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Buddhist views, although varying on a series of canons within the three branches of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana), observe the concept of euthanasia, or "mercy killing", in a denunciatory manner.[1] Such methods of euthanasia include voluntary, involuntary, and non-voluntary.[2]
In the past, as one school of Buddhism evolved into the next, their scriptures recorded through the oral messages of Buddha himself on Buddhist principles and values followed, guiding approximately 500 million Buddhists spanning the globe on their path to nirvana.[2] In the Monastic Rule, or Vinaya, a consensus is reached by the Buddha on euthanasia and assisted suicide that expresses a lack of fondness of its practice.[3]
Buddhism does not confirm that life should be conserved by implementing whatever is necessary to postpone death, but instead expresses that the intentional precipitation of death is ethically inadmissible in every condition one is presented in.[1][3]
- ^ a b Lin, Saw (2016). "The Response to Euthanasia from the Perspective of Buddhism, Mandalay University Research Journal 3, 188-195" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 16, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Perrett RW (October 1996). "Buddhism, euthanasia and the sanctity of life". Journal of Medical Ethics. 22 (5): 309–13. doi:10.1136/jme.22.5.309. PMC 1377066. PMID 8910785.
- ^ a b Keown D, Keown J (October 1995). "Killing, karma and caring: euthanasia in Buddhism and Christianity". Journal of Medical Ethics. 21 (5): 265–9. doi:10.1136/jme.21.5.265. PMC 1376772. PMID 8558539.