Is Choosing Euthanasia Suicide Guilty?

Each individual's life belongs solely to the person themselves. While a person has the right to make decisions regarding their life, choosing to end it constitutes an irresponsible act. Firstly, because a single life is intertwined with numerous causes and effects, exerting significant influence on other lives and inevitably altering the fates of those connected, such as parents, children, and other family members. Secondly, life holds profound meaning and offers many opportunities to change one's destiny. Abandoning life means forfeiting these chances to alter fate and to resolve karmic retribution. When karmic retribution arrives, enduring it causes it to cease; avoiding it in this life does not mean it vanishes. It must be endured in a future life. It is preferable to exhaust karmic retribution within one lifetime. Consequently, those who persuade others to undergo euthanasia or assist in it bear corresponding negative karmic responsibility. Persuading someone to die or helping them die constitutes an unpardonable sin.

However, some acts of suicide may be a form of karmic retribution. Perhaps the suicide signifies the end of the individual's karmic retribution for this life, their lifespan exhausted, compelled by karmic causes from past lives to take their own life. Yet, even if the lifespan is exhausted, only the individual themselves should decide on death. Persuading or assisting death remains unacceptable; doing so constitutes an unpardonable sin, leading to negative retribution in future lives. Once, there was an emperor lacking in blessings. During his reign, incessant wars plunged the people into misery. Ultimately, this emperor, finding no alternative, committed suicide. He did not wish to die, but having exhausted his blessings, he was compelled to. Some suicides are driven by circumstances, which is also karmic retribution, an inevitable repayment for sins committed in past lives.

Requesting someone to kill oneself constitutes suicide, not homicide. When opposing armies clash, captured prisoners, to avoid torture and betraying information, may seek death at the hands of their comrades. These are acts of desperation, not selfishness. The person fulfilling such a request acts out of necessity, to grant the other's wish, lacking personal murderous intent and without persuading death. Therefore, they bear no guilt of murder. However, it still involves karmic consequences, which must be judged based on specific circumstances; there might be minor negative results, or possibly even positive ones.

Does euthanasia, intended to relieve a patient's suffering and aligned with the patient's own wishes, fall into the aforementioned category? Assisting in euthanasia differs from helping an imprisoned person commit suicide to avoid punishment. The latter is an unavoidable act of desperation, not a proactive choice, whereas the former could be avoided. Choosing not to avoid it equates to assisting death, incurring negative retribution. The two situations differ in motivation and purpose, leading to different karmic results.

Why do some people seek euthanasia? Because they cannot die naturally. No matter how severe their illness, they cannot pass away naturally and must request others to take measures to end their life. Since natural death is impossible, it means the karmic retribution destined for this life is not yet exhausted. Since it is not exhausted, one should continue to endure it until it is fully resolved. If karmic retribution is not exhausted upon death, it will persist into future lives, often being endured within the three evil paths, where suffering far exceeds that experienced in the human realm. Therefore, no matter what setbacks, tribulations, or illnesses one encounters in human life, no matter how severe the pain, one must endure and overcome it tenaciously. Do not choose death. Karmic retribution cannot be escaped. Endure until the karmic conditions of this life are exhausted, until the retribution of this life is complete.

How can karmic retribution be exhausted quickly? The method is to endure more; the heavier the suffering endured, the faster it is resolved. This is a crude method, but sometimes necessary. A faster method is to sincerely repent for karmic obstacles daily, repenting for the misdeeds committed in the past. After repentance, firstly, the mind becomes purified, and some karmic obstacles dissolve. Secondly, karmic creditors may forgive some faults and grant leniency.