Religion + Suicide

[drwhofan]

A couple of months ago I read about a religion where suicide is considered acceptable provided it is committed through devotion, however I can't remember what the religion was, so does anyone know? I've lost the book I found it in!

[Lonnie]

Sorry I can't help with your query, but my view on suicide, is that if your a believer, then the gift of life is the greatest gift you can recieve, so taking your own life has to be the worst sin of all.

[jake-the-peg]

Lonnies concept of the value of life and sin are rather abramaic (Judeastic/Christrian/Islamic) in religions that believe in re-incarnation that view doesn't always make much sense as I'm sure you'll realise

I don't know if this is what you were thinking of but in Japan there are a number of mummies:

http://www.jref.com/culture/japanese_buddhist_ mummies.shtml

These are mummified Budhist monks who fasted to extreme levels ate only certain plants ( a lot of pine needles as I recall) and put their bodies through extreme physical exercise.

Finally they went off to a cave and drank a lot of water from the arsnic rich stream there, if they were sucessfull they died in the snow there and became mummies - if not they rotted.

I think the practice was banned by the Japanese Government years ago though.

[Lonnie]

Your right jake, you've got me off to a T, I appreciate there are millions of different reasons why someone would want to take their own life, but I suppose my views are a reflection of my upbringing.

[Llamatron]

Someone whose life is so wretched or painful or empty they feel that all they have to look forward to is the sweet oblivion of death.
And then what happens? They're condemned to an eternity of pain and suffering in hell. Truly the icing on the cake.

'Int God brilliant.

[dawkins]

well, the bible does not specifically condemn suicide and we do see some muslim extremists prepared to become suicide bombers. Samson committed suicide as did Judas and the authors did not condemn or praise them.

As jake said, in Buddhism and hinduism advanced spiritual practitioners may fast to death. In Hinduism there was a practice where the wife would burn herself to death in a funeral pyre if her husband died before her.

In Buddhism Samurai warriors would commit 'seppuku' rather than face dishonour and later kamikaze pilots deliberately killed themselves. You may also remember the picture of the burning monk in vietnam.

As usual with human endeavours all religions have their examples.