Office Hours - Part 2

On Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30 pm, I held my second open office hours.  About 12 monks stopped by to chat.  This time I wanted to learn from them so I started a conversation about brain death and organ donation.  I explained the western definition of brain death and the possibility of organ donation and asked for their opinion. 

All of the monks thought that organ donation in cases where a person was considered brain dead was acceptable.  They spoke of instances in  Buddhist texts where someone sacrificed themselves for others.  We also touched on the topic of brain scans to detect deception and lying and cases where such technology would be acceptable.  I explained that many of these ethical questions are being debated in the west and that answers to such dilemmas are difficult.