Author: Ruth Wood
Capital Punishment
Buddhist arguments against the death penalty:
When one thinks of Buddhism, they do not think of a religion in support of violent measures. Buddhism is founded on principles of peacefulness and the reduction of harm and suffering. One could therefore conclude that capital punishment would not be acceptable to Buddhists, as it forms a violent infrastructure of society.
Buddhists place great emphasis on non-violence and compassion for all life. The First Moral Precept requires individuals to abstain from injuring or killing any living creature, clearly making the death penalty impossible to enact. One could also argue that Buddhism presents a way of life and a pathway for a personal journey of spiritual and moral growth, and that it would be wrong to cut this off by murdering an offender. In so doing, an offender is prevented the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and grow to understand why their capital crime was wrong. Buddhism would always advocate for people to have the opportunity to grow in panna (wisdom), the death penalty prevents this by cutting life off in its current form.
It is also important to note that the human form is seen as the highest level of rebirth, as most Buddhists regard this as the only form in which one can gain enlightenment. This means that the destruction of human life deprives a person of the opportunity to progress on the path to nirvana, which would be unacceptable to Buddhists. Even if a criminal is a murderer, the form they currently take is fundamentally precious, and whilst in this form a person should be given the opportunity to reform rather than having their life cut short for their crimes.
The
Buddha did not explicitly speak about capital punishment, but his teachings
show no sympathy for physical punishment, no matter how bad the crime. An action, even if it brings benefit to
oneself, cannot be considered a good action if it causes physical and mental
pain to another being. And If a
person foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my
boundless love. The more evil that comes from him, the more good will go from
me. (
The Angulimala Sutta from the Sutta Pitaka also shows us how the Buddha responded to a fearsome murdered who terrorised local villages in India, even wearing a necklace of human finger bones, who aimed to kill 1,000 people:
Angulimala had not slept for days and was close to exhaustion. At the same time, he was very anxious to kill the thousandth person and complete his task. He made up his mind to kill the first person he met. Perched high on a mountain, hidden by trees, he saw a woman on the path below. He descended but then he saw it was his mother.
At that moment, the Buddha appeared on the path. Angulimala decided to kill him instead.
He charged after the Buddha with knife raised, but the Buddha kept moving ahead out of his reach. Angulimala could not catch up, no matter how much he tried.
Finally he shouted, “Stop! Stop!”
The Buddha replied, “I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped.”
Angulimala didn’t understand. He asked, “Why do you say that you have stopped while I have not?”
The Buddha replied, “I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings. I have given up ill-treating or harming all living beings. I have cultivated love and patience through meditation. But you—you have not given up killing or ill-treating others, and you have not cultivated love and patience. Therefore, you are the one who has not stopped.”
These words penetrated the fog of Angulimala’s mind and calmed his rage. He thought, “This man is wise and brave. He must be the Buddha himself. He must have come here just to help me!”
Angulimala threw away his weapons and asked the Buddha to teach him meditation and wisdom. The Buddha agreed.
When the king and his men came for Angulimala, they found him in the Buddha’s forest meditation retreat. Since the outlaw had given up his evil ways, the king agreed to leave him alone. Angulimala sincerely and seriously practiced meditation and the training of moral conduct.
Still, he had no peace of mind. He kept remembering what he had done in the past. He recalled the pathetic cries of his victims.
Whenever he went out in public, people recognized him and attacked him, leaving him bleeding and bruised. He felt guilty and thought that he was too horrible a person to ever be happy and peaceful, no matter how hard he tried.
The Buddha reminded him, “My son, you have stopped doing evil but are still suffering the consequences of your past actions. Have patience. Everyone can change for the better, no matter what they have done. No one is too bad to change, and you have changed. It doesn’t matter whether people realize it or not. Keep practicing your meditation patiently.”
One morning while he was in the streets near the meditation retreat, Angulimala heard someone crying in pain. It was a woman suffering the agonies of childbirth.
He stopped and thought to himself, “All human beings suffer.” He began to have deep compassion for the woman and all the people he had harmed, as well as for himself and all living beings.
The feelings of compassion and kindness calmed his mind and helped him develop better concentration and patience. In turn, the concentration and patience helped him develop still more love and compassion for all living beings. Now he devoted himself to helping others as much as he could.
Angulimala lived peacefully after that. When people heard about the change in him, they asked the Buddha, “Can it be true? Can a man who has killed so many people ever really learn to concentrate and calm his mind? Can he really have a peaceful and balanced mind? Is it possible for him to live a good life after all he has done?”
The Buddha answered, “Yes. He harmed so many people because his mind was overwhelmed with hurt and anger. He had been badly harmed himself. Later, he listened to good advice, he meditated, and his mind became strong and healthy.”
No matter what someone may have done in the past, developing concentration can help. It is a powerful tool for gaining real peace of mind, and cultivating kindness and compassion for others.
The Buddha spoke to, reasoned with, and converted Angulimala, transforming him from a violent felon into a man who eventually overcame hurt and anger and grew in wisdom - his mind eventually becoming strong and healthy.
This suggests that the Buddha himself prescribed love and forgiveness over the death penalty, suggesting Buddhist support for the punishment aim of reformation and rehabilitation over retribution. If Angulimala had been killed, he would not have overcome the influence of the three fires of hatred, greed and delusion and his violence and rage would have carried over into future lifetimes.
Buddhism
believes fundamentally in the cycle of birth and re-birth (Samsara) and teaches
that if capital punishment is administered it will have compromising effects on
the souls of both offender and the punisher in future incarnations. This means that both the victim of the death penalty and the executioner will experience karmic consequences in Samsara.
As
far as punishment in this world is concerned, Buddhism has strong views:
·
inhumane treatment of an offender does not solve
their misdeeds or those of humanity in general - the best approach to an
offender is reformatory rather than punitive
·
punishment should only be to the extent to which
the offender needs to make amends, and his rehabilitation into society should
be of paramount importance
·
punishing an offender with excessive cruelty will
injure not just the offender's mind, but also the mind of the person doing the
punishing
·
it is impossible to administer severe punishment with
composure and compassion
·
if the crime is particularly serious, the person
may be banished from the community or country
Buddhist Arguments in favour of Capital Punishment
Whilst not the state religion, with the monarch of Thailand being a practicing Buddhist, the example of Thailand is one that suggests that Buddhism and capital punishment can be reconciled. Thailand has strict laws on deterrence and retribution, with the death penalty being in place for murder, violent offences and drug offences.
The Death Penalty may exist in countries that are typically seen as "Buddhist" because:
·
belief by politicians that capital punishment is
necessary for retribution, cultural customs, or for deterrence value
·
a long tradition of capital punishment in a
particular country
·
keeping order in society is seen as more important
than Buddha's teaching
·
reaction to long periods of political unrest or
economic instability
This suggests that it is possible for a country's infrastructure and systems of justice to include capital punishment despite that country having clear ties to Buddhist beliefs.
Create a concluding paragraph explaining your view on whether or not Buddhism and the death penalty are compatible.
No comments:
Post a Comment