法苑珠林 68.45

68.45

Question: Why is it named 'another'? Answer: Because it is not one's own life. If there is another person who can be killed, the person who can kill incurs the sin of killing living beings. Because one who kills oneself has no object that can be killed, cutting off one's own life does not incur bad retribution. Furthermore, when an arhat harms his own body and cuts off his own life, he is without sin. Why is that? Because he has already left behind angry thoughts and the like. Thus, killing oneself does not incur the sin of killing.