Check out this short article that gives a Buddhist perspective on suicide. Does anyone remember the Buddhist monk who committed suicide in the form of a protest? After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.
Yes sir. One of the most powerful gestures i could imagine. This picture and the image of the Tienanmen Square Protester almost bring me to tears every time.
Yes the gesture is powerful indeed, it takes lengthy training to reach that state of mind in order to endure such pain, powerful indeed. I did read the article you shared, but who is to say that those high into the hiearchy of the Buddhist order only discouraged suicide in order to maintain the masses amidst all the hardship back then and today? Of course you could look at their position positively as well. But religion is always a touchy arena isn't it
Furthermore many would suggest the following text by Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda is rather arrogant. "Suicide is a cowardly way to end one’s problems of life. A person cannot commit suicide if his mind is pure and tranquil." For one to be so blunt in their opinion on such a sensitive matter opens up the possibility for sharp criticism. I highly doubt Sri could ever fathom the limitless and potentially infinite reasons why one would commit suicide. This matter should be one of perspective and person to person opinion, it's highly likely it's not black or white.
You are absolutely right. Rarely have I seen a Buddhist monk or scholar give such a curt opinion on such a complex subject matter. But I think most of us can agree that most people who want to commit suicide we would rather see triumph their worldly struggles and preserve their life.
Suicide is a very interesting topic in my opinion. It is a hard topic to speak of because of its 'taboo' status but interesting none the less. I've come to the understanding that every single person should have the choice to do what they please with their body (e.g. it should be YOU who decides what you put in your body, how you treat it ,etc.). This doesn't mean that you should do anything you please (especially if you're directly harming someone by your actions) but at the end of the day if you have managed to live through the days you've been alive you should also be able to have the chance to choose when/how you die (through suicide). On the other hand I think every single person on the planet is special and has a good reason to live. Even the most cruelest people have good in them and deserve a chance to show these positive attributes. I by no means encourage suicide, however by acknowleding the fact that at any moment you have the choice to take your life and overcoming these thoughts can help people realise they really are valuable. A touchy topic like this can cause aggravated responses and i'm deeply sorry if i've offended anyone with this post.
Great post. It really clashes into my psych when people tell me its cowardly, greedy, or never the answer and that theres always a solution, or that suicide is a permanent answer to a temporary problem. I know first hand through my own struggles and first hand being on the recieving end of a suicide.. it isnt always fucking like that. There's always been a great sense of romantacism for me in the fact that every individual holds the ability and the unprecedented power to clock out at any time for any reason. Sometimes the soul grows weary of its inability to expand within its surroundings and therefore looks toward re-implementation. Sometimes a person doesnt want to be bound by mortal terms any longer and so they break free. Thats my take on it anyway. You just hope you're right the moment you pull that trigger.
I believe that being born as a human is an extreme blessing made possible because of positive actions and thoughts in past lives. To commit suicide would waste this opportunity to further decrease karma and come closer to achieving eternal peace.
A 57 year old woman, who was physically and psychologically abused for the first 25 years of her life by her sadistic father, had experienced -some- bits of the pleasure life has to offer in her life, but now lies in the hospital after a vehicle hit her. She cannot speak, breath without assistance, is basically a piss and shit factory with the ability to form short simple sentences with the use of one finger. She begs you to kill her. BlowTreeAllDay looks at her with remorse, but apologizes, and says, sorry, you must live on. Why? Because of what I believe. Sorry, you need to respect my beliefs. This is a religious thing, so.... sorry once again, but life is precious.
Well. First of all, she has to be kept alive by artificial means, so she should be dead anyway.... Second, I do respect your beliefs and never said anything to make anyone believe otherwise. Edit: That was your first post in this thread dude...where the hell do you get the idea that I don't respect your beliefs? I don't even know what you believe.
I had an acid trip once, that was so intense it left me completely incoherent, the visuals were so intense I was practically legally blind (no really, everything I saw was in my head), it was the most intense experience of my life. I thought that I had died during that trip (I had really fallen asleep and woken up) and that I was experiencing the afterlife. Death wasn't painfull (yeah, I didn't really die), it was an eye opening experience. I was tripping so hard I didn't know I was on acid, what day it was, what year it was, what planet it was, who I was, anything. When I died, I felt the most intense feeling in my gut, almost like a nervous feeling, but instead of it feeling bad it felt like the most loving moment I had ever experienced, like being reborn and knowing that your soul is where it belongs. I felt my soul, I knew that death was not scary once I truly understood it, my soul was parting my physical being and merging with the energy around me. I felt like I had become part of the universe, I felt closer to anything than I had ever felt before. It was beautiful and peacefull. I felt like I had finally, truly fallen alseep; my final rest. I know that this philosophy on death may not seem valid (due to the fact that it comes solely from an acid trip), but I feel as though this is the closest I have ever come to understanding death. Sometimes when I see somebody die in a movie (the actual visual of it really helps) I feel that feeling in my stomach again, like my soul is trying to leave my body. Weird stuff, but I still don't know if this whole perspective was brought on solely by the acid, or if the drug was merely enhancing my understanding and bringing knowledge out of me that was locked up. Maybe it's all bullshit, but I really do feel that way . . .