20 April 2009

To abort or not?

Today’s CE lesson was on the topic of abortion and I was to present this controversial issue to my students. The objective is to encourage them to think deeper into controversial societal issues. In some countries, the abortion issue remains one of the broader and more controversial societal issues. A broad spectrum of positions exists on this issue, from those who advocate abortion-on-demand at any point during a pregnancy on the one end (100% pro-choice), to those who oppose every form of abortion on the other (100% pro-life). Between these two there is a considerable range of positions.

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy early before the fetus can survive outside the womb. If it occurs spontaneously or naturally, it’s commonly referred to as a “miscarriage”. This is usually because the fetus has passed away in the womb. Under these circumstances, the pregnancy may be expelled from the womb naturally or may require surgery. Abortion can also be induced. The fetus together with the placenta is expelled from the womb before it is developed enough to survive and will result in its death.

An abortion is usually done through a day surgical procedure if the pregnancy is less than 12 weeks. Under anesthesia, a plastic hollow tube is inserted into the womb and suction is applied to empty the womb. The procedure is significantly more complicated beyond the 12th week.

Some of the risks of abortion include bleeding which may require hospitalization and blood transfusion. There may also be damage to cervix which may result in early delivery or pregnancy loss in subsequent pregnancies. Infection which can cause fever and pain may also result impairing future fertility.

Some of the basic local Singapore Laws are as listed:

  • The abortion must be performed by a gynecologist in a certified approved institution
  • Your pregnancy must be less than 24 weeks
  • You must undergo pre-abortion counseling at the approved institution where the abortion is to be carried out if you are above 16 years old or the Health Promotion Board Counseling Centre if you are below 16 years old (A Certificate of Attendance will then be issued to you. This must be shown to your gynecologist before you can be go for the abortion)
  • You can only undergo abortion 48 hours after the counseling
  • You must undergo post-abortion counseling which includes family planning education
  • The debate

Pro-life group often argued that abortion should not be allowed as the fetus is considered a life. Hence, abortion is equated to murder. They generally believe that human life should be valued either from conception or from fertilization. To advocate abortion is to be morally bankrupt.

Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. Some people who are pro-choice see abortion as a last resort and focus on a number of situations where they feel abortion is a necessary option. Among these situations are those where the woman was raped, her health or life (or that of the fetus) is at risk, contraception was used but failed, or she feels unable to raise a child.

Both viewpoints, to a certain extent, are reasonable in their own rights. The debate occurs however, when pro-life individuals accuse the pro-choice as being “pro-abortion” or “pro-death” while the pro-choice individuals accuse the pro-life as being “anti-freedom” or “anti-reason”. This is an example of political framing which is a technique of debate where you attempt to paint the opposition in an unfavorable light.

From the standpoint of the pro-life, there is nothing wrong in valuing life. In fact, life is the most valuable possession any human can have. However, we have to understand that life is not a discrete quantity. Life derives meaning only in the context of values. I believe in the infinite potential of good in all men. However, if one does not manifest this potential for the betterment of society, we cannot claim this life is more valuable than others.

Many had asked why as a declared, devoted Buddhists, I eat meat. And I loved meat. It is however, a misconception that meat is not allowed in Buddhism. The vegetarian diet is recommended in many Buddhists schools mainly because plants are regarded as life with less value than animals. But they are life regardless. It is not for the sake of not taking life that some Buddhists do not eat meat. It is simply to minimize the debt of gratitude one owns to the life of the animals that died for the purpose of sustaining our lives. If we eat meat, we simply have to develop a greater appreciation for that lives of the animals that died for us. The taking of another life to sustain one’s own cannot be avoided. What is more important is to kill the will to kill.

Returning to the topic of abortion, I would reckon that in certain circumstances, the value of the woman have to outweigh that of the fetus and abortion can be a reasonable consideration. No one in their right mind would willingly kill a baby. But in situations where calculated, responsible decision based on factors such as the health of mother or the unborn fetus, the consequence of rape, the ability of the family to raise the baby, etc, I believe abortion can be accepted.

The questions that I highlighted for the students to reflect on is where they truly stand in light of the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” debate, and of course one of the main contention of the debate – When life begins?

  • From fertilization?
  • From the stabilization of the fetus (approximately 2 months)?
  • After the actual birth?
  • Other?

My views on the nature of life can be found in this earlier post.

I chose others. For I believe life is eternal and we are ultimately all part of the same cosmic whole. Fetus, our lives, plants, animals, etc. We are just different manifestation of this cosmic life. We can only hope to create value within our capacity in order to enjoy the process of life. In the event that we hurt another life (like eating!), we can only strive to repay our debts of gratitude by contributing to the betterment of our community, our society, and our cosmic life.

11 April 2009

Activating the Infinite Potential Inherent in Our Lives

The starting point of this short study is to recognize that the purpose of life is to become happy. If the objective of life is not to become happy, then it becomes worthless to discuss Buddhism. For a true religion must serves to make the happiness of humanity a priority. That is the original purpose of religion. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for religion to become corrupted and degrade into a moneymaking enterprise or a propaganda device for hate and discrimination. This is why study is important. Correct study is to be informed and to empower individuals with the ability to discern right from wrong.

With regard to the topic of happiness, there are two kinds as explained by Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president. They are “relative happiness” and “absolute happiness”.

