267
00:09:29,239 --> 00:09:31,926
while my family members weren’t ?”

268
00:09:31,926 --> 00:09:33,220
I don’t know how to answer the questions.

269
00:09:33,220 --> 00:09:36,495
I couldn’t say because he or she was not Shao, could I?

270
00:09:36,495 --> 00:09:37,390
Or they asked me,

271
00:09:37,390 --> 00:09:39,234
“why does his limbs turned black?”

272
00:09:39,234 --> 00:09:40,131
If I had known,

273
00:09:40,131 --> 00:09:41,048
I would definitely avoid it.

274
00:09:41,048 --> 00:09:42,354
I did not know.

275
00:09:42,354 --> 00:09:44,440
When I was in my forties,

276
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,487
I thought that

277
00:09:46,487 --> 00:09:49,553
why could not some patients be saved?

278
00:09:49,553 --> 00:09:51,557
Finally, when I was about 50

279
00:09:51,557 --> 00:09:54,057
the principle dawned on me.

280
00:09:54,057 --> 00:09:56,661
It’s like a poetry said, "for, everywhere, no trace of her can be seen.

281
00:09:56,661 --> 00:09:57,533
When, all of a sudden, I turned about.

282
00:09:57,533 --> 00:09:59,652
It’s her. Where lanterns are few and far between."

283
00:09:59,652 --> 00:10:00,439
One day,

284
00:10:00,439 --> 00:10:01,880
it dawned on me that

285
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,143
doctors are people, not God.

286
00:10:04,143 --> 00:10:05,262
All we can do is try our best.

287
00:10:05,262 --> 00:10:08,058
That’s it.

288
00:10:08,058 --> 00:10:10,284
It’s just like seasons.

289
00:10:10,284 --> 00:10:11,144
There are spring, summer

290
00:10:11,144 --> 00:10:13,199
autumn, and winter.

291
00:10:13,199 --> 00:10:15,449
Medicine has its limit,

292
00:10:15,449 --> 00:10:18,010
no matter how well developed is the science.

293
00:10:18,010 --> 00:10:19,243
With today’s technology,

294
00:10:19,243 --> 00:10:19,921
we can still be live

295
00:10:19,921 --> 00:10:20,497
without heart

296
00:10:20,497 --> 00:10:21,530
without lungs

297
00:10:21,530 --> 00:10:21,894
without kidney

298
00:10:21,894 --> 00:10:23,168
or without liver.

299
00:10:23,168 --> 00:10:26,162
But we can’t rely on machines

300
00:10:26,162 --> 00:10:27,981
for our whole lives.

301
00:10:27,981 --> 00:10:30,493
Medicines has its limit.

302
00:10:30,493 --> 00:10:32,696
It’s just like

303
00:10:32,696 --> 00:10:35,604
the gardeners

304
00:10:35,604 --> 00:10:37,168
can’t change seasons at all.

305
00:10:37,168 --> 00:10:39,070
All the gardeners can do

306
00:10:39,070 --> 00:10:42,221
is to make the flowers prettier in seasons.

307
00:10:42,221 --> 00:10:43,490
As a doctors,

308
00:10:43,490 --> 00:10:45,806
can we change birth, aging, sickness or death?

309
00:10:45,806 --> 00:10:46,731
Well,

310
00:10:46,731 --> 00:10:47,990
of course not.

311
00:10:47,990 --> 00:10:49,455
As a doctor,

312
00:10:49,455 --> 00:10:52,358
All we can do, is to make people

313
00:10:52,358 --> 00:10:53,692
live a little better when they’re alive.

314
00:10:53,692 --> 00:10:54,557
That’s all.

315
00:10:54,557 --> 00:10:55,356
So

316
00:10:55,356 --> 00:10:57,114
I came to realize that

317
00:10:57,114 --> 00:11:01,231
doctors are just the gardeners in the life of garden.

318
00:11:01,231 --> 00:11:05,380
As a gardener,

319
00:11:05,380 --> 00:11:07,308
how to face the withered plants

320
00:11:07,308 --> 00:11:09,070
is a question.

321
00:11:09,070 --> 00:11:11,563
As an expert of critical care medicine,

322
00:11:11,563 --> 00:11:14,931
how do I face death?

