Family Planning in Buddhism

Family Planning in Buddhism
Each religion depicts different beliefs regarding contemporary issues in the society. Family planning and contraception, for instance, is a topic debated greatly due to the controversies revolving around the same. According to Buddhism, every person is entitled to act upon their decisions as long as they can handle the consequences. There are notable exceptions when attempting to explore the scope of contraception among Buddhists. In this paper, I will argue out the existence of numerous complexities while understanding family planning and contraception in Buddhism.
In exploring the subject of family planning and contraception in Buddhism, it is necessary to understand the religion’s perception of both sexuality and family. For a long time, Buddhism has been affiliated with tenets of abstinence. It is also important to understand the evolution of Buddhism as delineated by the Western nations. After most of these Westerners acquainted themselves with the religion, they managed to change people’s moral attitudes through sexual liberation. As sex is a primary factor for procreation, its understanding is important in enlightening individuals about contraception in Buddhism. Even if Buddha does not pay absolute attention to familial matters, individuals should strive to create life instead of engaging in abortive practices. 1It is not only religiously wrong but, it also demeans one’s moral values. Buddhism, unlike Hinduism, reiterates the importance of procreation due to the advantages of childbirth.

It is essential to understand family planning from different points of view so as to ascertain its meaning in Buddhism. Despite their beliefs on abortion and terminating lives through contraceptives, it is important for people to integrated open-mindedness in their judgments. It is not mandatory to conceive a child merely because of copulation. Apart from procreation, sex is also used as a tool for pleasure and aesthetic validation. People should be allowed to make individualistic choices in determining their fate apropos of either utilizing or denouncing contraceptives. At this juncture, it is necessary to incorporate medical facts so as to counteract these religious conclusions. It is impossible for religion and science not to co-exist hence; Buddhists should strive to understand the latter before inferring immorality and criminality in using methods of family planning. These medical reasons, therefore, may be important in creating a balance between factual ideas and Buddhist beliefs about contraception.
To understand family planning in Buddhism, individuals should delve deeper into other methods that do not focus fully on the use of contraceptives. Abstinence is, in fact, a workable form in family planning. Even after sexual liberation, Buddha’s teachings require individuals to practice self-control while engaging in coital activities. They believe that sexual discipline is an indirect advantage to the society as a result of reduced population in various communities. When individuals are more inclined toward abstinence, according to Buddhism, there is less strain apropos of resource allocation among folk.2It is through such ideologies that people understand the perception relayed by Buddha regarding familial values. Regardless of the importance of procreation and family planning, the religion strives to develop cloistered communities. Most folks are pressured to lead lives that resemble those of monks, priests, and other religious leaders. Such gestures are a clear indication of the influence of Buddha’s tenets on individuals that subscribe to Buddhism as a religious denomination.
Delving further into the scope of family planning and Buddhism, individuals realize the former’s negative influence in attaining spiritual nourishment. Engaging in practices that comprise moral values is not part of acquiring Buddha’s blessings and validation. The religion creates a relationship between life suffering and immoral acts. According to Buddhists, people experience suffering as a result of the insatiability for earthly things. They reiterate the importance of acquiring satisfaction by forgoing these worldly wants; by resorting to emulate heavenly and spiritual acts. Buddhism denounces the spread of abortive practices in an attempt to hinder the existence of karma in one’s livelihood. Insofar as the religion castigates certain forms of family planning, its tenets are necessary for accentuating the issue of individualism in such decisions. Their conclusions about immorality, in the wake of contraception, do not restrict people from deciding their fate. Unlike other religions, Buddhism does not classify contraceptive practices under the bracket of sins. Their primary aim is to motivate people in leading morally upright lives so as to avoid consequential karma.
In addition to instigating abortive practices that assist in family planning, it is essential to understand the actual concept of abortion. Buddhism’s utter belief in karma accentuates the notable controversies around the issue of killing unborn children. The legalization and institutionalization of abortion in countries that thrive on Buddhist tenets does not lead to acceptance of the practice. In examining the scope of family planning in Buddhism, individuals are urged to shy away from focusing on legal provisions. Allowing abortion as part of a nation’s law does not deal with the consequences associated with karma and its ineluctable nature. According to Buddhism, when folk makes personal choices to terminate their unborn child’s life, they are also responsible for handling the repercussions thereafter. Similarly, permanent choices such as sterilization and vasectomy are also classified as methods of family planning.
Buddhism is more focused on guiding individuals on the right path. As a result, they are salvaged from various problems that may be experienced through karma, a system of destiny and fate under the doctrines of Buddhism. It is important to understand the scope of family planning in examining Buddha’s teachings. Such gestures allow for the counteraction of numerous contradictions that are present in Buddhism’s controversial ideologies. Examining family planning and the religion of Buddhism keenly enlightens individuals about other dysfunctional methods. For instance; when the religion claims that abstinence leads to equal allocation of resources, it may be considered illogical as a result of the amount of time required to observe changes.4When these alterations delay, it is inevitable for human beings to brush them off. Buddhism reiterates the deteriorating nature of these family planning methods because, even in waiting for expected results, disappointments often lead to a deprivation of moral values in an individual. The inability to acquire a change in a reasonable amount of time does not eradicate the drawbacks accrued from contraception.
