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Contents
Introduction .... p3 Chapter 1 Matters of Life and Death p5
Buddhist Attitudes to Abortion Buddhist Attitudes to Euthanasia Buddhist Attitudes to Life after Death
Introduction
When I joined my current School as Head of Religious Studies in 2006, I was asked to review the GCSE specification offered by the Department. In the discussions which followed, it was decided that a specification which focused on contemporary religious and moral issues was likely to prove more popular than the more traditional learning about world religions approach which had yielded excellent exam results, but gradually dwindling numbers of students. We eventually decided to adopt Edexcels Religion and Life and Religion and Society courses, to be studied from the perspectives of Christianity and one other religion. However, which other religion would we choose? As a multi-faith, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural School, we found this decision particularly challenging. At last, one of my colleagues suggested rather tentatively, Why dont we let them choose which religion they want to study? After some moments of silence, during which we contemplated the drive to promote the personalised curriculum, independent study and, as a mere afterthought of course, the logistics involved in such an enterprise, it was decided unanimously that this would be a wonderful idea. Our cohort of academically able and generally highly motivated Year 9s (yes, I did say motivated Year 9s) clearly agreed with our decision, because three months later, we discovered that our option numbers had jumped from thirty to seventy students! As Head of Department, it fell to me to begin preparations for the introduction of the new course and it was at this point that mild panic began to set in. Whilst I found numerous resources to support the course, the vast majority focused on the Abrahamic faiths. The two Edexcel endorsed textbooks written specifically for this specification contained chapters on Hinduism and even the oft-neglected Sikhism, but not a single word about Buddhist attitudes to the issues covered. When I raised the question at an Edexcel meeting, I was told that there was insufficient demand from schools to justify including Buddhism in the text books and that only something like two centres in the country had elected to study the course from a Buddhist perspective. I would be interested to know if the availability of resources has been a major influence on teachers when deciding which non-Christian religion to study for this specification. I am aware that the study of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism as a world religion has grown in popularity at GCSE, possibly because it appeals to students who are increasingly sceptical of religions which claim to hold the whole truth and who often come to school with the rather hazy and unexamined notions that religions only cause wars and that science has disproved God etc. Given the level of interest that pupils display about Buddhism and the rising popularity of issues-based GCSE courses, it would seem reasonable to me to assume that more students or their teachers would take this option if the resources existed. Interestingly enough, the very requirements of the Edexcel specification seem incompatible with a Buddhist approach in places. For example, the specification states that students should study religious attitudes to creation and stewardship which seems to me to presuppose belief in a creator God; similarly, the requirement to know about the purposes of marriage as expressed through the features of a marriage ceremony appears particularly problematic given that there is no set Buddhist wedding ceremony! Undeterred, I tracked down a range of textbooks on Buddhism, only to discover that they gave lots of excellent detail on the origins, teachings and practices of Buddhism, but very little on Buddhist
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attitudes to religious and moral issues. The few issues-focused books I did manage to acquire which mentioned Buddhist approaches tended either to be very general in nature and lacking sufficient detail about the principles and teachings which underpin these attitudes, or aimed at adult readers with a far more thorough grasp of Buddhist philosophy than could be reasonably expected from a student of 1416 years of age. The aim of my Farmington Fellowship was, therefore, to research Buddhist attitudes to the religious and moral issues covered by the Edexcel GCSE course and to produce practical resources to support students wishing to study the issues from a Buddhist perspective. Given my own frustration at the lack of clear, relevant and focused information about Buddhist attitudes, I have tried hard to make the resources which follow as pupil friendly as possible. It should be noted that they are tailored to the requirements of the Edexcel specification and, as a result, they are designed to follow the format of the Religion and Life and Religion and Society textbooks endorsed by the board. This is also reflected in the choice of wording at times.