323
00:11:14,931 --> 00:11:16,884
From scientific aspect of death,

324
00:11:16,884 --> 00:11:19,289
or precisely, from physical and chemical aspects of death.

325
00:11:19,289 --> 00:11:20,615
Every physical reaction ,

326
00:11:20,615 --> 00:11:21,548
or chemical reaction,

327
00:11:21,548 --> 00:11:22,398
tends to achieve minimum energy

328
00:11:22,398 --> 00:11:23,418
and maximum entropy.

329
00:11:23,418 --> 00:11:26,607
Delta S is always positive.

330
00:11:26,607 --> 00:11:29,524
Some will ask where does the relation come from?

331
00:11:29,524 --> 00:11:31,317
Some people believe it came from the Big Bang Theory.

332
00:11:31,317 --> 00:11:33,748
The universe is expanding due to the Big Bang Theory,

333
00:11:33,748 --> 00:11:35,827
delta S is always positive.

334
00:11:35,827 --> 00:11:36,697
Or

335
00:11:36,697 --> 00:11:38,784
is there universality in the laws of universe ?

336
00:11:38,784 --> 00:11:39,353
Honestly,

337
00:11:39,353 --> 00:11:40,244
I don’t know either.

338
00:11:40,244 --> 00:11:41,720
There’s an old saying

339
00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:46,173
Blind men can judge no colours

340
00:11:46,173 --> 00:11:47,329
Blind people

341
00:11:47,329 --> 00:11:48,644
can’t talk about colours

342
00:11:48,644 --> 00:11:50,435
because they can see nothing.

343
00:11:50,435 --> 00:11:52,263
is there universality

344
00:11:52,263 --> 00:11:53,449
in the laws of universe ?

345
00:11:53,449 --> 00:11:55,297
Is there university

346
00:11:55,297 --> 00:11:55,993
in the unlimited space and time .

347
00:11:55,993 --> 00:11:56,483
Frankly,

348
00:11:56,483 --> 00:11:57,535
I don’t know.

349
00:11:57,535 --> 00:11:58,562
But at least,

350
00:11:58,562 --> 00:12:00,605
among the scope we’re in

351
00:12:00,605 --> 00:12:02,618
delta S is still positive.

352
00:12:02,618 --> 00:12:04,490
What does it mean when we say delta S is positive?

353
00:12:04,490 --> 00:12:05,295
In theory,

354
00:12:05,295 --> 00:12:07,157
it should be minimum energy and maximum entropy.

355
00:12:07,157 --> 00:12:08,176
So it all becomes more chaotic.

356
00:12:08,176 --> 00:12:10,140
My existence

357
00:12:10,140 --> 00:12:11,361
would mean a negative delta S

358
00:12:11,361 --> 00:12:14,958
and this disobey the theory.

359
00:12:14,958 --> 00:12:17,202
Then how should we view life and death?

360
00:12:17,202 --> 00:12:18,611
Actually,

361
00:12:18,611 --> 00:12:20,682
we often see ourselves only.

362
00:12:20,682 --> 00:12:22,601
We don’t realize that we are in the universe.

363
00:12:22,601 --> 00:12:24,923
The universe is the combination of we and the environment.

364
00:12:24,923 --> 00:12:26,347
So total delta S

365
00:12:26,347 --> 00:12:29,446
equals to delta S system and delta S surrounding.

366
00:12:29,446 --> 00:12:30,437
So

367
00:12:30,437 --> 00:12:32,631
this is an important concept.

368
00:12:32,631 --> 00:12:35,202
Any organized group

369
00:12:35,202 --> 00:12:37,240
are unstable.

370
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,428
It has to destroy the environment.

371
00:12:39,428 --> 00:12:41,178
Delta S is negative,

372
00:12:41,178 --> 00:12:43,284
however, it should be positive.

373
00:12:43,284 --> 00:12:44,561
As a result, it will destroy the environment

374
00:12:44,561 --> 00:12:46,361
to make the equation positive.

375
00:12:46,361 --> 00:12:47,188
So my existence

376
00:12:47,188 --> 00:12:49,326
is to destroy the environment.

377
00:12:49,326 --> 00:12:50,298
Until one day,

378
00:12:50,298 --> 00:12:52,062
when I can no longer destroy the environment,

379
00:12:52,062 --> 00:12:53,659
can I destroy myself only.

