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Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention$
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Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention

Edited by Danuta Wasserman, Camilla Wasserman

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Print Publication Date:
Mar 2009
Print ISBN-13:
9780198570059
Published to Oxford Medicine:
Jul 2011
DOI:
10.1093/med/9780198570059.001.0001

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Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Contents

A Buddhist perspective on suicide

Chapter:
A Buddhist perspective on suicide
Author(s):

Somparn Promta,

Prakarn Thomyangkoon

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780198570059.003.0005

The basic morality of Buddhism is based on the content of the five precepts: killing is an evil; stealing is an evil; sexual misconduct is an evil; lying is an evil; and taking intoxicants is an evil.

Buddhism does not consider killing merely in its form but in its origin, and judges whether or not it is immoral case by case, according to its complicated and contextual factors. Suicide is a type of killing, and the moral rules applying to all types of killing, apply also to suicide. All of the precepts in Buddhism are written in general form, meaning that there is considerable room for interpretation. This chapter discusses interpretations of cases when suicide may be considered as morally wrong and when it can be morally acceptable. Generally speaking, suicide is not necessarily an evil in the Buddhist perspective: some are morally acceptable. All sects of Buddhism agree that death is just a transformation of life, and that we live to die and we die to live again. Therefore, suicide is viewed differently from other religions, which do not believe in life after death or reincarnation.

The chapter concludes with epidemiological data concerning suicide in different Buddhist countries in Asia, which show a range of 6/100,000 in Thailand to 35/100,000 in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the statistics, the Buddhist religion may impact the suicide rate differently depending on the national context.

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