Among India’s philosophical and religious traditions, Buddhism stands out for its emphasis on putting teaching into practice. To deal with the ethical, moral, and value issues involved in practice, Buddhism has its own theoretical system based on its own doctrine. The Buddhist scriptures record both recognition of, and prohibitions against, committing suicide. Suicide was indeed an act found widely in the history of Buddhism. Suicide is generally discussed in ideas of ahimsa, which means kindness and non-violence towards all living things, and of ‘cherishing all life’. These interpretations arise from the theory of dependent origination. This paper seeks to inquire if it is possible to develop an alternative perspective or an explanation that relates more closely to the phenomenon of suicide in contemporary Buddhism for people who face difficulties and who are thinking about suicide and also for the families who are left behind when a person commits suicide. The ethical doctrines and controversies involved in a Buddhist sense of suicide require further investigation. In this study, the evidence of suicide in the early Buddhist Scriptures is used for reference. The influence of modern technology and issues of ethics and legality are discussed. The attitude of the Buddha to suicide is interpreted according to his views of Buddha as portrayed in the original evidence. The central idea to comprehend the problem of suicide is that of humane compassion without thereby indicating support for suicide as such. Buddhist ethics are used to discuss suicide and provide new definitions of euthanasia and hospice care in the light of medical progress and the impact of death. It is to be hoped that this study is meaningful and valuable both for religious practice and for training in how to live. This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 sets out the questions, background, motivation and purpose of the research, and introduces the latest results of other scholars as well as outlining the structure of the thesis. Chapter 2 is devoted to an analysis for the evidence of suicide in the Buddhist Scriptures, a classification of different forms of suicide, and an interpretation of the background to the Buddha’s prohibition against killing. This analysis is used to discuss the Buddha’s view of suicide by monks, and to construct the basic ideas of the thesis regarding death and suicide. Chapter 3 explores Buddhist ethics and is based on the Buddhist understanding of free will, good and evil, discipline, and the achievement of relief by practicing moral teaching. Chapter 4 responds to the phenomenon of suicide by exploring Confucian, Daoist, Christian and Buddhist ways of looking at life and death, and looks at contemporary Buddhist ethics. It also explains how people confront their own death, and how Buddhist doctrine interprets suicidal behavior positively. Buddhist care is used as the central idea and combined