380
00:12:53,659 --> 00:12:56,399
Delta S should maintain positive,

381
00:12:56,399 --> 00:12:58,207
so to exist is to destroy.

382
00:12:58,207 --> 00:12:59,268
When you’re unable to destroy,

383
00:12:59,268 --> 00:13:00,311
you can only destroy yourself.

384
00:13:00,311 --> 00:13:01,635
This is death.

385
00:13:01,635 --> 00:13:04,917
This is death from physical and chemical aspects.

386
00:13:04,917 --> 00:13:07,544
However,

387
00:13:07,544 --> 00:13:08,797
as a doctor,

388
00:13:08,797 --> 00:13:10,885
I understand physics and chemistry.

389
00:13:10,885 --> 00:13:13,159
How do I think of life?

390
00:13:13,159 --> 00:13:14,758
One day,

391
00:13:14,758 --> 00:13:15,620
when I took round in the intensive care units.

392
00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:16,907
I came to realize

393
00:13:16,907 --> 00:13:18,623
that there are only two kind of outcomes in lives.

394
00:13:18,623 --> 00:13:19,286
One is with tubes insertion,

395
00:13:19,286 --> 00:13:21,529
while the other is not.

396
00:13:21,529 --> 00:13:24,340
But they’re all called death.

397
00:13:24,340 --> 00:13:26,855
Death is an immutable law.

398
00:13:26,855 --> 00:13:27,804
So

399
00:13:27,804 --> 00:13:30,780
how do we think of death?

400
00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:33,692
I have a flip point of view.

401
00:13:33,692 --> 00:13:35,840
If you ask me what death is.

402
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,486
I will ask you:

403
00:13:37,486 --> 00:13:40,495
what is life?

404
00:13:40,495 --> 00:13:41,452
You guys came here

405
00:13:41,452 --> 00:13:43,149
to attend a lecture.

406
00:13:43,149 --> 00:13:45,157
I hope you can do one thing when you leave.

407
00:13:45,157 --> 00:13:46,567
Tonight, when you are going to sleep,

408
00:13:46,567 --> 00:13:47,433
when you’re lying on your bed,

409
00:13:47,433 --> 00:13:49,017
ask yourself a question:

410
00:13:49,017 --> 00:13:58,424
what is being alive?

411
00:13:58,424 --> 00:13:59,208
Because

412
00:13:59,208 --> 00:14:00,621
when you think of the question

413
00:14:00,621 --> 00:14:02,552
we have to think of a question:

414
00:14:02,552 --> 00:14:03,831
what is life ?

415
00:14:03,831 --> 00:14:05,909
My answer to the question is this:

416
00:14:05,909 --> 00:14:07,168
when you’re searching for the answer to the question,

417
00:14:07,168 --> 00:14:10,508
it is the answer to the question.

418
00:14:10,508 --> 00:14:12,331
Everyone dies eventually.

419
00:14:12,331 --> 00:14:14,200
No when will set death

420
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:15,404
as the goal of life.

421
00:14:15,404 --> 00:14:17,299
Life is a process.

422
00:14:17,299 --> 00:14:20,082
We keep searching

423
00:14:20,082 --> 00:14:21,371
for the answer

424
00:14:21,371 --> 00:14:23,530
to what being alive is

425
00:14:23,530 --> 00:14:25,133
in our life.

426
00:14:25,133 --> 00:14:27,403
So when you’re searching,

427
00:14:27,403 --> 00:14:29,042
that is the very answer to the question.

428
00:14:29,042 --> 00:14:31,249
Death is not the goal of life.

429
00:14:31,249 --> 00:14:33,491
Life is a process.

430
00:14:33,491 --> 00:14:37,558
Recently, I always share the story of feces.

431
00:14:37,558 --> 00:14:39,110
My teacher was going to retire,

432
00:14:39,110 --> 00:14:39,673
he said,

433
00:14:39,673 --> 00:14:40,556
"
 I am going to retire,

434
00:14:40,556 --> 00:14:41,375
let’s go to somewhere fancy."

435
00:14:41,375 --> 00:14:42,480
So

436
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,389
My teacher, my schoolmate and I

437
00:14:44,389 --> 00:14:46,503
went to a French restaurant at Sheraton.

