Abstract

This chapter discusses the concept of brain death and its implications for medical practice as seen from a Buddhist perspective. After a brief introduction to Buddhist teachings, the chapter considers the compatibility of brain death with the classical Buddhist understanding of death as found in the earliest sources. Certain conceptual discrepancies are highlighted which problematize the removal of vital organs from patients who may be judged to be still alive on Buddhist criteria. The implications of this for contemporary medical practice are then explored in two Asian countries, Japan and Thailand. While different issues arise in each case, in neither country does the concept of brain death appear to have been well received at a popular level, a situation aggravated by medical scandals surrounding organ transplantation.