What do Buddhists think about various social issues such as abortion, capital punishment, war, and poverty?
Buddhists as a whole do not have an organized, universal position on any social issue, because no governing body exists. However, most contemporary Buddhist teachers have expressed the view that abortion does violate the first Buddhist precept to not take a life. However, in general Buddhism strongly advocates personal responsibility and does not support universal moral proscriptions, so many of these same teachers have also said that they do not support laws outlawing abortion. And it is worth mentioning that some Buddhist traditions, especially in Japan, have not taken an anti-abortion stance, believing it to be entirely a personal decision. The debate is largely the same regarding capital punishment, and killing as part of a war. In general, they both clearly violate the first precept, but Buddhism allows for moral deliberation, and some teachers do believe violence is sometimes necessary, particularly in defense of human rights and the dharma. This debate has particularly arisen in