438
00:14:46,503 --> 00:14:48,959
And it’s on me.

439
00:14:48,959 --> 00:14:51,654
We spent 26,000 NT dollars.

440
00:14:51,654 --> 00:14:54,397
I was too astonished to speak.

441
00:14:54,397 --> 00:14:56,010
How could I eat something so expensive?

442
00:14:56,010 --> 00:14:57,909
I’d never been to that kind of restaurant.

443
00:14:57,909 --> 00:14:58,596
I had no idea

444
00:14:58,596 --> 00:14:59,993
about what I’d ordered.

445
00:14:59,993 --> 00:15:01,369
When I saw the bill,

446
00:15:01,369 --> 00:15:03,168
I almost collapsed.

447
00:15:03,168 --> 00:15:04,927
The next morning, in the restroom,

448
00:15:04,927 --> 00:15:09,081
I examined my feces carefully.

449
00:15:09,081 --> 00:15:10,606
I’d spent 9,000 NT dollars

450
00:15:10,606 --> 00:15:15,390
producing it.

451
00:15:15,390 --> 00:15:15,909
But I could not tell the difference

452
00:15:15,909 --> 00:15:18,394
with the meals in the cafeteria, which cost 70 NT dollars,

453
00:15:18,394 --> 00:15:19,800
at the NTU hospital.

454
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,550
I just could not tell the difference.

455
00:15:23,550 --> 00:15:26,659
Then, in the restroom, I came to realize

456
00:15:26,659 --> 00:15:28,606
that all the wealth you can get

457
00:15:28,606 --> 00:15:35,666
is just feces.

458
00:15:40,074 --> 00:15:43,061
Confucianism is the most crucial ism in Chinese culture.

459
00:15:43,077 --> 00:15:45,613
Confucianism has its virtues.

460
00:15:45,613 --> 00:15:48,047
It talks about human.

461
00:15:48,047 --> 00:15:50,254
You can see the sayings in Confucian Analects as followed.

462
00:15:50,254 --> 00:15:51,104
While you do not know life,

463
00:15:51,104 --> 00:15:52,455
how can you know about death?

464
00:15:52,455 --> 00:15:53,059
While you are not able to serve men,

465
00:15:53,059 --> 00:15:54,474
how can you serve their spirits?

466
00:15:54,474 --> 00:15:55,223
When alive,

467
00:15:55,223 --> 00:15:55,624
be served according to propriety;

468
00:15:55,624 --> 00:15:56,015
that, when dead,

469
00:15:56,015 --> 00:15:56,921
they should be buried according to propriety;

470
00:15:56,921 --> 00:15:58,320
and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety.

471
00:15:58,320 --> 00:15:59,975
Confucianism refuses to talk about death.

472
00:15:59,975 --> 00:16:00,955
If you keep asking,

473
00:16:00,955 --> 00:16:02,620
he would answer something about laying downing one's life for justice,

474
00:16:02,620 --> 00:16:04,293
or if a man in the morning hear the right way, he may die in the evening without regret,

475
00:16:04,293 --> 00:16:06,653
or sacrificing their lives to preserve their virtue complete.

476
00:16:06,653 --> 00:16:09,508
Confucianism avoids

477
00:16:09,508 --> 00:16:11,074
talking about death.

478
00:16:11,074 --> 00:16:12,281
It doesn’t want to discuss about it

479
00:16:12,281 --> 00:16:14,439
So

480
00:16:14,439 --> 00:16:15,292
it is enthusiastic

481
00:16:15,292 --> 00:16:15,986
about human,

482
00:16:15,986 --> 00:16:17,812
and it leaves others behind.

483
00:16:17,812 --> 00:16:19,564
It cares about the things you can see now.

484
00:16:19,564 --> 00:16:20,551
However,

485
00:16:20,551 --> 00:16:23,685
it doesn’t talk about death at all.

486
00:16:23,685 --> 00:16:26,098
The following is what I think.

487
00:16:26,098 --> 00:16:27,749
In Chinese culture,

488
00:16:27,749 --> 00:16:29,722
Confucianism is the most crucial thought.

489
00:16:29,722 --> 00:16:31,506
But we didn’t want to think of death in the past.

