Take What You Need

When I applied for my shiny new ID photo card yesterday, I decided to go ahead and make myself an organ donor. I always intended to, and I've always mentioned to family and friends that I was pro organ donation, but now it's official. I don't know if they do this in other countries, but in Australia your organ donator status is printed on your Driver's Licence, or in my case on the proof of age photo ID card that non-drivers can apply for.

I'm not sentimental about my body after death, or weirded out by the concept of being harvested for organ donation. Maybe it's because I believe in Buddhist concepts of reincarnation, but I just see my body as... well meat I guess... once my consciousness is no longer there. Traditional Tibetan Buddhism teaches that it actually takes quite a long time for the consciousness to fully leave the body and enter an intermediate (Bardo) stage before rebirth, so organ donation does kind of get into a bit of an iffy area in relation to that.

However, I also see it as the last great act of generous loving kindness that you can offer, to give up organs to save the lives of others. I think the Karma generated from a final act of such generousity must be pretty powerfull, don't you think? I mean, even if you don't believe in Karma and rebirth I think it's like the one truly great thing you can do for another human being being, don't you? To extend, or save their life?

(Oh, and then once all is said and done, just chuck me in the fire. If the Christians are right, I'm possibly headed somewhere pretty toasty anyway!)