Suicide from a Buddhist Perspective

Abstract

This academic article aims to study suicide from a Buddhist perspective. The results of the study found that suicide is a social phenomenon. In terms of psychology, it is considered to be a result of the death instinct and a person’s guilt towards others. The concept of preventing and solving suicide is based on the principle of living and the value of human resources. Buddhism considers killing others or killing oneself to be a sin. The Tripitaka mentions the suicide of monks, such as Phra Channa, Phra Kothika, and Phra Vakkali. Most of the causes are due to the desire to escape suffering from physical illness and escape from suffering in the cycle of rebirth. However, according to the principles of Buddhism, suicide is considered a behavior that contradicts the basic principles of Buddhism because Buddhism believes that humans have the potential to learn and develop themselves in order to solve problems in the right way.