This rule against intentionally causing the death of a human being is best understood in terms of five factors, all of which must be present for there to be the full offense. Your email address will not be published. Much of what has been written are liberal beliefs and overturning what is written down in the texts. This story is a part of a series: Body Politics: The struggle for access to reproductive rights. Volume first published in 1998 (Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan). How is that? ( Log Out / Buddhism and Abortion: Buddhism, Theravada, Vajrayana, Dalai Lama, Miscarriage, Religion and Abortion, Mizuko Kuyō, Buddhist Ethics (Inglese) Copertina flessibile – 23 novembre 2010 di Frederic P. Miller (a cura di), Agnes F. Vandome (a cura di), John McBrewster (a cura di) & 0 altro In Myanmar, most people practice Theravada Buddhism, which says life starts at conception. Mahayana Buddhism . From Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s introduction to that sutta: “Usually in the Canon, the term gandhabba means a being on the lowest level of the celestial devas — devas who are often represented as obsessed with lust. Homosexuality is not condemned individually, but disagreements differ, especially in various Buddhist cultures - eg, Buddhists in the United States generally agree, and some Asian Buddhists are strongly opposed to homosexuality. 5) Result: The life-faculty of the person is cut as the result of one’s act. Attitudes and laws in Thailand are generally more favourable towards abortion than in Sri Lanka. I feel there is no need to go too much into scholarly research when the life starts. I have a baby!” That is when the “birth” begins. Aborting it with intention is the same as killing a human living being. This means that consciousness happens before the egg attached to the uterine wall. (p512). 39. What Theravada Buddhists Believe Central tenets of this Theravada Buddhism, based on the questions in the Belief-O-Matic quiz. Reaching Nirvana is the ultimate goal of the Theravada Buddhist. What do think Theravada Buddhists about contraception? Interesting article. Conclusion As the fundamental teachings in Buddhism state, that to kill intentionally is wrong, on the whole both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists believe that it should be avoided whenever possible. In the eye of Dhamma is the more than enough to declare “a living being” when a woman realized “I am pregnant! E-mail Citation » Provides a good introduction to the orthodox Theravāda position on abortion in early Buddhism, as documented both in popular and canonical sources. That is why the author warns about contraception that can kill the fertilized egg. While abortion is still viewed as negative in Burma (Myanmar), it is allegedly also employed with some frequency to prevent out-of-wedlock births. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Therefore, perhaps the only way in which a fetus might not possess a gandhabba, and be just a physical shell/husk, is if the fetus dies for some reason during the course of pregnancy (e.g., from a congenital defect), such that the gandhabba leaves that body naturally and seeks a different body. In this case, speaking up in praise of abortion for any case, even to save the life of a mother, is an offense as well. In Buddhism and Abortion. Death would be better for you than life,” or with such an idea in mind, such a purpose in mind, should in various ways praise the advantages of death or incite him to die, he also is defeated and no longer in affiliation. Much of what has been written are liberal beliefs and overturning what is written down in the texts. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. ... And anyone who assists illegal abortion can face up to three years in prison. In part, this is because Buddhism is a very old religion, and the concept of human rights is relatively recent. This description will be skewed towards a Sri Lankan perspective, because I am most familiar with that. First, the Buddhist view of abortion does not include a concept of rights, either a "right to life" or a "right to one's own body." Share this: What do Theravada Buddhists believe in terms of abortion? Notes. They claim “Modern Buddhism” as a section heading, but there is no such thing as “Modern Buddhism” since there is no such thing as “Modern Kamma.” The rules of kamma do not change over time, and abortion has been around since the time of the Buddha. Access to Insight , June 7, 2009, *Buddhist Monastic Code I by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Theravada Buddhists say that a violation of the first precepts involves five factors. Change ). However, the Commentary notes that gandhabba in this context means a being whose kamma enables it to take birth on that occasion, an interpretation supported by a discussion in MN 93” (ibid). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. … when there is a union of the mother & father, the mother is in her season, and a gandhabba is present, then with this union of three things the descent of the embryo occurs” (MN 38). The same is also true with topics on euthanasia. book format for free distribution. Should any bhikkhu intentionally deprive a human being of life, or search for an assassin for him, or praise the advantages of death, or incite him to die (saying): “My good man, what use is this evil, miserable life to you? However, approaching abortion as … 2) Intention: knowingly, consciously, deliberately, and purposefully wanting to cause that person’s death. In Buddhism, sentient life is a bundle of 5 aggregates. If the fetus is not already dead, a gandhabba probably is still there, at any stage of pregnancy, and killing the fetal body that is supporting the gandhabba probably is the same as killing any living human (i.e., murder, if the killing is intentional, which might cause the killer to be reborn in some type of hell). Bringing rights into question will not be raised here. Buddhism is an ancient tradition which over the centuries has refined its distinctive beliefs and values in the course of a long interaction with the major cultures of Asia. Attitudes about abortion have given birth to heartbreaking polarization and violence. Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, ... "I am only mentioning the Theravada belief here" As Buddhism teaches birth happens far before physical birth.It happens when the Semen finds the egg and start the process of growing.so not only abortion,Taking a … First, there is a living being. Buddhists believe that life is part of an ongoing cycle involving birth, life, death and rebirth. After discovering that Buddhism generally has a negative view toward abortion, some left-leaning converts feel pressure to endorse an anti-abortion attitude but remain pro-choice. