Babies Born Dying: Just Bad Karma? ; a Discussion Paper

The paper examines the notion of being born dying and karma. Karma is a belief upheld by Buddhists and non-Buddhists: That is, karma follows people from their previous lives into their current lives. This raises a difficult question: Does karma mean that a baby's death is its own fault? While g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health
Main Author: Kain, Victoria J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [2014]
In: Journal of religion and health
Further subjects:B Neonatal
B Buddhism
B Death
B Karma
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:The paper examines the notion of being born dying and karma. Karma is a belief upheld by Buddhists and non-Buddhists: That is, karma follows people from their previous lives into their current lives. This raises a difficult question: Does karma mean that a baby's death is its own fault? While great peace can be found from a belief in karma, the notion of a baby's karma returning in some sort of retributive, universal justice can be de-emphasized and is considered "un-Buddhist." Having an understanding of karma is intrinsic to the spiritual care for the dying baby, not only from the perspective of parents and families who have these beliefs, but also for reconciling one's own beliefs as a healthcare practitioner.
ISSN:1573-6571
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10943-013-9779-x