Core Tenet # 3: Bodily Autonomy

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Topic: Core Tenet # 3: Bodily Autonomy

Your body is your own, to do with as you will. This includes abortion and suicide, as well as food, drink, sex work, and even drugs, as long as you aren’t hurting anyone. Cannabis and other plant-based mind-altering drugs can be a sacrament before sacred work. 


Your body is the only thing that belongs to you for your entire life, from cradle to grave. It is entirely up to you what you do with it. Although the Path does not promote or encourage abortion, suicide, or drug addiction, and supports programs and services that work to help people facing these issues, it is not our place to judge anyone who is harming only themselves. 


This Tenet is likely to be somewhat unpopular, as both abortion and suicide are deeply emotional subjects. However, the practice of this Tenet calls upon us to exercise the most true Compassion, which requires us to set aside our personal emotions and only wish to ease the suffering of others. In some circumstances, a quick and painless death is more Compassionate than a life of suffering and misery. For example, those diagnosed with a painful or debilitating incurable illness should be allowed to end their life with dignity, on their own terms. Although we may mourn the loss of life (or potential for life, in the case of abortion), we may not villainize those who have made such a tragic and difficult decision. We’ve all either lost somebody to suicide, or considered it ourselves. I recently lost my cousin to suicide, and I am deeply grieved that his suffering was so great that he felt the only way to end it was to end his life. Of course I wish he had made a different decision, but that decision was his to make, and I don’t think any less of him for it. We never truly know what others are going through, and we don’t have the right to pass judgment upon them for their choices. 


Drug use is another touchy subject, since some drugs are addictive and addiction can be actively harmful depending on the substance involved. However, it is entirely possible to manage an addiction to keep it from causing harm to others and be a contributing member of society. Addiction itself is not a moral failing; it is merely a chemical dependency. Plenty of people are addicted to caffeine, myself included, and nobody thinks any less of us for it. Other addictive substances are no different, just not as socially acceptable. If a person is not hurting anyone else, Path doctrine teaches that they are to be treated with kindness and Compassion. (If a person is doing harm to others due to their addiction, it is perfectly acceptable to intervene at that point and suggest a cessation program.) 


Sex work is also often frowned upon as immoral, but provided all participants are consenting adults, no harm is being done. To paraphrase George Carlin: Selling is legal, sex is legal. Why isn’t selling sex legal? Why is it illegal to sell something that it’s perfectly legal to give away? America has some of the dumbest sex laws in the world. We will get into that in more depth when we discuss Core Tenet #5, but for now, suffice it to say that sex work is not inherently less moral than any other occupation.  


Ultimately, what one chooses to do with one’s own body should be under one’s own control. By all means form your own opinions, but always show Compassion to those who make different choices. You do not know their circumstances. 


Namaste. 

Reverend CJ Carlin 


P.S. While I welcome constructive criticism, please: no hate mail! You are welcome to attend the sermon and provide your feedback or share your opinion.

 

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