Should the Elderly Get to Choose When to Die?
New York Times headline asks a question we should all address
This post and associated video discuss suicide in sometimes blunt language. Nothing here is intended to encourage anyone to take any life, including their own. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Go here for resources outside the United States.1
Carmen Gil del Pino, an 86-year-old former nun in Spain, was determined to end her life even though she didn’t have an incurable fatal illness or disability. She felt she had “lived long enough.” Guillermo Florez, a Spanish documentary filmmaker, followed and recorded the determined, feisty, and gruff del Pino during her final months. He later told The New York Times:
I eventually came to the realization that I was making this film because I’m afraid of death, and she was not.
Florez’s film—Lord, Take Me Soon—is an hour and ten minutes long. I have sent Florez a message asking how it can be viewed and will share that information when I receive it. In the meantime, the Times asked Florez to edit it down as one of its “op-docs” (opinion videos). Here’s a link to the video that will get you past the Times paywall. In Spanish with English captioning, it’s 17 minutes long and left me wanting much more. Perhaps, after viewing it, you’ll join me in silently telling del Pino:
Te adoro (I adore you).
The first precept of Buddhism is to refrain from taking life. To explore the taking of one’s own life involves a deep dive into the dharma.
Because there are about as many or more fake Buddha quotes as there are fake Lincoln and Einstein quotes, you’ll seldom see me post a meme like the one below. Two websites I trust are realbuddhaquotes.com and fakebuddhaquotes.com, both maintained by Buddhist teacher and author Bodhipaksa. Even so, there’s some dispute about the word “only” in the quotation. “Indeed” might be a better choice, but I’m no scholar of the Pali language.
The statement appears in the Alagaddupama Sutta, where the Buddha addresses a misunderstanding about his teachings. He clearly states that he doesn’t endorse sensual pleasures or engage in metaphysical speculation. His emphasis is on ending suffering.
With that in mind, as a man just eight years younger than del Pino was when she decided it was time to check out, I’ve given much thought to what may lie ahead for me. Unlike her, I do very much enjoy my life as it is. Like her, I have decided to end my life if I can do so before it becomes one of suffering and a burden to others. Here’s a point I made in a previous From the Pure Land post:
Not taking life is the first Buddhist precept, and suicide is the taking of life, but precepts and karma are nuanced. If one’s actions and true motivation are to reduce suffering, the positive karma may outweigh the negative.
In that previous post, which began with an account of the 1963 self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, I gave examples of suicides that might have reduced overall suffering, and I amplified on my situation. If you’d like to read it, click on the arrow below.
And, to repeat: Nothing here is intended to encourage anyone to take any life, including their own. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Go here for resources outside the United States.
DharmaStack is a list of Buddhism-inspired blogs on Substack diligently compiled and updated monthly by Maia Duerr. From the Pure Land was added this month. The total now stands at 56. Have fun browsing.
You also might check out Maia’a blog, The Practice of Life.
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Thanks to The New York Times for its suicide-prevention resources.