வாழும் உரிமை: பௌத்த ‘பானாதிபாதா’ மற்றும் ‘கத்ல் அல்-நப்ஸ்’ ஓர் பகுப்பாய்வு

The Right to Life: An Analysis of the Buddhist Panathipatha and the Quranic Qatl al-Nafs

Abstract

Religious scriptures guarantee the right of life for every human being, whether they are followers of that religion or not. Although Buddhism and Islam contain detailed explanations on the protection of life in a unique manner, but the encounters of Buddhists and Muslims are most often portrayed as violent confrontations in the modern world. The objective of this paper is to analyse and understand the concept of protection of life through the ideas of Panathipatha in Buddhism and Ḥifẓ al-Nafs in Islam to promote interreligious understanding. This research applies a library-based qualitative methodology, in which the researchers undertook textual analysis on written materials such as books, journal articles, and internet sources. The research found that both religions share a similar scope on the protection of life which prioritize humanity as its main standard. This study serves to eliminate misunderstandings about religions: Buddhism and Islam, and to facilitate in a process of understanding and for nonviolent commitment among diverse religious groups. To this end, this paper examines to what extent Buddhist Panathipatha tenets are similar to the concept of Ḥifẓ al-Nafs, paving the way for interreligious dialogue for peace drawing on some fundamental commonalities between Buddhism and Islam.