490
00:16:31,506 --> 00:16:33,372
We avoided talking about it.

491
00:16:33,372 --> 00:16:36,354
There’s a common saying based onSunzi's Art of War:

492
00:16:36,354 --> 00:16:38,198
Placing somebidy on field of death and he will fight to live.

493
00:16:38,198 --> 00:16:40,219
Only when we face the death,

494
00:16:40,219 --> 00:16:43,720
seriously,

495
00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,743
can we ask what life is.

496
00:16:47,743 --> 00:16:49,930
We will all die in the end.

497
00:16:49,930 --> 00:16:51,371
Life is just a process,

498
00:16:51,371 --> 00:16:54,333
of searching for the meaning of being alive.

499
00:16:54,333 --> 00:16:56,782
This is my point of view.

500
00:16:56,782 --> 00:16:58,619
Actually, I am a smart person,

501
00:16:58,619 --> 00:16:59,931
and strong enough.

502
00:16:59,931 --> 00:17:03,440
I can travel around the island by bike.

503
00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,553
But can I

504
00:17:05,553 --> 00:17:07,810
bully others

505
00:17:07,810 --> 00:17:09,780
just because I am a little smarter,

506
00:17:09,780 --> 00:17:10,063
or a little stronger?

507
00:17:10,063 --> 00:17:11,273
Well,

508
00:17:11,273 --> 00:17:12,315
definitely not.

509
00:17:12,315 --> 00:17:13,420
So

510
00:17:13,420 --> 00:17:15,092
those who benefit from the society

511
00:17:15,092 --> 00:17:16,692
should be grateful.

512
00:17:16,692 --> 00:17:18,300
You should help others

513
00:17:18,300 --> 00:17:20,044
if you’re able to.

514
00:17:20,044 --> 00:17:21,922
That makes your life much more meaningful.

515
00:17:21,922 --> 00:17:23,567
It’s about gratitude.

516
00:17:23,567 --> 00:17:25,228
When I went to Dharma Drum Mountain,

517
00:17:25,228 --> 00:17:27,322
the master talked with me

518
00:17:27,322 --> 00:17:28,234
about gratitude.

519
00:17:28,234 --> 00:17:29,263
Being grateful.

520
00:17:29,263 --> 00:17:30,516
Being kind instead of being revengeful.

521
00:17:30,516 --> 00:17:33,153
“I know you are misunderstood,” he said,

522
00:17:33,153 --> 00:17:37,158
“but you can’t complain.

523
00:17:37,158 --> 00:17:40,166
You should help others instead.”

524
00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:41,633
At the end of my speech, let me share a concept with you.

525
00:17:41,633 --> 00:17:43,170
It is “a to the power of n.”

526
00:17:43,170 --> 00:17:44,351
If a is greater than 1,

527
00:17:44,351 --> 00:17:45,927
a to the power of n is infinity.

528
00:17:45,927 --> 00:17:47,080
If a is less than 1,

529
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,039
a to the power will approach zero rapidly.

530
00:17:50,039 --> 00:17:51,827
What does that mean?

531
00:17:51,827 --> 00:17:53,185
If what I give to the society

532
00:17:53,185 --> 00:17:54,537
is greater than what I get from the society,

533
00:17:54,537 --> 00:17:55,810
a is greater than one.

534
00:17:55,810 --> 00:17:57,265
Our society will become better and better.

535
00:17:57,265 --> 00:17:58,610
If what I get from the society

536
00:17:58,610 --> 00:18:00,045
is greater than what I give to the society,

537
00:18:00,045 --> 00:18:00,993
a is less than 1

538
00:18:00,993 --> 00:18:02,578
Our society will become worse.

539
00:18:02,578 --> 00:18:04,490
And I end the my speech,

540
00:18:04,490 --> 00:18:07,205
with these words.

541
00:18:07,205 --> 00:18:09,389
Facing difficulties is not the hardest thing.

542
00:18:09,389 --> 00:18:10,376
The hardest thing is

543
00:18:10,376 --> 00:18:12,117
facing the difficulties

544
00:18:12,117 --> 00:18:12,117
without losing passion for your life and world.

545
00:18:12,117 --> 00:18:16,302
Thank you very much.