Euthanasia: Killing is BAD Karma, it's NOT compassionate | 1st Precept | Ajahn Dhammasiha

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2M ago 47:57

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Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a question about Euthansia.

He explains that the Buddha never encouraged or condoned the killing of other human beings at all, never mind the supposed motive or justification.

The first precept to abstain from intentionally killing of living beings is unambiguous - it has no 'exceptions' under any circumstance.

Any killing of human beings is very serious karma.

However, if we participate in, or encourage, the killing ("euthanasia") of our mother or father (which can easily occur in the context of "euthanasia"), we're getting involved in what the Buddha declared as one of the five worst forms of evil karma possible (5 Anantarika Kamma - see e.g. Anguttara Nikāya Fives No 129).

It's not compassionate at all to kill.

Compassionate is to look after dying people, to provide them with excellent palliative care and really good pain management. Compassionate is to spiritually console dying persons, to prepare them for the transition to the next life, and to encourage them to let go of all attachments.

If we normalize killing of human beings ("euthanasia"), those suffering from a chronic and expensive-to-treat disease will feel pressure to have themselves killed ("euthanized") to reduce expenses and burden of looking after them.

As physicians are the ones doing the killing ("euthanasia"), the ethic foundation of the whole medical profession is undermined. A doctor should first of all do no harm. We must be able to fully trust our physicians and nurses that they are committed to preserving our lives, to cure us from disease and to wish us to live.

How can we trust the medical profession if they are now the ones who are also killing us?

Ajahn points out that a completely materialistic philosphy underlies modern Westen medical science. They simply don't know about consciousness/mind, they only know and describe course material phenomena. They believe that after death there's simply nothing.

Of course, in reality there NOT nothing after death, but what we call mind or consciousness survives death and continues on to a new life.

Consequently, killing any being does not 'free them from suffering', it only means that we can not see their suffering anymore. Only an Arahant attaining Nibbāna is truly free from suffering.

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