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Jérôme Torossian

Professor Hengda Yang

THEO 346

December 17, 2015

Buddhism: An Ethical Perception of Death

Death is a universal factor in which most of the people in this world, whether religious or

not, deeply fears. In general, people are scared of this passage of life for the reason that they

have no idea of what will happen to them next. They are threatened from this demise because of

the consequences that their death will inflict on their beloved ones. They consider it as

nothingness, annihilation, or even destruction. It is indeed hard for individuals to acknowledge

that from the time they got born, everyone they knew, everything they routinely did or saw, will

at one point in their lives disappear forever while the world will continue to exist behind them.

For many people, the only way they can get out from this fear is by totally ignoring it. However,

Buddhism has always stressed the importance of looking straight towards the reality of death. As

the disease or the old age, death is defined in Buddhism as one of the fundamental sufferings that

everyone on earth must face. Since impermanence is an undeniable and inescapable fact of

human existence according to what the Buddha taught, this religion or philosophy has often been

associated as having a pessimistic vision of life. In fact, this argument is completely the opposite.

Actually, death being unavoidable, any attempt to disregard or stay away from this basic reality

of existence condemns individuals to a superficial lifestyle. It is thanks to a clear conscience and

a true understanding of the nature of death that people can live not in fear but happiness. In this

essay, I will mainly discuss the signification of death according to Buddhism. In addition, I will

talk about whether or not Buddhism views both suicide and euthanasia as being a legitimate way

of leaving this world.

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In order to understand well about the signification of death in Buddhism, a clear

definition of this unavoidable path is more than necessary. The correct meaning of death

according to the Buddhists criteria occurs when three main factors in the body cease to exist such

as life (ayu), heat (husma), and discriminative consciousness (viññāṇa).1 2 It represents, in fact,

the entire disconnection between the mind and the body. According to Damien Keown, a famous

Buddhist ethics professor, death is the result from the loss of the functions of the brainstem.3

This means that an individual has categorically lost the ability for integrated organic

functioning.4 Many people around the world actually believe that a person has attained death at

the moment the heart has stopped to beat and respiration has ceased. However, people who

follow Buddhism think that it is not because the heart of someone has ceased to function that the

person in question has left the world.5 Indeed, Buddhism argues that it is possible that a person

remains alive when the individual enters in a state where he or she cannot breathe and have the

heart to beat.6 The main reason from this thinking is because Buddhists declare that the mind of a

person may still be present inside the body. As a result, before a person can solemnly be

considered as a dead body, viññāṇa has to finally leave the corpse and fly away towards its future

life. Our mind is like imprisoned in a guesthouse, which goes away from it for another once its

stay is over. In fact, Buddhism wants people to acknowledge that death is irreversible; yet, this

main factor of the cycle of life does not represent in any case the end of our total existence.7 It is

only the entire chapter of a life that closes for another.

1 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.3062 Keown, Damien. Buddhism and Bioethics. Palgrave, 2001, p.1453 Ibid., p.1584 Ibid., p.1565 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.3066 Ibid., p.3077 Renard, John. Responses to 101 Questions on Buddhism. Paulist Press, 1999, p.51-52

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One of the fundamental doctrines that Buddhism wants individuals to acknowledge is that

nothing in this world has a permanent existence. This essential concept is known as anicca and it

is considered by Buddhist followers as one of the three marks of existence, which the other ones

are dukkha (suffering) and anatman (no-self).8 9 10 Death is considered as a tragic, cruel, and an

unfair break that people strongly hope of the eternity of life. In other words, they desire the

permanence of our individual existence. However, by thinking deeply, permanence is at any case

a characteristic of life. It is indeed just a misleading impression linked to an attempt to constantly

avoid the suffering that change can potentially cause. Yet, it is precisely the change that is

omnipresent in our daily lives, both in us and in everything that surrounds us. For instance, our

body transforms itself every single day, our emotions and our moods vary from time to time.

