what happens to people who commit suicide?

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waterchan
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by waterchan »

purple planet wrote: But i think this is off topic completely - :offtopic: so i would like people to get back to the subject of how suicide is a very bad decision - sorry for derailing the thread :focus:
I assume Cianna200 was asking about the Buddhist perspective of what happens to people who commit suicide, and like you answered, it's still the taking of a life, and so it carries all the devastating karmic consequences associated with the taking of life.

Taking your own life is also a kind of unwholesome desire — the desire to be rid of (Pali: vibhava-taṇhā), so the desire for suicide itself produces bad kamma as well.
quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur
(Anything in Latin sounds profound.)
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Mkoll
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Mkoll »

waterchan wrote:The problem compounds upon itself when people start telling you "You are mentally ill, you have a mental condition, you are depressed, you need treatment, you need to see a doctor," etc, and as a result you integrate the mental illness deeper into your self-identity.
I agree that this can compound a problem but it can also be a help. It depends on the person. Problems come about before this labelling began in many cases.

When I hear any mention of suicide in public, I think the prudent thing to do is give directions to those whose day job is talking about it. I fear giving my own advice could make things worse given my lack of experience in discussing such things. Not saying anything at all is even worse.

When someone is dying on the street and you don't have the medical training to help them, the prudent thing to do is call EMS. Trying to help them beyond what you know to do could do more harm than good. And walking away is just bad.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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Sokehi
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Sokehi »

I found it always very very irritating that H.H. the Dalai Lama as well as Thich Nhat Hanh didn't have a huge problem with selfincineration as happened during the vietnam war or in Tibet up to today. Any knowledge about this attitude?
Get the wanting out of waiting

What does womanhood matter at all, when the mind is concentrated well, when knowledge flows on steadily as one sees correctly into Dhamma. One to whom it might occur, ‘I am a woman’ or ‘I am a man’ or ‘I’m anything at all’ is fit for Mara to address. – SN 5.2

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Feathers
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Feathers »

Cianna200, I'm glad you were able to post about your feelings here. Sometimes simply being able to say to someone how you're feeling can help a little.

My advice . . . would be that Buddhism may well have something to offer, but be gentle with yourself. Attempt only what you can manage without adding to your distress. If all you can manage right now is to watch junk TV / sleep, then that is absolutely fine.

Do get professional help if you possibly can, and don't automatically dismiss medication: one person once said to me 'if you broke your leg, you would use crutches while it healed. Take medication while you work through the depression.' Admittedly it doesn't always work out quite so neatly (what with depression not being quite so well understood and treated as broken bones), but it might be a helpful way of thinking about it. Of course, do read up on meds and do feel free to make your own choices - don't be intimidated by medical authority.

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mikenz66
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi waterchan,
waterchan wrote:I'm not happy with this "mental illness" therapy being dispensed rather liberally in this thread, as if Cianna200 is a mentally ill person, ...
The point of the Terms of Service section that David quoted above is actually quite the opposite. We do not want members who may be experiencing severe problems receiving therapy advice (or advice to avoid therapy) that may adversely affect them. Cianna spoke of "thoughts of suicide", which is a serious matter:
Cianna200 wrote:I admit I have a broken soul and experienced thoughts of suicide to escape the ones who cause me so much pain. ...
No one here is dispensing therapy. We simply recommend a common-sense approach: that members with severe problems talk one-on-one with someone experienced in dealing with such things. Advice on an Internet Forum from strangers is no substitute for that.

:anjali:
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Ben
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Ben »

Well said, Mike.
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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seeker242
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by seeker242 »

Cianna200 wrote:what could happen
Very bad karma is made, worse than what there is now. You will only bring more pain to yourself. A friend of mine is a clinical psychologist. She's very nice. She has helped many people in your situation. You don't want to bring even more pain to yourself, yes? Of course not, no one wants even more pain than they already have. Please find someone like her to help you.

:anjali:
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fivebells
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by fivebells »

waterchan wrote:This is a good video about putting the Dhamma into practice.
Ven Robina Courtin is from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition but this talk is about Dhamma in practice, not theology.
Thanks for posting this, quite good.
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Aloka
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Aloka »

waterchan wrote:This is a good video about putting the Dhamma into practice.
Ven Robina Courtin is from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition but this talk is about Dhamma in practice, not theology.
I'm not a fan of Robina Courtin's speaking style, nor of her views on certain things, so I skipped watching the video.

I agree with what Mike said.

.
Babadhari
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Re: what happens to people who commit suicide?

Post by Babadhari »

Hi Cianna
the Buddha said to achieve birth as a human is an extremely rare occurance.
to take your life is an absolute disregard for this chance at liberation from the process of Samsara,
surely meaning further rebirths in realms beneath that of human.
make the most of this oppurtunity and learn from your sufferings
hope you feel better soon :smile:
Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion.
Aflame, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs ......

Seeing thus, the disciple of the Noble One grows disenchanted. SN 35.28
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