Euthanasia, as known as mercy killing or assisted suicide, is a way of death that you can choose for yourself or your pet (or even your relative). However, is it good or bad to do it? Most common sources tell you it is a no-go for Taoists, but we don’t say the same here. There is no absolute good or bad; just like a gun, it can be used to do bad or good things; it depends on how you use it. Euthanasia is no different; it depends on the dying person and what they want to achieve. Taoism is unlike western religions, which strictly say yes or no to things. We have a way of explaining right and wrong according to the actual result and outcome, not based on a human viewpoint standard. I don’t speak for all Taoism sects, but whatever the others say, this article presents you with what I represent- Saam Law Taoism.
The Goal of Death
First, let’s not talk about the morals and viewpoints but the goal of death, what is happening, and where this person or pet is going after death. We do not see death as “the end” of someone because I have witnessed the other worlds beyond this one, and I know dead people do not just “blackout” and finish their game. There is a place to go and a few options they could choose from.
I have no comment on religious ones because it all depends on their religious powers. How much have they committed to their religion, how much will their god help them, and what did their gods promise them about the after-death etc.? It all goes back to their relationship with the gods and what contract has been made. I cannot speak for these people, so they are out of our discussion.
These people have three routes opened for people without religion and not going through any religious ceremonies for the funeral. They could die and become wandering ghosts floating in our world, which is the worst scenario. They could die and become an official ghost living in the ghost world they should be in. This is the second worse case. The best option would be that they can have enough power to help them ascend back up to their Yuen Sun and become a “ghost immortal,” which is the best for them.
If they chose to suicide or had mercy killing done for them, they can only be in one of these three routes (just like natural death). The funny thing is that it doesn’t matter how you die; you will still only go to one of the three routes depending on what condition your soul and “ghost altar” and Yuen Sun are like. If your ghost altar is strong, it could bounce you to the Yuen Sun. If your ghost altar is weak, you could be even failing to become a complete ghost, and so you would be staying in this world and wandering around waiting for help (or some evil tyrants to kidnap you)
The ghost altar is cultivated during their time alive; it’s not something they can change after death. You can read about it in the “Moon” article. If the person is a person who lived a minimalist life and didn’t have many achievements and properties in this world, their ghost altar for sure sucks, which means they would most likely be a wandering ghost. The brutal fact is, the more you have when you are alive, the more you have when you are dead because the energies from these properties they own will all fly to the ghost altar in one go, which gives them the biggest boost to bounce them up the Yuen Sun. Like it or not, if you are poor and have nothing all your life, you are dying poor and suffering. There is no sugar-coating here; the brutal fact is that if you are a loser, you are continuing to be a loser; there is nothing special about going to die. Nothing will transform you into a wealthy person in the ghost world.
Being Killed Versus Natural Death
The difference between being murdered and natural death is huge. The person who killed you will loot everything from you, including your Yuen Sun and your soul. You will enter this person’s Yuen Sun instead and become a ghost in that world. Oh yes, by then, you can curse and haunt the murderer all you want, too, because you have been in their Yuen Sun for a long time, which means you can also damage it. Many people are not going to like what I will say next…
Do you see how a country grows bigger and bigger to become a country like USA or China today? They kill, and kill, and kill. The more people a country kills, the more Yuen Sun and soul it captures, and the more powerful that country becomes in PreHeaven, so the PostHeaven will also grow bigger and stronger. That’s a fact. It’s ugly, and that’s the point of life, killing to get stronger by consuming each other; we do that to animals too. It sounds non-holy or bloody and ugly, but that is nature here. The point of this zone in nature is to break down elements, so killing and consuming each other is natural. When we have killed and eaten enough souls, nature eats us all at the end, when we are “ready” to be eaten. The world will end naturally, a simple and hard-to-swallow fact for everyone.
However, natural death will not send you to someone’s Yuen Sun; you will go to your own Yuen Sun at the end (if possible). Mercy killing is made with your consent; if you approve it, you will also go to your own Yuen Sun. Which means natural death, and this mercy killing is the same as the outcome.
Pets are different because they don’t get to make a choice. If they are dying naturally, they would most likely become a ghost. If they are being killed as authorized by the owner, they could go to the owner’s Yuen Sun. Then it all depends on how much the pet love or hates the owner. If the pet hates the owner, it could become another destroyer in the Yuen Sun to curse the owner for a long time. If they love the owner, they could be blessing the owner.
The funny thing is that the ghost world pet doesn’t have to be a pet or animal because that dimension's property differs from here. Any ghost can shapeshift into a different appearance and communicate in a common language. You can be a cat, a dog, a dinosaur, a human form, etc. Therefore, if you die and go back to your Yuen Sun to see your cat, you can see the cat as a human being; it’s another kind of joy and fun thing to witness by then.
If you are a pet owner, you would now worry about the pet dying on their own because they can only become a ghost and float around, which means they could be in danger too, and it’s not a good ending for them either. That’s right. Pet is not supposed to have much in their life, so they can only rely on sticking around the owner’s home until the owner dies and follow the owner to the Yuen Sun later (if the owner can even get there).
This is where Taoist magic can help with our super amazing funeral ceremony. We can help the pet (or human) to bypass all these hurdles and directly send them to their Yuen Sun with our magical powers. If they are ordained (as a ghost), they can also choose to enter our lineage’s system and go to the celestial court to cultivate until they ascend to Daai Law Tin, our Taoist heaven. It’s way better than being in the Yuen Sun cluelessly.
It doesn’t matter if the person died naturally or went through a mercy killing process; we can still help them to bypass all those hurdles with our magical funeral ceremony. For those who got murdered, that will take a bit more work, but if they find us to do the funeral early enough, we can still rescue the ghost’s soul out of that murderer’s Yuen Sun and grab them back on the right track.
Taoist Death
If you are ordained while alive, you are safe as long as you are a loyal and faithful Taoist. The promise is that you will at least be saved by the lineage’s headquarters and not be wandering around. Then you will be sent to the celestial court for the next journey or to the Daai Law Tin world, depending on your cultivation level when you were alive. There will be gods coming to find, guide, and assist you through the process; it’s very safe, protected, warm, and happy. If you have an altar at home, the altar will help you transition through all these even better, and your gods will also follow you to the next journey being your helper! Being killed or natural death doesn’t matter for a real faithful Taoist. As long as you are faithful, the Tao will take you in and guide you through the journey; there is nothing to fear because no one can take you away as long as the Tao in your heart is as strongly rooted.
It is not about how much you have learned or how good you are with magic; it’s about your heart and faith that help you glue yourself to the Tao. If you must die, always remember your Tao in the heart, recite the heart spell and focus on the Tao; you will be 100% safe and cared for.
Euthanasia or natural death doesn’t matter much for a Taoist. However, we strongly suggest people consider cultivating their ghost altar and Yuen Sun before “going” because ending your life here with a poor Yuen Sun will not be fun since your next life depends on it greatly. If you don’t do a good job with your Yuen Sun here, you will start the next journey with fewer resources, and your life won’t be too good either.
Ordain today to get yourself connected to the Tao; it’s better than buying insurance; at least, this is something you will benefit from and witness yourself later!
