道教世界觀下安樂死是否可行？

Would Daoism Prohibit Euthanasia?

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

作為中國本土宗教，道教對中國人的生死觀有潛移默化的影響。對於安樂死等現代醫學語境下的抉擇，有必要考察道教的可能態度。范瑞平提出：道教“貴生”，期求修行成仙，而安樂死剝奪成仙的機會，所以道教理應禁止安樂死。本文試圖説明：道教並沒有明確禁止安樂死的動機或理由。仙法流傳於道教門内。普通人無緣得見，本就沒有成仙的機會。而道門之外，普通人能否安樂死的最為相關的道教設定，或許是“命數”不可無端更改。然而，命數的考量同樣難以構成禁止安樂死的理由。

Given the influence of religious Daoism on the concepts of life and death in China, it is important to examine the Daoist stance regarding practical issues of modern medicine, such as euthanasia. According to Ruiping Fan, Daoism would prohibit euthanasia as a practice that deprives a person of the possibility of attaining immortality. We argue, however, that Daoism has no clear motivation or reason to forbid euthanasia. The methods for attaining immortality remain a secret exclusive to the Daoist community. Other people have no access to such methods and thus lack the opportunity to become immortal. Furthermore, the prevalent concept of “destiny” or “fate” provides no basis for rejecting euthanasia.