This discussion of suicide spotlights key issues in the field of Buddhist ethics & doctrine, particularly the doctrinal issue of the individual’s relationship to his/her “body” & the ethical matter of the relationship between the individual & society as a whole. This paper attempts to resolve & explain the apparent anomaly that suicide is both censored & condoned in the Canon. Findings are summarised & the author concludes that Buddhism recognizes that some situations cannot be endured.(21 refs)