Dear Editor,

After reading your article on euthanasia in September's Sinorama, I have some thoughts about terminal care:

A human being is a combination of body and soul. When a patient's pulse and respiration stop, it is only the body which dies-the soul does not die, nor does it leave the body at this time. Before the soul has left the body, it remains in a conscious dying state, and is in extreme anguish, like a turtle being ripped from its shell. Therefore we should be very careful in the way we deal with patients on the verge of death. People mistakenly equate the cessation of pulse and breathing with death, and treat the body as a corpse, thereby causing the patient even greater suffering. Suffering gives rise to anger and hatred, and this leads the soul onto the path to hell. Thus I believe it is worth paying attention to some basic knowledge about how to behave towards a dying person.

Incorrect behaviour generally takes the following forms: as soon as the dying person's breathing stops, people immediately start to weep grievously, or embrace the body and wail, or forcibly move the person back home, or wash and dress the body before it is cold, or inject embalming fluids, or immediately move the body to the mortuary, or move it to the funeral parlor the same day. For the dying person, whose conscious soul is still present, all such actions are a tremendous abuse. The correct way to treat the dying person before the conscious soul has left the body is to keep the room quiet, and not perform the above actions on the patient, so as to keep the soul peaceful and safe. As the end approaches it is best if the patient can lie in the auspicious position with their head to the north and their face to the west, but this should not be forced, and after breathing stops they should be left to lie naturally, and not moved. At this time, we should not go feeling the body to see if it is cold, and we should keep mosquitos and other insects off it. There should be no idle chatter, nor weeping, in the room. One should spend 10 to 12 hours to effectively assist the soul in passing into the other world, to guide the dying person's soul towards the Pure Land where they can enjoy eternal bliss. This is the only responsibility of the dying person's family members, and the only way in which children can fulfil their duty of filial piety.

How can one effectively help the dying person's soul cross into the other world? How can one guide the soul towards the Pure Land? Apart from refraining from moving the body and from weeping, we should find the right words to guide and console the dying person, and recite the sutras beside them (it is better if this can start while the person is still breathing). Because the soul does not leave the body immediately after breathing stops, family members or the people attending to recite the sutras should speak words of guidance loudly by the dying person's ears, to tell them that death is a natural part of life, and that they should not be afraid or sad, for they are leaving the mortal world of vexation and worry, to enter Paradise. The dying person's mind can then be consciously aware and thus have a sense of belonging and having something to rely on.

Editor's reply: Death is one of the matters to which the greatest importance is attached in all religions. In this response, from a Buddhist angle, to our September domestic edition article "Euthanasia-Medical Dilemma, Ethical Minefield," this reader offers another perspective on the pain of bereavement.

(tr. by Robert Taylor)