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Theravada Buddhism Providing safe illegal abortions in Myanmar is a ‘karmic balance,’ says one doctor. When I say Buddhism, I mean what is common to all traditional forms of Buddhism (Sravakayayana (including Theravada), Mahayana and Vajrayana). ( Log Out / ), here is my understanding of a Theravada Buddhist view of abortion, which does not seem to be represented by any candidate running for US president. According to Buddhist teachings, life—rebirth—begins at conception. Learn how your comment data is processed. A Pārājika rule on killing is also found in the Mahayana, and Tibetan Schools as well. They are wrestling with the fact that women need the right to access, but they also don’t want to be too far out of step with Buddhism as they understand it. A Theravada monk isn’t allowed even to kill a plant (although the killing of plants or non-human animals breaks a less severe rule, and doesn’t entail excommunication, but requires only confession to expiate it). Required fields are marked *. Enlightenment is achieved through a normal life with varying degrees of spiritual involvement. Its doctrines are taken from the Pali Tipitaka or Pali Canon and its basic teachings begin with the Four Noble Truths. That is when we have there another living being. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Theravada is the dominant form of Buddhism in most of southeast Asia, including Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.It claims about 100 million adherents worldwide. by Nyanamoli Himi.- Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 2010, 794p. Traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it involves the deliberate destroying of a life. Here is an account in an ancient text called The Path of Purification. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Obviously you are not a Theravada monk and I think your User Name is deceiving people. Attitudes and laws in Thailand are generally more liberal than in Sri Lanka. 1. ), here is my understanding of a Theravada Buddhist view of abortion, which does not seem to be represented by any candidate running for US president. In the traditional view, whether or not an embryo or fetus can survive on its own, it is a sentient being whose spiritual progress is thwarted by an abortion. ... Browse other questions tagged theravada mahayana or ask your own question. The Theravada School of Buddhism, ... War, abortion, vivisection, euthanasia, capital punishment, hunting are all violent acts with fearsome karmic consequence. And thinking that being is owned by a mother, that would be the same as masters would own a slave. Edited by Damien Keown, 157–182. L’ABORTO NEL CANONE PĀLI E NEI TESTI DEL PRIMO BUDDHISMO – Buddhismoescienza, Theravada Buddhism and Sex: The Third Precept on Sexual Misconduct. It does however play an important role in the Buddhist Rules which can be used as a bar for knowing if something was done wrong or not. Buddhism apparently has one of the strictest prohibitions on abortion, much as it has one of the most finely tuned ethical systems, particularly with regard to the taking of life. When the mother has an abortion, the pain that arises in him through the cutting and rending in the place where the pain arises that is not fit to be seen even by friends and intimates and companions—this is the suffering rooted in abortion. “Monks, the descent of the embryo occurs with the union of three things. This opens up the door just about anything, even a nod of the head or a grunt, etc that may praise the benefits of killing, or death. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1999. In brief, the Theravada Buddhist texts (and probably all other schools) believe that an unborn child after conception is a living human being. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Vibhaṅga defines a human being as a person “from the time consciousness first becomes manifest in a mother’s womb, up to its death-time.” It follows from this that a bhikkhu who intentionally causes an abortion — by arranging for the operation, supplying the medicines, or giving advice that results in an abortion — incurs a pārājika. As you can see, abortion is used as an example in this book and also the main source in Pāḷi. *The Path of Purification: ©1975, 1991, 2010 (used without permission needed in exchange for this reference) Visuddhimaga/Buddhaghosa Himi; tr. As Buddhism continues to engage the attention of the West, the time is now opportune for its views on abortion to be heard. ‘If you look at the canonical texts and the views of the scholars the position is clear. A virtue-oriented Buddhist would argue that the attitude and motivations of the pregnant woman and her collaborators would determine the ethics of an abortion. Theravada Buddhism. 1) Object: a human being, which according to the Vibhaṅga includes human fetuses as well, counting from the time consciousness first arises in the womb immediately after conception up to the time of death. This post is not about the rights of women. “Knowingly” also includes the factor of —. There is no single Buddhist view concerning abortion. Why do monks have one shoulder exposed sometimes and both shoulders covered other times. Such a topic is sort of taboo for a monk to publicly speak on because there is no way of really knowing if someone had killed an unborn baby based on such words. ( Log Out / The main difference between the two, is that Mahayana Buddhism can see why it But there is more than just direct speech. Your email address will not be published. Talking over a coffee in London, he emphasised that Buddhism has a clear response to abortion. This is not to say that it is prohibited. So does that mean that a person who is in a coma does not have consciousness? There is a phrase in the original rule that is important. A Theravada view of abortion 2016-10-29 2016-10-29 / MiP Given the current US presidential debate environment (about sexism, abortion, etc. There are monks who can feel themselves spinning in the womb seconds after the first consciousness arises. 4) Effort: whatever one does with the purpose of causing that person to die. What do Theravada Buddhists believe in terms of abortion? While abortion is still viewed as negative in Burma (Myanmar), it is allegedly also employed with some frequency to prevent out-of-wedlock births. 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