A new treatment for suicidal patients in South Korea involves locking them up in wooden coffins. The fake “death experience” apparently helps students appreciate life better after confronting a simulated version of their last moments.
韩国出现自杀倾向患者新疗法，躺入木棺思考人生。在直面模拟的“临终时刻”后，假死经历有助于人们更加珍惜生命。
The rate of suicide in Korea is on the rise, with about 40 people killing themselves every day. Experts believe that the nation’s super-competitive atmosphere is responsible for so many cases of depression and suicide. And according to theSeoul Hyowon Healing Center, the solution to this crisis lies in their ‘death experience’ therapy.
韩国的自杀率不断上涨，每天都有多达40人自杀。专家认为韩国过于激烈的竞争环境是导致人们抑郁、自杀的罪魁祸首。Seoul Hyowon治疗中心称，他们推出的“死亡体验”疗法是消除自杀危机的良方。
Participants at the centre come from all walks of life, including teenagers who struggle with pressure at school, older parents experiencing isolation, and the elderly who are afraid of becoming a financial burden on their families. They all don white robes and get into coffins arranged in rows. Beside each coffin is a small desk with pens and paper. Students sit inside the coffins and listen to a short talk by Jeong Yong-mun, a former funeral worker who is now the head of the healing centre. He explains to them that they should accept their problems as a part of life and try to find joy in the most difficult situations.
治疗中心的患者来自社会各界，有纠结于学业压力的青少年，有被孤立的年老父母，也有害怕成为家庭经济负担的老人们。他们身着白袍，进入一排排的棺材中。每 个棺材旁都设有一张小桌，桌上放有纸和笔。患者们需要坐在棺材里，听前丧葬工作人员、现治疗中心负责人郑永门（Jeong Yong-mun）讲一段话。这段话中，他劝解患者们应将困难视为生活的一部分，试着苦中作乐。
The students then lie down in the coffin and close their eyes to have a ‘funeral portrait’ taken. Afterwards, they write down their will or compose a farewell letter to their loved ones, and read their last words aloud to the group. When the ‘hour of death’ approaches, they are told that it is now time to ‘go to the other side’. Candles are lit and the ‘Korean Angel of Death’ enters the room. The students lie down in their coffins once more, and the angel closes the lid on each one of them.
而后，患者们需要躺入棺中，合上双眼，照一张“遗像”。之后，写下遗嘱，或是给亲人写一封告别信，并大声朗读。当“死亡”降临时，工作人员会告诉他们是时 候“去另一边了”。而后点燃蜡烛，韩国的死亡天使就会走进屋来。此时，学生们再次躺入棺中，死亡天使会为每位患者合上双眼。
They are left alone in the dark for about 10 minutes, during which time they are faced with the idea of ‘nothingness’ in the after-life. They are encouraged to use this time to contemplate on life from an outsider’s perspective. When they finally emerge from their coffins, they claim to feel ‘refreshed’ and ‘liberated’. Jeong Yong-mun enters the room once more to tell them: “You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight!”
之后，工作人员退出房间，患者们将在黑暗中度过10分钟，体会死后的“虚无”。治疗中心鼓励他们以局外人的角度，用这段时间思考人生。当他们从棺材中出来 时，都觉得“焕然一新”、“得到了解脱”。而后，郑永门再次进屋，告诉他们：“你们已经体会到了死亡的感觉，但是你们还活着，必须奋斗！”
The idea of the experience is to dwell on the ‘collateral damage’ of death and to think about how much pain they might cause their loved ones by choosing to end their lives.
这趟死亡体验的主旨就是让患者想想死亡的“附带伤害”，体会一下终结生命时，他们给亲人带来的痛苦。
Coffin therapy is not a new concept – we came across it a few years ago when a coffin maker from Ukraine offered people the chance to get inside some of his comfortable creations. We also heard of a psychotherapy clinic in Shenyang, China, where people with psychological problems were treated with death therapy. Most people who tried it reported feeling very relaxed and positive afterwards.
棺材疗法以前就有。几年前，一位乌克兰的棺材匠曾允许人们躺入他制作的舒适棺材中，而我们也是那时候才发现的。我们还听说中国沈阳的一家心理诊所也利用死亡疗法治疗心理疾病。大部分接受治疗的患者都表示非常轻松，心情也阳光起来。
Vocabulary
collateral damage: 间接损害，附带损害