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However, some Buddhists might consider abortion to be skilful in certain circumstances because: Buddhism expects each individual to apply the principle of upaya kausala, or skilful means, to any situation and decide for themselves what they should do. The concept of karuna (compassion) might be applied if, for example, a child would be born with a serious handicap. Some Buddhists might consider it more compassionate to abort the foetus. The principle of karuna might also be applied to the mother if she would suffer greatly by continuing with the pregnancy. The Dalai Lama (the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists) has said: Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance.
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A person who requests euthanasia because they wish to escape suffering should realise that the consequences of their kamma will still be there in their next rebirth. Buddhists are taught to accept suffering and try to overcome it. According to the Vinaya Pitaka, the rules for monks and nuns, A monk who intentionally deprives a human being of his life, or provides the means for suicide, or praises death, or incites one to commit suicide commits an offence entailing loss of monkhood. This clearly suggests that the Buddha would not approve of euthanasia. The concept of karuna (compassion) might lead them to believe that helping to end a persons life painlessly is the most compassionate course of action. They may feel that the negative consequences of ignoring someones suffering outweigh the negative consequences of helping a terminally ill person to die. Many Buddhists feel that there is a difference between acting in such a way as to bring about a persons death and withdrawing treatment which prolongs life artificially. The Dalai Lama said, In the event a person is definitely going to die and has virtually become a vegetable, and prolonging his existence is only going to cause difficulties and suffering for others, the termination of his life may be permitted according to Buddhist ethics.
Buddhist beliefs about life after death: Buddhists believe that life is made up of a continual cycle of birth, life, disease, old age, death and rebirth. This process is called samsara. The Buddha taught that people do not have a permanent self or a soul which is reborn into a new body. However, there is a connecting link between each life; it is our kamma, the consequences of our actions, which provides this continuity. A traditional way of explaining this Buddhist belief is to use the example of a new candle being lit from the flame of the old one just as it flickers and dies. The new flame is different, yet it has arisen in dependence on the old one.
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Buddhists believe that there are many states into which a person can be reborn, such as the realm of the gods, the realm of the hungry ghosts and the realm of animals. Some Buddhists think that these are literal states of being, whilst others see them as symbolising different states of mind. Being born as a human is particularly fortunate as human beings have the ability to improve themselves and to work towards achieving enlightenment. For Buddhists, the goal is to break free of this endless cycle of samsara and attain nirvana. The word nirvana means blown out. Nirvana is a state in which all the fires of desire, greed, hatred and ignorance have been blown out, leaving supreme wisdom, compassion, happiness and freedom from dukkha (suffering and everything that is unsatisfactory). Nirvana is not somewhere you go after death; it is something which can be achieved in this life. Once a person has attained nirvana, they no longer experience re-birth. Mahayana Buddhists believe that a person who has become an enlightened being (a Buddha) can choose to be reborn and stay in the world to help others achieve enlightenment too. Such a being is known as a Bodhisattva.
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Adultery Most Buddhists are likely to regard adultery as unskillful because of the Third Precept in which Buddhists undertake to abstain from sexual misconduct. Adultery usually involves dishonesty and promise-breaking which is dealt with in the Fourth Precept, in which a Buddhist undertakes to abstain from wrong speech and instead, to show honesty and sincerity to all beings. Most Buddhists would consider adultery to be unskillful conduct because the person who is being cheated on is not being shown metta or karuna and unfaithfulness is likely to cause harm to all concerned. The law of kamma states that our actions have consequences. The results of adultery are likely to be negative ones, causing hurt to others and deepening bad habits in the person who has been unfaithful; such consequences are not helpful in the search for enlightenment. According to the Buddha, Four things happen to the thoughtless man who takes another mans wife: he lowers himself, his pleasure is restless, he is blamed by others, he goes to hell. (Dhammapada)
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However, in Buddhism, marriage is a purely social contract with no particular religious significance. Marriage is not considered to be a sacrament or holy bond of any sort. For this reason, there is no set marriage ceremony in Buddhism.
