When I was at home last year, I noticed my mother often mumbling to herself. One day I realized that she would say “thank you” but not to anyone in particular. I suppose it became a subconscious habit, her own way of turning countless anguishes into positives. It seemed to me like her own discipline of penitence. She had in a short time endured a number of painful medical procedures. This, I would assume has changed her approach towards the illness considerably.  

 

Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind

Likes, dislikes, equanimity

Past, present, future

Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, consciousness

Pleasure, suffering, renunciation

Past, present, future

6, 3, 3, 6, 3, 3, 108

 

Words hospital and hotel are derived from the same word, “hospitale”, a charitable institution to house and maintain the needy, in Latin. A few days ago, I heard of the passing of my dear friend’s mother. She was almost a second mother to our gang of six closest school friends, someone we pestered and loved with the entitlement of a family member. I couldn’t believe the fact that she had been living in an old age home for nearly a quarter of her life. Nursing homes, old age homes, hospice care and institutions such as these have grown into accessible spaces of sanctuary for the aged or unwell. Interestingly, hospitals are increasingly functioning like hotels these days as alluded to in their etymological roots. Furthermore, a hospital with the concept of a medical resort is an area that is gaining traction. One is born, receives treatment, recuperates and dies in a hospital. They even accommodate funerals in Korea. A change in the role of the hospital leads to a drastic change in the quality of a human life.