Right to Die; Assisted Suicide; Euthanasia; Buddhism and Law; Harvey, Peter
摘要
In his article, Keown articulates what I see as a basically valid reading of the implications of the texts of the Pali Canon on the issues at hand. I particularly like his formulation, ‘to deny death and cling to life is wrong, but equally wrong is to deny life and seek death.’ As the aging Arahat Sariputta says in the vv. 1002-03: I do not long for death; I do not long for life; I shall lay down this body attentive and mindful. I do not long for death, I do not long for life; but I await my time, as a servant his wages. Keown focuses a fair amount of his discussion on the suicide of a few near Arahats. Though I broadly agree with his analysis of these cases, they do pertain to rather rare and exceptional types of people, while for the ordinary person, various central Buddhist values and considerations straightforwardly make it clear that suicide is highly inadvisable. While Buddhism emphasizes that there is much suffering in life, this can, paradoxically, help dissuade a Buddhist from giving in to despair. If suffering of various kinds, gross or subtle, is to be expected in life, then there is less reason for a person to take particular problems so personally—as if the world is conspiring against him or her.