The Sigalovada Sutta sets out a similar set of five traditional duties that parents have to their children: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. To keep them away from evil To encourage them to do good To provide them with a good education To make suitable marriage arrangements for them To give them their inheritance when they need it.
Note - not all Buddhists would recognise all of these duties as being relevant today. The unconditional love of a mother for her child is held in the highest regard in Buddhism and is used as an illustration of metta: Just as a mother would protect her only child even at the risk of her own life, even so, let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. (Metta Sutta)
Useful quotes: Towards my wife I undertake to love and respect her, be kind and considerate, be faithful, delegate domestic management, provide gifts to please her. (Sigalovada Sutta) To my husband, I undertake to perform my household duties efficiently, be hospitable to my inlaws and friends of my husband, be faithful, protect and invest our earnings, discharge my responsibilities lovingly and conscientiously. (Sigalovada Sutta) Whoever has illicit affairs with the wives of his relatives or friends, either by force or through mutual consent, he is to be known as an outcast. (Sigalovada Sutta)
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"I declare that one can never repay two people, namely mother and father. Even if one carries about one's mother on one shoulder and one's father on the other, and doing so would live a hundred years even then one could not repay them. Why so? The reason is that parents do much for their children; they give life to them, nourish and bring them up, and introduce them to the world." (Sigalovada Sutta) Buddhist attitudes to the importance of families:
The family is the place where children learn about the key principles of Buddhism and how to apply them to their lives. This helps children understand the difference between skilful and unskilful actions and recognise that all their actions have consequences which need to be considered. In Buddhism, the family is the place where children are introduced to the faith through daily meditation, puja, being taken to the vihara (monastery) or temple, celebrating festivals etc. This means that the family is very important for Buddhism to continue to grow. In many traditional Buddhist societies, the role of the householder is very important because it is the householders who support the monks and nuns with gifts of food and clothing. Some Buddhists do not see the family as particularly important; Theravadins in particular have traditionally viewed the celibate life of the monk or nun as the best way of achieving enlightenment, because a person can then be free from the attachment to family. However, Mahayanists believe that householders too may achieve enlightenment and, within Buddhism as a whole, more than 90% of Buddhists live as householders rather than as monks or nuns.
Some Buddhists are against divorce because: Buddhists view marriage as a contract between two people who have made a commitment to each other, so a marriage should, ideally, be for life. Buddhists should practise metta (loving kindness) and karuna (compassion) towards their husband or wife and so divorce should not be necessary. Divorce breaks up families and causes suffering. They are influenced by the culture and attitudes of the country in which they live.
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However, some Buddhists feel that men and women have different roles in life because: The Sigalovada Sutta sets out very different duties for husbands and wives. The role of the wife is to manage the home and the family and to be hospitable to her husbands family and friends.
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The Buddha was initially reluctant to allow women to become nuns, and some have interpreted this to suggest that women are less suited to the spiritual life. Buddhists are often influenced by the culture in which they live; in countries where men and women have more traditional roles, Buddhists living there may follow these traditional roles.
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The Second Precept states: I undertake to abstain from taking what is not freely given. It seems reasonable to assume that most animals would prefer not to die, so taking an animals life is likely to break this precept. Buddhists try to cultivate the positive qualities of metta (loving kindness) and karuna (compassion) towards all sentient beings, including animals. Choosing to ignore the suffering of animals deepens negative habits and qualities of mind. Buddhists try to practise ahimsa (non-violence) and this applies to animals as well as humans. The Buddha said: All living things fear being beaten with clubs. All living things fear being put to death. Putting oneself in the place of the other, Let no-one kill nor cause another to kill. (Dhammapada) According to the Jataka Tales, when the Buddha attained enlightenment, he was able to remember his many previous lives, both animal and human. In some of these lives, the Buddha sacrificed his own life for that of animals. Many Buddhists believe that we have all lived as animals before and it therefore makes little sense to look down on animals as lesser beings. However, some Buddhists feel that animals are not as important as human beings and therefore should not have the same rights as human beings. Reasons for this attitude might include the following: Some Buddhists believe that if a person is reborn as an animal, this is a result of that persons unskilful actions from a previous life. This suggests that animals are spiritually inferior to humans. Some Buddhists believe that because animals are unable to engage in conscious acts of selfimprovement, they will continue to be reborn as animals until their kammic debt is exhausted. Only when they are reborn as human beings can they resume the quest for nirvana. The life of an animal is therefore of less value than the life of a human being.