Outside the seasons change, the weather becomes different, kids grow up, adults get older, and

some gets born while others die. Life is a flurry of transient events, an entire journey full of

impermanence. Among the three aspects of the conception of dukkha identified by the Buddha

himself in his teaching of the Four Noble Truths, is the suffering produced by change.11

Nevertheless, there is clearly pain since there is people’s refusal to admit the evidence of

impermanence of life. Death is a constant fear among people because it not only calls into

question the foundation of our existence, but also our security, happiness, and desire for eternity.

Every human being is looking at the bottom of itself for happiness (sukha); this is clearly

an undeniable fact. However, it is not by denying the reality of the end of life that an individual

will escape from his or her own destiny and achieve sukha. This incorrect behavior is instead

inflicting more sufferings to the person. For Buddhism, it is mainly because of people’s

8 Rahula, Walpola. What The Buddha Taught. Grove Press, 1974, p.169 Ibid., p.1810 Ibid., p.5111 Ibid., p.19

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ignorance “of the true nature of things” that they are condemned to suffer.12 When Buddhists

meditate concerning death, they do it not because they like it, but for the reason that it is an

example of impermanence and because the Buddha’s first experience of death was among the

Four Passing Sights.13 14 Therefore, to overcome this lack of awareness, the acknowledgement of

impermanence is a good start.

There are three different principal causes in which an individual may encounter death.

The first one would be due to the natural ending of a normal human lifespan.15 Next, it could be

the result from the natural ending of the karma determined lifespan of a person.16 Lastly, it could

be due to an unexpected death such as a murder.17 So according to Peter Harvey, a professor of

Buddhist Studies, every kind of death, except those who are old, is from the result of karma.18

However, the karma is not responsible for every sicknesses or death. The Karma-prajnapti

declares that death happens mainly because of the fatigue of karma leading to life, to objects of

pleasure or both, or even because of not preventing something that could potentially cause

harm.19 Peter Harvey argues that the fact that sometimes deaths are not due to karma can also be

found in the sacred text of ancient Buddhism called Milindapañha.20 At some point, the text

makes reference to parittas, which are Buddhist chants that are considered to be able, in some

cases, of healing diseases and saving lives.21 Yet, this practice is not successful when it is done in

front of an individual who is experiencing the natural end of the human lifespan, or when the

12 Bercholz, Samuel; Kohn Sherab. Entering the Stream. Shambhala Publications, 1993, p.6313 Ibid., p.8-914 Renard, John. Responses to 101 Questions on Buddhism. Paulist Press, 1999, p.5115 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.29716 Ibid., p.29817 Ibid., p.29818 Ibid., p.29819 Ibid., p.29820 Ibid., p.29821 Ibid., p.298

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problem is due to karma.22 These types of chants “only work for one who is in his or her prime

and who has faith.”23 This demonstrates that a human being may not die only because of his or

her own karma.

They are actually some signs that can tell a person whether or not he or she is close from

leaving this world. These signals can even be experienced when one is not yet suffering from any

disease.24 When this occurs, these indications show up between six and three months before the

ultimate end.25 These types of signs can be divided into three different kinds of category: bodily

signs, mental signs, and dream signs.26 Only if any of these signals is persisting during our

lifetime, then this means that they are our messengers telling us that the end is to appear soon.

Once a person understands that he or she is receiving such kind of messages, the individual

should be prepared as much as possible in order to profit his or her future life.27 This can be done

by being engaged in the practice of dharma.28 Some few examples that are related with bodily

sign are blowing in our hand and feeling that it is cold instead of warm; when one puts pressure

on one of his or her fingernails and suddenly stop it and see that the blood does not come back as

fast as it is supposed to be.29 In addition, some examples concerning mental signs of death can be

demonstrated when an individual becomes suddenly aggressive while he or she is usually kind

and nice; or when for no reason a person start to not appreciate his or her own house, friends, or

22 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.19823 Ibid., p.29824 Signs of Death. Death-and-dying.org, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.25 Ibid.26 Ibid.27 Ibid.28 Ibid.29 Ibid.

