ABSTRACT
The prohibition on taking human life is one of the cornerstones of Buddhist ethics, but there is often confusion about the interpretation of this prohibition in different contexts. In his commentary on the third parajika in the Samantapasadika, Buddhaghosa sets out to clarify the legal provisions of the monastic precept against taking life. The root text and his comments on it are relevant to the contemporary debate on euthanasia, and this paper considers what light Buddhist jurisprudence can shed on this moral dilemma.
Subject(s)
Buddhism , Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary/ethics , Euthanasia, Passive/ethics , Suicide, Assisted/ethics , Value of Life , Empathy , Homicide/ethics , Humans , Quality of Life , Suicide/ethics , TheologySubject(s)
Buddhism , Euthanasia/ethics , Personal Autonomy , Suicide, Assisted/ethics , Suicide/ethics , Value of Life , Empathy , Homicide/ethics , Humans , Quality of Life , Right to Die/ethics , TheologyABSTRACT
In 1993 The Parliament of the World's Religions produced a declaration known as A Global Ethic which set out fundamental points of agreement on moral tissues between the religions of the world. However, the declaration did not deal explicitly with medical ethics. This article examines Buddhist and Christian perspectives on euthanasia and finds that in spite of their cultural and theological differences both oppose it for broadly similar reasons. Both traditions reject consequentialist patterns of justification and espouse a 'sanctity of life' position which precludes the intentional destruction of human life by act or omission.