According to Buddhism, opinions revolving around family planning may be considered relative. While one individual believes that contraception is against God’s will, another does not subscribe to similar remarks. Such happenings, therefore, accentuate the impossibilities in developing conclusions about the rightness or wrongness of family planning among folk that subscribes to Buddhism. Prevention of conception, according to the religion, does not equal the act of killing or murder. When people use family planning methods before fertilization an egg, it is not considered as murder because of the absence of human life. Contraception should be separated from the concept of abortion due to the latter’s termination of life. Buddha’s teachings incorporate certain elements that are utilized in making conclusions about death. As long as there is life, awareness of life, purposeful killing, the effort of termination and ultimately death, individuals are allowed to infer murderous actions. It is not only after conception that a female creates life in her womb. At this juncture, people understand the firmness of Buddhist tenets in condemning abortion, deliberate termination of births. These approaches still emphasize the importance of religion in assisting individuals to lead fulfilling lives.
In countries such as Thailand, Buddhist teachings are important to understanding family planning and birth control measures.5Since there are both hazardous and non-hazardous methods of contraception, Buddhists focus entirely on endorsing the latter. They understand the necessity of protecting human life regardless of their acceptance of family planning methods. These Buddhist concepts not only address individual but, they also dwell on creating national awareness about family planning. To avoid misinterpretation, individuals are advised to carry out in-depth explorations on birth control. They, therefore, managed to realize the correct ways of dealing with unwanted pregnancies. An extended discussion of karma reiterates its relationship with familial matters, thereby, dictating that one’s family is predestined. It is through these eerie circumstances in life that individuals find themselves existing in specific institutions. Buddhism reiterates the importance of positive energy in leading to fruitful experiences. As mentioned earlier, when an individual indulges in activities that compromise human life, it is ineluctable for them to interfere with progressivism. Similar approaches should be followed while building the family. When people integrate negative emotions such as fear, hate, and jealousy, there is an emphasis on the ease of leading to deterioration, as depicted by Buddhism tenets. These unwanted emotions may, therefore, be used as symbols of defining the results of individuals that do not dwell on religion to lead their paths.
Even if procreation is detailed in most religious denominations, it is not mandatory for people to beget children. The absolute controversies while exploring family planning in Buddhism leads to confusion. Due to the harshness toward procreation, individuals may assume that giving birth is a mandatory stage of life. Insofar as it is mentioned in the doctrines of religion, folk should not be obliged to bear children; especially when they are not ready to raise them. Bringing children into the world is a crucial step. It should only be passed once an individual is physical, emotionally and financially ready to deal with the hurdles and loopholes associated with child rearing. In encouraging family planning, individuals should understand the repercussions notable in each method, apropos of Buddhism and its tenets. As conception is classified as a natural, those processes that bring about alterations should be denounced while understanding the relationship between family planning and Buddhism, a staunch religious denomination.
The Buddhist perspective on birth control and family planning, as earlier detailed, addresses issues of the populace. Through this, individuals understand the past doctrines revolving around Buddhism. The population was moderated during the time hence; individuals did not have to torture themselves attempting to limit the chances of procreation.7 Even if Buddha expected celibacy in his followers, he rendered that one’s familial structure was an individualistic choice. The essentiality of chaste was also considered important in understanding the in-depth doctrines of Buddhism, as a religion. These rules applied to both males and females unlike in other religious institutions. There are doctrines that consider men superior to women, thereby, portraying some of the qualities that attract karma and other powerful forces. Buddhism, as a stern religion, strives to hinder the existence of evils in various societies. Buddha is more concerned with ensuring that individuals achieve the finest elements in life. When human beings suffer, it contradicts all the teachings of Buddha hence; together with human beings, The Supreme Being attempts to create bearable lives for these folk.
Looking at family planning in Buddhism from a deeper perspective, individuals understand the religion and its doctrines while tackling the subject of contraception. Inasmuch as Buddhism does not decline the prevalence of procreation, it is important to understand its take on ideas that cause human suffering. Such approaches are a clear explanation of Buddhism and the effects of harmful contraceptive practices. When one indulges in practices that interfere with their well-being, according to Buddhism, it is important to people to tend to the human being that is affected. Buddhists understand the essentiality of human beings as well as the latter’s roles on earth, thereby, tenets of Buddhism strive to ensure longevity in various livelihoods. The Buddhist perspective apropos of family planning and contraception employs different theories. As a result, the religion delineates its effectiveness in offering requisite knowledge about birth control to the public.
There is an incorporation of philosophical tenets in comprehending the subject of family planning in Buddhism. Even if there are evident notions of religion, individuals employ critical thinking to understand the different types of birth control and their effects on human beings. It is important for people to employ their reason and logic from a philosophical point of view. As a matter of fact, the coexistence between science and religion plays a significant role in understanding family planning under the doctrines of Buddhism. It is due to facts, data and details that Buddhism manages to decipher the prevalence of both progressive and retrogressive in analyzing the concept of birth control. In Asia; Thailand to be precise, there were different happenings that molded family planning and contraception in the 20th century.
Controversial subjects such as family planning, contraception, and birth control cannot exist without criticism from a religious institution. As they are requisite in leading society, it is important for individuals to create an in-depth exploration of the different forms of family planning. Through this, it is easier to separate the progressive from retrogressive methods of controlling births, according to Buddhism. Processes such as abortion are castigated by these religious doctrines due to its dire effects on both the mother and child. Some abortion is often unsuccessful, thereby, the mothers may also die in the process. Such a case would be classified under murder and death because of life loss. Buddhism strives to enhance the living standards of most individuals by eliminating varied forms of suffering. Negative energy, according to the religion, is affiliated with the concept of karma which motivates good behavior so as to avoid any future consequences. When an individual engages in uncouth practices of birth control, it is important for them to ensure strength and stability in handling the repercussions.
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