Buddhism

Abstract

The goal of being a Buddhist is to release oneself from the bondage of samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Buddhist does this by cultivating and perfecting wisdom and compassion. Wisdom is the knowledge that all things are interdependent, and compassion is that willingness to relieve sentient beings of their sufferings. These two principles inform the Buddhist attitude in bioethical matters. Furthermore, Buddhism sees that the main factor in evaluating the ethical value of an action is motivation or intention. The same type of action may be judged negatively or positively depending on the quality of motivation behind it. If an act is performed out of wisdom and compassion, then it is “wholesome," meaning that it is a good act, since it contributes to realizing the final goal. The article discusses this general principle in some specific issues, namely, beginning of life, end of life, and human vulnerability.