Question: Is it advisable to administer CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to those who are not breathing (or not breathing normally)? It might save lives, but it might not work, while causing pain to the dying or deceased, possibly disrupting a peaceful state of mind when connecting to Āmítuófó.
Answer: On one hand, there are ‘reasonable’ occasions to administer CPR, such as for near-drowning cases or for those having cardiac arrests, who might have difficulty breathing properly by themselves. What deemed reasonable is when there are high possibilities that they can be saved.
On the other hand, there are ‘unreasonable’ occasions, such as when the persons are already very old, sick and already dying medically, to whom CPR can be very ‘punishing’, even possibly breaking ribs, while with low possibilities that they can be saved. (Eventually, CPR will not work too.)
What ‘tricky’ is deciding which cases are reasonable and which are not. From point [2] of https://purelanders.com/2015/12/30/important-guidelines-1-before-dying-pure-land-passport-section-4a :
‘[T]here should be swift and ample sincere guidance and support-chanting before and after any decision… The key consideration is whether such life-sustaining treatment will help or hamper ability to Niànfó well, such as by causing great pain or discomfort (e.g. from CPR by defibrillators or hand, cardiotonic injections). When uncertain, it is best to swiftly and sincerely pray to Āmítuófó for inspired advice, on what best to do.
Those who practise Niànfó well in everyday life are likelier to not have prolonged or painful dying processes, which will instead be swifter and less painful or painless. They are even able to depart before any need for life-sustaining treatment.’