This is because the practice has been viewed as acceptable in some parts of society considering that it can essentially be accounted for as murder. Buddhist teachings that address this are understood as the Four Noble Truths, the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path. Abortion deals with the Four Noble Truths since the suffering of the mother would be ended if there would have been physical and mental harm to the mother if her pregnancy would proceed. In some cases, it would have ended the suffering of the unborn child assuming if the child were to be born with severe defects or disadvantages. Although this is one case of Buddhist teachings, the First of the Five Precepts states that the intention of murder must not be present. Due to the conflicting Buddhist beliefs of the Four Noble Truths and the Five Precepts on the issue of murder, the Dalai Lama has also addressed abortion, providing clarity of the Buddhist viewpoint on this bioethical issue. This was shown evident through his speeches addressing this issue as he publicly stated, “Abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances.” (New York Times, 28/11/1993). The Dalai Lama’s utilitarian viewpoint is justified by the Eightfold Path as right understanding and mindfulness seeks to conclude if abortion is the only solution by …show more content…
Through the Eightfold Path, an individual is able to develop greater wisdom, morality and concentration. This is because greater wisdom is attained through right understanding and aspiration, since an individual would be able to learn to understand the manner of operation of the nature of reality and act from generosity and beliefs of peace between others. Greater morality targets right speech, action and livelihood. This is because an adherent would only act to speak in a truthful or non-harmful way, also act in a non-harmful way which branches towards managing a life that would not inflict any intentionally wrong damage upon oneself or society. Greater concentration is developed by focusing on Samadhi, or intense meditation, within puja as well as relying dependent on focusing an adherent’s energy towards positive actions and acknowledging their surroundings. To enhance an individual’s experience with meditation, incense is used so that primarily the incense is sensed and distractions are reduced. The acts of greater concentration denote right concentration, effort and mindfulness. “Nirvana can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort.” (Buddhagosa, 5th Century India) This statement made describes that the process of achieving Nirvana also follows