불교와 의학윤리

As the religion of teaching people of nirvāna of Buddha, the first objective of Buddhism is to make people realize wisdom, sambodhi on the right doctrine, tathatā; from philosophical point of view, the truth is realizing the cosmic truth, true vitality of self and the correct view of life; and from moralistic view point, it is changing all people to abandon evil mind and to possess good mind; and from living point of view, it is to make all people to have permanent happiness by leaving all the pain behind.

One needs to find eight correct ways in order to reach the primary and fundamental Four Doctrines of kyamuni who said to approximate in medical diagnosis; suffering, its cause, its ending, and the way thereto.

The best statute to find these ways is six pāramitās, and those who can well carry on these six pāramitās are thus Bodhisattvas.

The eight ways are correct view in regard to the Four Axioms, correct thought and purpose, correct speech, correct deed, correct livelihood or occupation, correct zeal, correct remembrance, and correct meditation.

The six pāramitās are carrying on good deeds based on four mind sets: the mind of love, pity, joy, and abandonment. Among the six pāramitās, the first is giving including the bestowing of the truth on others. The next are keeping the commandments, patience under insult, zeal and progress, meditation or contemplation, and wisdom or the power to discern reality or truth.

What if those medical professionals can be acquainted with these ascetic exercise methods? Especially, when a doctor is faced with a certain dilemma or when a certain temptation comes in the way, he/she can be helped in making decisions by thinking with these ascetic exercise ways and methods.

The fact that all human diseases have a definite cause, agrees with a belief of Buddhism, the hetu-pratyana theory; hetu means a primary cause, and pratyana, a secondary cause. Accordingly, modem medicine is the art and science of clarifying a cause to eliminate the cause to bring a patient comfort. A doctor is someone who plays the role of establishing the cause of a disease and treating the disease.

Thus, when one follows the Buddhist ascetic exercise method, it is believed that any problems can be solved more easily to bring comfort. Then, the content of the ascetic exercise is thus become the ethic of Buddhist medical care. In conclusion, it can be known that medical activity is the road to Bodhisattva.