Human body donation programs inSriLanka: Buddhist perspectives

Abstract

Considerable attention is being given to the availability of bodies for anatomical education. This raises the question of the manner in which they are obtained, that is, whether they are unclaimed or donated. With increasing emphasis upon the ethical desirability of using body bequests, the spotlight tends to be focused on those countries with factors that militate against donations. However, little attention has been paid to cultures where donations are readily available. One such country is Sri Lanka where the majority of the Buddhist population follows Theravada Buddhism. Within this context, the expectation is that donations will be given selflessly without expecting anything in return. This is because donation of one's body has blessings for a better outcome now and in the afterlife. The ceremonies to honor donors are outlined, including details of the "Pirith Ceremony." The relevance for other cultures of these features of body donation is discussed paying especial attention to the meaning of altruism and consent, and justification for the anonymization of cadavers. The degree to which anatomy is integrated into the surrounding culture also emerges as significant.

Making the Ethical Transition in South Africa: Acquiring Human Bodies for Training in Anatomy

“…The concept of ancestors ( izinyanya ) and joining the spiritual world (Kometsi and Louw, ) has been shown to have a negative impact on organ donation and on the dissection of the human body. This is in direct contrast to the Buddhist philosophy where body donation is seen as altruistic (Subasinghe and Jones, ; Jones and Nie), the donor has high status and is named “ajarn yai” (great teacher) (Winkelmann and Güldner, ).…”

Introduction

“…The ceremonies are carried out, and memorials constructed, in different ways, depending on the social and cultural factors characteristic of the community within which they originate (Tschernig and Pabst, 2001;Park et al, 2011;Jones et al, 2014;Subasinghe and Jones, 2015). Some ceremonies are organized by faculty with no or only marginal organizational participation of students.…”

“…The manner in which these are organized and carried out is diverse. Data from most other countries is not available but one can hypothesize that in many the ceremonies are beginning to emerge (Kooloos, 2010;Oxley da Rocha et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2014;Subasinghe and Jones, 2015).…”

‘Silent mentors’: Donation, education, and bodies in Taiwan

“…Though written prior to the practical possibility of body or organ donation, these tales have shaped organ and body donation programmes in Buddhist settings. Subasinghe and Jones (2015) note, however, that there remain a variety of attitudes towards donation among the strands of Buddhism, including concerns with the extension of suffering (Chiu et al 2012), 2 The Tzu Chi Foundation has been studied from a range of disciplinary perspectives including the sociology of religion, area studies, women's studies, communications studies, and the medical humanities. Studies of its role as 'the latest modern reincarnation of the regime of civic morality' (Huang 2015c) are particularly relevant for their bearing on death as didactic (Copeman and Reddy 2012).…”