Abstract

This  thesis  is  a  research  on  Organ  Giving-Away after death  in

Mahāyāna Buddhist perspective. There are mainly three objectives in this thesis: (1) to study the definition, types and significance of Giving-Away (dāna) in Mahāyāna scriptures; (2) to study the definition, practice and significance of Organ Giving-Away in Mahāyāna Buddhism; (3) to analyze Organ Giving-Away after death in Mahāyāna Buddhist Perspective.

There mainly exists two primary cruxes during the  process of  this

research: (1) the first crux of Organ Giving-Away after death which involves with the problematic definitions for death; (2) the second crux of Organ Giving-Away after death which involves with different comprehensions of death and how to take care of death.

As to the first crux, although the Tipiṭaka has given us the criteria

about how to differentiate life from death, it’s still not easy for us to be precise about the exact time of death. We can clearly observe rough changes such as pulse and breath of human’s body, but not including some more subtle changes. No matter how carefully we observe and how sophisticated our medical instruments are, the issue of life and death would always be completely intangible to us mundane mortals. As it’s all known to us, our whole body is classified to rupa. Sometimes people would mistake brain as the spirit and believe the human being would be dead when he’s got a brain death. Actually the human being’s spirit is formless but the human being’s brain is material. It’s the spirit what would stick together with the human being throughout his life, no mater the human being’s present life, last life, or afterlife and obviously the spirit is by no means the material brain. The brain would decompose one day, which would never happen to the spirit. If today the scientists clone the very same another ‘me’ who has got the identical physical body and even the same genes, does that ‘me’ really is another me? Of course not. As Rene Descartes said: ‘I think, therefore I am’, and it can be adapted in another word: ‘With consciousness and karma, therefore I am’.

As to the second crux, Master  Cheng Yen  and  Venerable  Hsing

Yun are the most well-known Buddhist masters who advocate Organ Giving-Away after death. In their opinion, we don’t need to be afraid of death when talking about Organ Giving-Away after death. They both are highly complimentary about the technique of organ-transplantation. When referring to the technique of organ-transplantation, Master Cheng Yen enthusiastically praised it as one of the amazing advancements and accomplishments  of  modern  medicine. Coincidentally, Venerable Hsing

Yun also complimented the technique of organ-transplantation as an huge progress of modern medicine. With regard to Organ Giving-Away after death, they believe there’s no need to be afraid of death as long as the practitioners have resolved their mind. On the contrary, there are some masters who oppose Organ Giving-Away after death and the most renowned ones are Master Yin Guang and Master Hong Yi. Master Yin Guang and Master Hong Yi regard human beings’ last-moment thought as the crucial and determinate factor which would determine the outcome of dying people’s afterlife. They stress the importance of the last stage of life and narrate in detail about how to take care of the dying people at their last stages of life in their works. In their opinion, we should by no means move the dying people’s body in case extreme sufferings and hatred arisen to the dying people which would inevitably lead to their degradation. According to Master Yin Guang, the dead people can’t be dressed or moved until three hours after the people end their life. According to Mater Hong Yi, the dead people can’t be dressed or moved until eight hours after the people end their life.

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