Relative happiness is the result of fulfilling our desires. Hence, it is dependent on whether on the conditions which surround our desires. Moreover, “relative” indicates “comparison”. Relative happiness is felt when one feels better off or advantageous in comparison to others. Therefore, we can also say that “earthly desires” denotes a yearning to be better off than others. That means that desires such as “wealth”, “status” and “attractiveness” only has meaning when compared to others.

Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is a state of life which people continue to experience joy in living wherever they may be or whatever they may be doing regardless of their prevailing circumstances. It is a difficult endeavor to cultivate such a life-state, but a necessary one if we ever hope to derive true joy from our existence. To achieve absolute happiness requires ceaseless efforts to develop oneself in the acquirement of wisdom, good fortune and strong life-force. This is the purpose of attaining Buddhahood.

To attain Buddhahood can then be equate to the ceaseless efforts to acquire wisdom, good fortune and strong life-force in order to overcome all life’s sufferings. Practicing Buddhism will then mean that we shift the focus of our lives towards the achievement of absolute happiness instead of relative happiness.

A little more is required to explain on the idea of what a Buddha is. Traditionally, when we hear the name “Buddha”, we automatically associate it with Shakyamuni, the founder of the original Buddhist Order. But we have to understand that Shakyamuni is the first historically recorded Buddha. And his mission is to teach others that they too, can become a Buddha just like him. But over the years, with emphasis on how great the life-state of a Buddha is, Shakyamuni eventually got deified by many Buddhists schools and treated as if he were a God of some kind. This is incorrect.

Buddhism expounds that every individual is equally endowed with a great innate potential within our lives and that this potential is none other than Buddhahood. Hence, Buddhism is a teaching that strives to remind everyone that we should not feel that we are inherently weak or dependent, but to be awakened to the fact that we can all become individuals of strength and spiritual autonomy.

There continues to be many schools of Buddhism which mistakenly regard Shakyamuni as a form of Supreme Being or a deity, and it is with great gratitude that I am able to study Buddhism under the Soka Gakkai International, an organization currently demonstrating actual proof of the original spirit of Buddhism.

The next important point to note is that although there are some other Buddhists schools that recognized the fact that we can all become Buddhas, many held the beliefs that it requires counts lifetimes of assiduous Buddhist study and practice to attain this enlightenment. But this is also incorrect. In the Lotus Sutra, it is revealed implicitly that we are all capable of becoming Bodhisattvas of the Earth. This type of Bodhisattvas are Buddhas in nature but took the appearance of a Bodhisattvas in order to lead others to enlightenment.

Nichiren Daishonin was the person who first recognizes that fact based on his studies into the Lotus Sutra and strives to explain it to others. He then taught that in order for us to manifest our capacity as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, we had to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo which is the name of the Buddha nature within us.

To be continued…

DISCLAIMER: This study is the product of my personal study of Buddhism. I do not claim to be perfect in my understanding but I just try my best to share what I learnt. I can’t help it if, in the event of you reading this, that there are points you disagree with but I welcome to contact me in person and speak with me so that we may learn from our exchanges. Anyone with any enquires are also welcome to contact me.

Buddhism is best studied and learnt through direct human-to-human, heart-to-heart dialogue!!

04 April 2009

Greed can be Good

I have been urged to blog again, this time by CX when I was performing SYC duty today. I had not been blogging much over the past few months. Mainly because the increased pace of life is getting to me. I am constantly feeling that I am being rushed from one point to another ceaselessly. Writing slowly took a back seat. I never lost the passion for writing though. But it is an activity that requires time which is somewhat a luxury nowadays. I try not to write meaningless things if I could help it. But meaningful post requires even more time to think out than mundane ones.

I should try though. Here’s a short one from my sharing at last month’s discussion meeting:

We know that all man-inflicted sufferings begin with the three poisons. The first poison is Greed. There isn’t a single mortal who is without greed. We can be greedy for many things, from money to fame, from glory to status, from attention to lust. And when we realized that the pursuit of these desires are not bringing us fulfillment, we naturally become angry. Anger is the second poison. Anger is the state of arrogance, where we blame everything and everyone else when things do not go in the way we want. But the arrogance prevents us from realizing that the problem and the solution is within ourselves. That lack of rationality is foolish. The third poison is Foolishness which is the inability to differentiate right from wrong. And blindly pursuing the wrong ideals brings us to the pursuit in the wrong desires. That will result in more Greed and the cycle continues.

Many religious teachings explained that we have to eradicate these poisons from our lives. If we can succeed, then our problems will vanish. But there is a problem. Without desires, then we will not even have life. This is impractical.

Nichiren Buddhism offered a simple practical solution though. The key to the teachings of Nichiren is that while the poisons are strong and debilitating, it is always possible to turn the poisons into medicines. That he meant is that it is not possible to totally eradicate poisons from our lives, but there is a way where we can use these Greed, Anger and Foolish in a positive way.

For example, if we have to be greedy, then let’s be greedy for good fortune and for enlightenment. If we have to be angry, then let’s be angry with injustice and corruption. And if we have to be foolish, then let us be foolishly gracious. That said, the key to actualizing these transformation from poison to medicine is not as straightforward as a shift in mindset. It is a painstaking effort to devote our lives for kosen-rufu. To constantly exerting every ounce of our energies into encouraging another human being to recognize the wisdom, courage and compassion we all possess and some realized as Buddha nature.