Buddhism and Concept of Right to Die

บทคัดย่อ

This article aims to study the concept of the right to die in Buddhism context. It is found that Buddhism has a concept of the right to die, because in Buddhism human beings are considered the owner of their lives. They also love themselves and are responsible for their own actions. However, this type of right does not include all kinds of suicide and euthanasia. Assisted suicide and active euthanasia are the types of action that are not permitted because they infringe on others’ right. Only self-committed suicide and voluntary passive euthanasia are regarded as the right of all human beings. The concept of the right to die in Buddhist theory is similar to that of Liberalism. Nonetheless, the concept of the right to die in Buddhism only affi rms doer’s autonomy. It is not related to the topic of good or bad death in Buddhism.