The Way of Asian Bioethics

15 The Way of Asian Bioethics M I C H A E L C H E N G - T E K TA I “What Heaven imparts to man is called nature. To follow our nature is called the Way. Cultivating the Way is called education. The Way cannot be separated from us for a moment. What can be separated from us is not the Way.” (Confucius, Analects) “Look to your own duty, do not tremble before it, nothing is better for a warrior than a battle of sacred duty … Perform necessary action, it is more powerful than inaction. Without action you even fail to sustain your own body.” (Bhagavad Gita) Introduction It is not easy to discover exactly what Asian people are thinking. Asia as a whole is characterised by the widest cultural diversity. Asia is not one but many. To add to the complexity, all of Asia, through the impact of rapid development, is caught in a web of social revolution and Asian people are searching for a new identity and a fuller human life. Therefore, a search for an Asian bioethics must be done through relating to the cultural past and to the changing cultures of the present. The most distinguished cultures that shape Asian minds are Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Others such as Taoism, Shintoism and Islam also influence Asian ways of life perhaps to a lesser extent. This cultural diversity reminds us that an easily identifiable Asian bioethics is difficult to find but when we look into the Asian ethos, in spite of its plurality, we can discern common features that Asian cultures emphasise — humanisation and harmonisation between man and his fellow men (Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism), between man Asian Bioethics Review December 2008 inaugural edition 15–23 T h e Wa y o f A s i a n B i o e t h i c s M i c h a e l C h e n g - t e k Ta i A s i a n B i o e t h i c s R e v i e w D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 8 i n a u g u r a l e d i t i o n 16 and nature (Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism), between man and ultimate reality (Hinduism, Shintoism, Islam). Bioethics in Asian Ancient Healers: Confucian Healers When we delve into the medical records including the anecdotes of the famous healers of the past, we find the ancient healers of Asia held similar norms and behaved in a certain demeanour in their lives. These norms and demeanour founded Asian bioethics based on how Asian healers practised their arts of healing. They might not take an oath to pledge regarding how they would behave as healers in the Western sense, but an invisible code of ethics is evident, demonstrated through their lives. With these examples, one of the most distinguished norms that we found was compassion. Hua-tow (華陀) was a famous physician in Chinese history. Throughout his life, he demonstrated this virtue of compassion wherever he went. This virtue had become such a part of him that whenever he saw a sick person, he would extend his art of healing to save life regardless if he was paid or not. Here is a story: One evening, physician Hua-tow was forced to stay in an inn during his trip to the country side because of heavy rain. While resting in his room, his was awoken by a small boy’s harsh cry coming from next door. As he listened to the boy’s coughing and wailing, he realised the boy was quite sick and could lose his life if he was not treated immediately. He knocked on the door from where the cry came, and found that the boy was indeed seriously ill and must be treated right away with a certain medicinal herb which had to be gathered from the wild immediately. The innkeeper and the boy’s parents offered to go find it that night but Hua-tow insisted that he should search for it himself, since only he could identify the right plant. After much difficulty...