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objects of attachment.30 Moreover, some examples that indicate dream signals contain visions

where an individual falls from a high mountain, or when a person is completely naked.31

The main point that the Buddha has been trying to teach to people throughout his own life

is that he can help those who suffer and lead them to the path of cessation of their pains. Indeed,

by following exactly what the Buddha taught, an individual can obtain safety, peace, happiness

and achieve nirvana. This means that a person has to eliminate thirst, ignorance and follow the

Noble Eightfold Path. The question now is can a person end dukkha through suicide or

euthanasia? Does this kind of death according to Buddhism acceptable and legitimate or, in

contrast, it finds them intolerable and strongly condemns such actions?

Suicide is widely known throughout the world and is commonly defined as to be

someone’s intentional act of ending his or her own life. Usually, this type of action is made by

individuals, who suffer from a mental issue such as depression or drug addiction. Like many

countries that actually forbid and consider it as a crime, Buddhism views suicide as a great

offence.32 However, some Buddhists believe that certain types of suicide like self-immolation

can be debated and accepted depending on the motivation. For instance, it is argued that the

suicidal act of a person carried out mainly because of its sufferings cannot be compared against

the self-immolation of someone who tries to end his or her life for a good cause, such as Thich

Quang Duc in 1963.33 Yet, not everyone accepts Thich Quang Duc’s suicide and nor views it as a

heroic move. Many Buddhists actually think that any kind of suicidal gesture is contrary to

Buddhist teachings and a represent a violation from the first of the Five Buddhist Precepts.34

30 Signs of Death. Death-and-dying.org, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.31 Ibid.32 Chodron, Thubten. Buddhism for Beginners. Snow Lion Publications, 2001, p.7133 Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005, p.100-101, p.104, p.113-11434 Nakasone, Ronald. Ethics of Enlightenment. Dharma Cloud Publishers, 1990, p.112

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Indeed, the first precept declares that every individual who wishes to practice dharma should

“abstain from killing any living creature.”35 This principle was even extended by Vietnamese

Buddhists during the Vietnam War with rules such as “Do not let others to kill;” “Find every

means to protect others;” and “Encourage life.”36 In addition, it is said in the Milindapañha that

righteous individuals should not commit suicide since they will prevent the world of the

advantage they can transmit to it.37 For instance, when the monk Channa announced that he was

considering using a knife to finish with his own life, the immediate attitude of the arhat Sariputra

was to prevent him from doing this irreparable act by saying: “Let the venerable Channa not use

the knife […] we want the venerable Channa to live.”38 It clearly demonstrates that acts of

violence should be avoided and that death should not be the cause of someone’s decision.

The lives of human beings are of great importance and it is a catastrophe that some of

them feel so overwhelmed with their sufferings that their only solution to the problem is death.

Yet, this type of thinking is completely wrong for the reason that these individuals will

experience reincarnation in the future. According to Buddhist principles, the attempt to escape

dukkha through intentional death is, in fact, ineffective.39 Indeed, the rebirth of an individual who

previously took away his or her own life will not only result in a reincarnation lower than the

human level like animal kingdom, but the sufferings that the person in question has tried to

escape will be intensified.40 Suicidal acts not only spoil the life of a person, but they deprive

other individuals from the benefits that someone doing such thing may bring to them. Moreover,

it can be said that every kind of suicides are not good and should be prevented at all cost for the

35 Bercholz, Samuel; Kohn Sherab. Entering the Stream. Shambhala Publications, 1993, p.10036 Nakasone, Ronald. Ethics of Enlightenment. Dharma Cloud Publishers, 1990, p.11237 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.29038 Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005, p.10739 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.28640 Ibid., p.287

