Jandi : the spirit ambulance -- Arirat : facing the karma master -- Introduction : choreographing the end of life -- Paying the debt of life -- The spirit ambulance -- Buddhadasa : problematizing death -- The new end of life -- Karma masters.
Summary:
"The Spirit Ambulance is a journey into decision-making at the end of life in Thailand, where families attempt to craft good deaths for their elders in the face of clashing ethical frameworks, from a rapidly developing universal medical system, to national and global human-rights politics, to contemporary movements in Buddhist metaphysics. Stonington's gripping ethnography documents how Thai families attempt to pay back a "debt of life" to their elders through intensive medical care, followed by a medically-assisted rush from the hospital to home to ensure a spiritually advantageous last breath. The result is a powerful exploration of the nature of death and the complexities arising from the globalization of biomedical expertise and ethics around the world"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.