Title: The spirit ambulance : choreographing the end of life in Thailand /
Authors: Stonington, Scott
Year: 2020
Subjects: Death Thailand Planning.; Death Religious aspects Buddhism; Medical ethics Thailand Decision making.; Terminal care Thailand.; Older people Medical care Thailand.; Death Religious aspects Buddhism; Medical ethics Decision making; Older people Medical care; Terminal care; Thailand
Abstract: "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"--
Contents: 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.