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reason that these intentional killings will transmit dukkha to others people. However, it seems

that there are some methods of suicide that are considered acceptable according to the Vinaya.41

In fact, it is regarded acceptable for an individual to let himself or herself starve only if that

person has no time to get food because he or she wants to meditate.42 Yet, the opposite is not

tolerated. Likewise, there are two cases of illness in which someone can decide to end his or her

own existence. First, when a person has a long-lasting disease and believes that it is time to die

so as not to disturb those who take care of him or her.43 Next, it is understandable when the

person is obviously dying and knows that he or she achieved the meditative state that he or she

was aiming for.44 There are also some examples in Mahayana literature where it tell us that in a

previous life the Buddha starved himself in order to save a tiger that was hungry.45 As a result,

Buddhism strictly condemns suicides when they are made by people who want to end their

sufferings. Yet, this is viewed as ineffective and intolerable according to the Buddhist

perspective. Buddhism believes that human life is precious and that no one should commit,

incite, or even help any kind of suicidal act. However, as I have mentioned above, even though

suicide is considered a great offence, there are still few acceptable cases, especially when the

person is free from ignorance and cravings.

From a Buddhist perspective, the human life is precious therefore preserving ours or

someone else’s life is usually recommended. The correct definition of euthanasia would be

considered as the practice of intentionally ending a life by act or omission in order to alleviate

the sufferings of an individual as part of his medical care.46 There are two different kinds of

41 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.290-29142 Ibid., p.29143 Ibid., p.29144 Ibid., p.29145 Renard, John. Responses to 101 Questions on Buddhism. Paulist Press, 1999, p.7346 Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005, p.109

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euthanasia such as active and passive. Active euthanasia is an intentional killing after receiving a

deliberate positive act, such as giving lethal substances. Passive euthanasia is an intentional

killing that entails withdrawing food or withholding medical treatments that could have slow

down death. These can be divided into three types of forms like voluntary, non-voluntary, and

involuntary euthanasia.47 Voluntary euthanasia, often referred as mercy-killing, is the decision

taken by the person himself or herself to finish with his or her own life.48 Next, non-voluntary

euthanasia is the killing of an individual without receiving any consent, such as when a person is

in a persistent vegetative state.49 Lastly, involuntary euthanasia is the intentional death of

someone that is against his or her will.

Buddhism is against the destruction of life and this sentiment is demonstrated in the first

of the Five Precepts, in which it mentions that people who want to follow the dharma should not

kill. Indeed, taking the life of someone else is considered an enormous offence a Buddhist can

ever commit. To take away the life of an individual, even by consent is considered according to

Buddhism as a murder.50 As compassion is viewed as an important Buddhist moral value, one

would think that Buddhism would allow voluntary euthanasia in order to help someone suffer.

However, the Vinaya demonstrates that such action is still a violation of the Buddhist

teachings.51 Indeed, it tells several cases in which Buddhists due to compassion suggested to sick

monks that death would not be a bad option considering their hard present condition. In all of

these cases, those found guilty did not take any action to end the life of someone, but they

praised the beauty of death as the sole way out for the sick individual. Even though these

suggestions have been made out of compassion, it is still regarded as a breach of the first precept.

47 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.16848 Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005, p.11149 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.29550 Ibid., p.29451 Ibid., p.295

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As I said earlier, Buddhism considers the lives of human being significantly precious; hence, a

human life should not be taken away regardless if it is due to compassion and good faith.52 One

may conclude that while compassion represents a moral motive, in general, Buddhism considers

it as unacceptable when it comes to the life of an individual.

Furthermore, killing an individual who is suffering is not guaranteed that all of his or her

pain will disappear. Indeed, if the dukkha of a person is mainly due to his or her karma, then this

type of killing is very unlikely that it will cease. Actually, the suffering will become even greater

in the person’s future life. As I have previously mentioned, not all illnesses and death are the

responsibility of one’s karma. For Buddhism, even though the sickness of a person is not due to

his or her bad actions, it is important for an individual to “see the death-process through” in order

to learn from it.53 However, it seems that preserving a life at all cost is not a moral obligation.

