The Sanctity of life
The justification of killing
Since life is so worthwhile the first precept in Buddhism prohibits the taking of life. Within this precept all killing for whatever reason is not allowed.10 But there is room for taking life for just cause. A story in the Jartika tales concerns the bodhisatta, the future Buddha, who kills a bandit in order to save 500 merchants.11 The exception also includes self-defense and suicide in some circumstances. Self-defense is acceptable only when all alternatives have been exhausted. The precept upholds the sanctity of life of all human beings regardless of the conditions of their lives. As a rule suicide is prohibited. Even when one is suffering from a painful and incurable disease, or when one's life is unsatisfactory, one should bear it quietly and patiently while simultaneously trying to rid oneself of the pain and suffering in all possible ways. Yet in some cases, according to Buddhist scriptures, taking one's own life is allowed for noble ends. The giving of one's own life to save the lives of others, as a bodhisatta gave himself to a hungry lioness to save her from eating her own cubs, is one example of this exception. Another is suicide to escape from an incurable illness that is an obstacle to the attainment of nibbana.12