NEW214Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Dementia, Karma In Buddhism, Lethal Injection
Document Summary
Reflection on the nature of suicide- to do with monk- set himself on the fire while sitting on the posture of meditation. Fr gov"t roman catholics, want to persecute the buddhist. Known to the world, no internet at the time. Many buddhist killed bc of their religious practice. One of the monks- tae kwon dao- worldwide attentions by committing suicide. Committing suicide in a shocking way- the way that it shocked the world- violent. What was very shocking: monk on the fire remained in the peaceful posture. Insisted sitting on a posture without fighting struggle to demonstrate the world of the mssg that he wanted to share w others. Non-violent mssg to the world- buddhist in vietnam under persecution. Situation in vietnam changed in persecution of buddhist. Question remains- whether such form of suicide is allowed in practice in buddhist. Very first precept: not to kill/ not to harm life. Not just about killing others or taking other lives.