Indeed, the Buddha once declared that if a person has suffered from a long time disease, “it is

legitimate to decline food and medical care” if nothing has worked to heal the patient.54 In fact,

to try to cure an illness when there is no way out can be viewed as a refusal of the human

mortality and would be considered by Buddhism “as arising from delusion and excessive

attachment.”55

While according to Buddhist principles, causing the death of someone is a huge offence a

Buddhist can ever commit; those who killed a person by mistake are found not guilty of breaking

the first precept.56 Indeed, this type of unintentional killing may be the result of too many pain-

relieving drugs that are supposed to actually help the patient feel painless, but in fact, gradually

52 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.29553 Ibid., p.29854 Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005, p.11255 Ibid., p.11356 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.301

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kill the person.57 If killing a person is an offence, how Buddhism deal with patients who are in a

persistent vegetative state? In this situation, an individual is in the coma as his or her brain has

been damaged. A person may be in this condition while still being able to breathe, to have the

heart that beats, and to retain certain reflexes. Yet, if the person is in this situation for a long

period of time and is under the help of an artificial respiratory system, then the question of

whether letting the person go or not is raised. Is the individual still alive? According to

Buddhism, it is possible to be in a state where there are no signs of breathing and consciousness,

but still to remain alive.58 This is believed due to the fact that life and heat, two of the three

factors that indicate if a person is dead or not, are still present.59 Nevertheless, killing a person in

this situation is complex as many questions are involved such as the person’s own wishes or his

or her own preparedness for death. While Buddhism regards every human being as worthy of

compassion and prohibits killing, there is, in fact, no obligation to keep a person alive thanks to

life-support machines.60

Ultimately, people should not fear and ignore the fact that every living thing on earth is

condemned to be impermanent. Buddhism declares that it is actually by accepting the reality of

our own destiny that individuals will be able to live peacefully. Indeed, dying can be a time of

learning and growth, a time of deepening our love, our sense of what is important in life. In

addition, death can even be the opportunity to better know our true nature and the ones that

surround us. Death should not be considered as the end of a human existence, but to be viewed as

the beginning of a person’s future reincarnation and life. However, the lives of human beings are

important according to Buddhism. As a result, one must not play with his or her life or even with

57 Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.30058 Ibid., p.30659 Ibid., p.30660 Keown, Damien. Buddhism and Bioethics. Palgrave, 2001, p.167

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someone else’s. Suicide cannot be a solution for people to end their suffering. This seems to be

an easy process for desperate individuals; yet, this action is only going to transmit them more

dukkha. One shall not incite or aid another human being to end his or her own life as it is

considered a breach of the Buddhist teachings. Some circumstances can make this argument

complex and challenge the Buddhist’s morality, as I have demonstrated with some examples of

passive euthanasia. It is actually believed that it is better to take the path of natural death instead

of radically stopping it through suicidal actions or euthanasia. The death of the Buddha is the

best example every Buddhists would want to follow, as even if he was suffering greatly during

his last days, he faced the death peacefully and with serenity.

Bibliography

Bercholz, Samuel; Kohn Sherab. Entering the Stream. Shambhala Publications, 1993. Print.

Chodron, Thubten. Buddhism for Beginners. Snow Lion Publications, 2001. Print.

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Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.

Keown, Damien. Buddhism and Bioethics. Palgrave, 2001. Print.

Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Print.

Nakasone, Ronald. Ethics of Enlightenment. Dharma Cloud Publishers, 1990. Print.

Rahula, Walpola. What The Buddha Taught. Grove Press, 1974. Print.

Renard, John. Responses to 101 Questions on Buddhism. Paulist Press, 1999. Print.

Signs of Death. Death-and-dying.org, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.