Buddhist Attitude towards Human Bodies from Moral and Ethical Perspectives

Abstract

Unlike most of the world religions, the human body is not considered either as something sacred or something polluting and disgusting, but only as an instrument for some higher purposes such as achieving awakening in Buddhism. However, this does not mean that Buddhists harm their bodies or support suicide. On the contrary, Buddhists also protect their bodies and keep it in good condition because without which one will not be able to attain the higher goal in life. According to the Buddhist philosophy, the human physical body is made up of four great elements: solidity, fluidity, heat and motion. Once when a person dies, the human body dissolves in to its elements again: solidity returns to the earth, fluidity to water, heat to fire and motion to wind. So the dead body is considered just like any other thing without consciousness. Thus, Buddhism support organ donation and it is considered as a bodhisattva act of compassion. However, the dead should be treated with great honour and respect when operation takes place for organ donation.