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Those Buddhists who eat meat are likely to agree with hunting if this is the only way to get food. However, Buddhists are unlikely to agree with hunting for sport as the deliberate killing of a sentient being for pleasure certainly seems to go against the First Precept, ahimsa, metta, karuna and the words of the Buddha. Experimenting on Animals Most Buddhists are against animal testing for the reasons already given. The Noble Eightfold Path also instructs Buddhists to engage in Right Livelihood. Many Buddhists would say that a job which involves treating animals cruelly and subjecting them to painful experiments goes against this teaching. The Dalai Lama said, According to Buddhism the life of all beings human, animal, or otherwise is precious, and all have the same right to happiness. For this reason I find it disgraceful that animals are used without being shown the slightest compassion, and that they are used for scientific experiments. I have also noticed that those who lack any compassion for animals and who do not hesitate to kill them are also those who sooner or later, show a lack of compassion toward human beings. (The Dalai Lama, Beyond Dogma: the challenge of the modern world) However, other Buddhists would approve of using animals in medical research if the benefits to human health would be great and if there were no alternative. These Buddhists might argue that the negative consequences generated by performing the experiments should be balanced against the reduction in suffering which such experiments could bring about for human beings. If experiments are to be carried out, all Buddhists would agree that the animals involved should be treated kindly and compassionately and should not be killed if possible.
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However, in practice, some Buddhist countries have gone to war and individual Buddhists have made the decision to fight in wars. They might have come to this decision because: They feel that the consequences of not fighting might be far worse. For example, if an enemy army invaded and was threatening the lives of thousands of people, a Buddhist may come to the conclusion that the negative consequences of fighting and killing enemy soldiers might be less damaging than allowing many more innocent people to be slaughtered. They may feel that they have a duty to protect their families and fellow countrymen from attack. They might use the principle of double effect to argue that the intention is not to kill enemy troops but to protect the innocent.
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the practice begins with the meditator cultivating loving kindness towards him or her self, then towards a loved one, then towards a neutral person (one for whom they have no particular feelings), then towards a difficult person (someone towards whom they have negative feelings or find it hard to get along with) and finally, towards all sentient beings. Again, this suggests that forgiveness and reconciliation are likely to be important to Buddhists.
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Other Buddhists regard some or all forms of medical treatment for infertility as unskilful because: The cause of dukkha is tanha (craving). The Buddha taught that the only way to overcome dukkha is to overcome tanha. For this reason, some Buddhists might say that an infertile couple should accept their situation and work on overcoming their craving for a child. Perhaps they could practise metta by adopting an unwanted child. Having children is not considered to be a religious duty for Buddhists. The money spent on treatments for infertility could be better spent on curing disease. Most Buddhists believe that a new consciousness arises at conception. Some Buddhists regard techniques which involve the destruction of extra embryos as unskilful because they go against the First Precept.
However, other Buddhists are opposed to some, or all, forms of genetic engineering. They may have this attitude because:
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Some forms of genetic engineering involve the destruction of embryos (PGD or stem cell technology, for example) and many Buddhists believe that a new human consciousness arises at conception. The destruction of embryos breaks the First Precept and goes against the teaching of ahimsa. Companies which attempt to patent information about our genetic makeup and use it for profit might be seen as breaking the Second Precept by taking that which is not freely given. Some Buddhists might feel that genetic disorders are simply another form of dukkha and that a Buddhist should accept this and focus instead on cultivating the qualities of mind necessary to make spiritual progress. Some Buddhists might feel that if a person is sick, it is as a result of their kamma (actions) from a previous lifetime. If they face their suffering with courage and dignity, they can hope to improve themselves and have a more favourable rebirth in the future.
