I have been reflecting on euthanasia a lot recently, primarily due to the decision made by a close friend in Canada who, suffering from dementia, chose to end his life rather than endure further pain.
Very interesting article! As someone who's been recently discovering Buddhism from a secular perspective, I found this insight into such a delicate topic compelling.
While reading the article, several thoughts came to mind. It’s indeed impossible to provide an all-purpose answer to such a complex issue.
In the case of active euthanasia, it seems to me that a distinction can be made between deciding to die because one desires death and deciding to die because, after careful introspection, one is no longer clinging to life. Of course, the human psyche is more nuanced than this, but I feel that departing from this world serenely when one is ready to leave would be a hard yet emotional moment, which can even turn poetic in some cases.
As for passive euthanasia, I think there are cases where what is left of the patient is just an empty simulacrum of their former self. Looking at the principle of Anatta, I’d argue that most of those aggregates that constituted the perceived “self” of that person are already gone. In some way we might say part of them, the concious one, is already dead. In such situations, maybe the family should evaluate whether their decision is driven more by their readiness to let a loved one go and come to terms with their death, rather than the desire to preserve a life.
Very interesting article! As someone who's been recently discovering Buddhism from a secular perspective, I found this insight into such a delicate topic compelling.
While reading the article, several thoughts came to mind. It’s indeed impossible to provide an all-purpose answer to such a complex issue.
In the case of active euthanasia, it seems to me that a distinction can be made between deciding to die because one desires death and deciding to die because, after careful introspection, one is no longer clinging to life. Of course, the human psyche is more nuanced than this, but I feel that departing from this world serenely when one is ready to leave would be a hard yet emotional moment, which can even turn poetic in some cases.
As for passive euthanasia, I think there are cases where what is left of the patient is just an empty simulacrum of their former self. Looking at the principle of Anatta, I’d argue that most of those aggregates that constituted the perceived “self” of that person are already gone. In some way we might say part of them, the concious one, is already dead. In such situations, maybe the family should evaluate whether their decision is driven more by their readiness to let a loved one go and come to terms with their death, rather than the desire to preserve a life.
Keep up the good work and have a nice day! :)