佛教與死刑

我有一本研究佛教對死刑議題觀點的書，在2006年，由輔大出版社出版，書名是《佛教反對死刑：經論彙編》，大略察考了從印度到漢地、西藏、日本受到佛教影響，曾經出現一波廢止死刑的歷史現象，以及從佛教經典所呈現的一面倒的反對死刑的態度，並對此前的台灣當代佛教意見領袖對廢死運動的態度作了一些檢視，對於他們的態度及言論作了一些論駁。

我的這個研究 很受到台灣「廢除死刑聯盟」的朋友們的支持，曾經把他們介紹到國際廢死運動的場合中，秘書長林欣怡小姐還特別把這些情況告訴我，好讓我高興，而我也真的高興了一下。

2009-09-04 自由時報

A Brief Introduction to a Buddhist View of the Death Penalty 

Jin-ker WEN *

Overview 

      Buddhism has had great influence in the history of Asia. Buddhist doctrines are still deeply rooted in people’s minds. According to research conducted in Taiwan, Buddhist scriptures reflect a clear and strong attitude against the death penalty. Historically Buddhist teachings have had a substantial impact on penalty policy in a number of countries. Given the current trend to abolish the death penalty promoted by international human rights groups, Buddhism can provide traditional thought and faith-based resources to urge those Asian countries where the death penalty has not yet been abolished to reflect upon their use of this form of punishment.