The concept of rights and Suicide in the Buddhist Perspective

Abstract

     The concept of Rights is a western idea but when analyzed in the light of Buddhist doctrines, the rights that can be accepted by Buddhism are the rights in the conventional truth, not in the ultimate one. They are the limited rights and not the rights that enable people to call for their benefits. According to Buddhism, therefore, human rights do not give rise to the rights to do anything to our body or life including the right to die. Suicide is always immoral. There are no rights by virtue of which we can morally commit suicide. Moreover, suicide for the sake of avoidance of suffering is also prohibited because, apart from the failure of such avoidance, it turns into another bad deed.