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Free to choose. The Buddhist view.


 This Buddhist view of family planning is presented by a lecturer at the Buddhist and Pali University in Colombo. Birth control was not mentioned in the earliest Buddhist teachings because there was no urgency for population control. Large families were honored, and the expectation was that as many children as possible should be produced. Buddha did not mention the merits of population increase. Buddha considered family size a personal family choice. Buddhist's disciples are expected to be celibate. Chastity is encouraged among men and women. The Dhammapada, a canonical work of Buddha, mentions not increasing population and teaches ways of keeping the mind free from lust. Reduction of births is recommended. Buddha placed importance on the right of human beings to exist and procreate peacefully. The right to life begins in the womb, and abortion is a violation of the rights of the unborn child. The formation of life is absolutely dependent upon a mother's physical fitness, sexual intercourse, and the arrival of "a being's dislocated transmigratory unit of fivefold energy (gandhabba)." Couples are free to choose a fetus from any energy body. Sterilization and the use of contraceptives, therefore, do not destroy life. Buddha commended abstinence, which is similar to chastity. The principle teachings of Buddha aim to end suffering. If procreation strains the ability of resources to support life, then procreation is against the basic principles of Buddha.