However, other Buddhists regard using donor organs from the dead in transplant surgery as unskilful because: Some Buddhists believe that the consciousness of the deceased does not immediately leave the body when breathing and heartbeat cease and that it is important not to disturb the body by removing organs as this can have a negative effect on the departing consciousness and its rebirth. If the person has not clearly expressed their wishes by carrying a donor card, taking their organs could be regarded as breaking the second precept which deals with taking that which is not freely given. Some Buddhists feel that the time and money spent on transplant surgery for a small number of people would be better spent on simpler treatments which would benefit a larger number of people
Live donor transplants Most Buddhists consider live donor transplants as skilful as long as the person has freely consented (second precept) because this is an act of dana and metta. Buddhists are unlikely to consider the buying and selling of organs as skilful because this usually involves the exploitation of the poor and goes against the second precept.
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Acknowledgements
I am most grateful to the Farmington Institute for giving me this wonderful opportunity to enhance my own knowledge and understanding of Buddhism and to produce materials which will be of practical benefit in the classroom. The value of the gift of time to carry out my research and prepare teaching notes cannot be overestimated. My particular thanks are due to Ralph Waller for his charm, good humour and enthusiasm, to Suzanne Tetsell for her marvellous efficiency and support throughout the period of my Fellowship and to Maggie Faulkner who was my first contact with the Farmington Institute and whose friendly manner encouraged me to apply for a Fellowship. I should also like to thank the Head Mistress and her Deputies at Bolton School Girls Division for supporting my application and enabling me to take up my Fellowship, and my colleagues who have encouraged me throughout and who asked polite questions at my school-based presentation. My thanks also go to my Farmington tutor Peter Jackson for his support, and to my students for being guinea pigs, for their thoughtful feedback and for pointing out my typing mistakes! I am grateful to Munisha at the Manchester Buddhist Centre for her input and for gently pointing out and correcting some of my misunderstandings about Buddhist beliefs. Any errors or omissions which remain are mine alone! Finally, I would like to thank my husband for his ICT assistance and my son for putting up with his mummys tendency to get carried away with work when she should be playing train sets.
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Bibliography
Beck, Richard and Worden, David: Truth, Spirituality and Contemporary Issues (Heinemann, 2002) Clarke, Steve: A New Approach: Buddhism (Hodder Murray, 2005) Cole, Owen (Ed): Moral Issues in Six Religions (Heinemann, 1991) Craigen, Gavin and White, Joy: Believing and Experiencing (Hodder Murray, 2003) Erricker, Clive: Teach Yourself Buddhism (Hodder Headline, 2003) Hagen, Steve: Buddhism Plain and Simple (Penguin Books, 1997) Harvey, Peter: An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2000) Keown, Damien: Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2005) Morgan, Peggy and Lawton, Clive (Eds):Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions (Edinburgh University Press, 2007) Parry, Lesely: Key Beliefs, Ultimate Questions and Life Issues for AQA Specification B (Hodder Murray, 2006) Parry, Lesley: Faith Studies and Ethics for AQA (Hodder Murray, 2006) Rankin, John, Brown, Alan and Gateshill, Paul: Ethics and Religions (Longman, 1991) Sangharakshita (trans): Dhammapada: the Way of Truth (Windhorse Publications, 2001) Side, Dominique: Buddhism (Philip Allan Updates, 2005) Walker, Joe: Morality in the Modern World (Hodder Gibson, 2007) Watton, Victor and Stone, Robert: Religion and Life (Hodder Murray, 2005) Watton, Victor and Stone, Robert: Religion and Society (Hodder Murray, 2005)
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