Buddhism
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Blood Donation
For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world.
Gautama Buddha
For Buddhists, blood donation is no small matter. There are few practices that more eloquently embody the heart of the Buddha’s teaching on compassion and interdependent co-arising.
Compassion flows from the realization that all boundaries between beings are illusory. So too with blood donation. When you donate blood, you live into the deep reality of interdependence. Your blood is not your own. You are not your own. By donating blood you ritually enact the truth of interdependence. Your blood flows in another’s veins and eases their suffering. And the heart of the heart of reality, the oneness of nonbeing, is illuminated by your small act of kindness.
WHO ARE YOU?
The Latest!
In 2021, a team of Chinese scientists published the findings of their study on the relationship between Buddhist beliefs and blood donation. What they found is that committed Buddhist have two qualities that make them more likely than their non-Buddhist peers to donate blood: 1) moral attentiveness and 2) self-monitoring. Buddhists, the researchers claim, are more likely to value benevolence, compassion, the karmic cycle, and the pursuit of moral perfection. These values dramatically increase the likelihood of blood donation.
Way to go, Buddhist donors!
