A Buddhist view tolerating the preparedness of one's own death : With special reference to human dignity and euthanasia

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Other Title
  • 「自殺」を是認する仏教の立場 : 「人間の尊厳」の具現と安楽死問題

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The purpose of this paper is to consider the conditions of killing oneself and of euthanasia tolerated from a Buddhist standpoint. Although Buddhism has the principle of prohibiting anyone from killing oneself and others, there are several tolerated, or rather approved instances of performing actions leading to one's own death. In examining typical examples, we find that a 'would-be suicide' ought to be among the following three situations. The first is one, who is apparently near death, satisfied with his/her life in which his/her own duties have been completely performed. The second is one trying to save others from suffering or danger even though he/she would lose his/her life. The third is one striving to accomplish his/her real aim at the risk of losing his/her life. In any case, furthermore, the preparedness for one's own death is to be agreed upon by the people close to the person. And, these conditions are essential for the manifestation of human dignity in a Buddhist interpretation, which means that each and every person lives as a central figure in the world in relation to others existing in the world. Based on this viewpoint, we propose and consider conditions under which euthanasia could be tolerated.

Journal

  • Bioethics

    Bioethics 18 (1), 158-165, 2008

    Japan Association for Bioethics

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