Does dying of illness due to lack of will to live count as suicide?

The constitutive elements of suicide are, first, having a desire to die, and second, having a concrete act of suicide. This act may be carried out by oneself, may be carried out by having someone else do it in one's place, or may result from inaction—neither saving oneself nor allowing others to provide treatment.

A person who has no will to live has not taken any means of suicide, nor does he deliberately wish to die; he has simply become disheartened, causing his life to end quickly. There is no act or behavior of suicide, so it does not constitute suicide, much less any offense. Not wanting to live, having no hope in life—one dies more quickly, but this does not constitute suicide.

Suppose a person falls seriously ill and, unwilling to endure the suffering of the illness, wholeheartedly seeks death, and finally dies of the illness—does this count as suicide? If this person gives up treatment and does not give himself the chance to continue living, it constitutes suicide; if he deliberately refuses food, it constitutes suicide. If the patient could press the call button before dying of the illness to have a doctor come and rescue him, but ultimately chooses not to press the button to call the doctor and dies of the illness, does this count as suicide? This kind of deliberate failure to save oneself, not giving oneself the chance to live and thereby causing one's own death, constitutes suicide. But it is not an offense. Whether it is killing another or suicide, there must be not only subjective intent but also expedient means; for killing, six conditions must be complete for the offense of killing to be constituted. Not saving oneself and seeing someone dying without rescuing them are the same principle; seeing someone dying without rescuing them is not against the law, it merely violates worldly moral conventions, and not saving oneself is even less against the law.

In the Buddha's time, after the bhikṣus attained the first through the fourth fruits, because they had no longing whatsoever for their own lives and no interest whatsoever in the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), they took the action of suicide, or sought someone's help to die. All of these constitute acts of suicide, yet none of them carried any offense. Because the final destination of one's own life is decided by oneself, as long as one does not harm the interests of others, there is no offense. But bodhisattvas absolutely never commit suicide, because bodhisattvas have higher aspirations in their hearts; in their hearts there is the Buddha's teaching and there are sentient beings, and they have great power of vow, so they cherish life and time deeply.