具足戒律中自殺獲罪問題之省思

On the Problem of Treating Suicide as a Crime in the Upasampadā

目前佛教界和佛教學術界有一種頗為流行的看法，認為按照佛教戒律的規定，自殺者是會得殺人罪的，但是這些論者卻鮮有翔實地引證律典的明文來支持其說法。針對這種見解，本文透過檢視各版本具足戒的「斷人命戒」條文，說明自殺並不獲殺人的波羅夷罪。在各部廣律中，自殺的罪性有三種說法：偷羅遮、突吉羅、無罪，可見諸律對自殺是否獲罪、其罪為何，沒有一致的意見。儘管如此，諸律均認為自殺是不善法，必須嚴正對待，但沒有大加責難。要之，聲聞具足戒律對自殺的取態，展現了既嚴正，亦温厚的作風。

At present, there is a pervasive view in the Buddhist and Buddhist academic circles that, according to Buddhist precepts, those who commit suicide are guilty of homicide. However, commentators who hold this view have rarely cited the literature of the Vinaya in support of their claims. This article examines the “manussa-viggaha pārājika” (“the destruction of life”) in the Upasampadā (the Full Precepts) to show that contrary to the popular view, suicide does not constitute pārājika (grave offense). As described in the extant versions of the Vinaya, committing suicide is regarded as an instance of sthūlātyaya (serious crime), duṣkṛta (minor misdeed), or even a sin-less act. It can be seen, therefore, that there is no consensus in the rules of discipline regarding the criminality of suicide. Nevertheless, all versions of the Vinaya consider suicide as an unvirtuous act that needs to be treated seriously but does not call for ex-tensive censure. In short, the Upasampadā of the śrāvaka-vinaya takes on an attitude that is serious but at the same time lenient towards suicide.