The are a

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

developed for students of the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese '' Ri-shu'' school of

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in the 16th century CE. They contain the same number of precepts as the

Seventeen-article constitution The is, according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' of 720, a document authored by Prince Shōtoku in 604. It was adopted in the reign of Empress Suiko. The emphasis of the document is not so much on the basic laws by which the state was to be governed, suc ...

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half-s ...

. The rules are similar to the Vejjavatapada, the Buddhist medical doctor's oath, the Oath of Asaph and the

Hippocratic Oath The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific e ...

, in that they stress the rights of the physicians' teachers, require the physician to respect the patient's privacy rights, and prohibit both

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. They also emphasize that physicians should love their patients and that they should work together as a brotherhood.

The Seventeen Rules

1) ''Each person should follow the path designated by Heaven (

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, the Gods).'' 2) ''You should always be kind to people. You should always be devoted to loving people.'' 3) ''The teaching of Medicine should be restricted to selected persons.'' 4) ''You should not tell others what you are taught, regarding treatments without permission.'' 5) ''You should not establish association with doctors who do not belong to this school.'' 6) ''All the successors and descendants of the disciples of this school shall follow the teachers' ways.'' 7) ''If any disciples cease the practice of Medicine, or, if successors are not found at the death of the disciple, all the medical books of this school should be returned to the School of Enjuin.'' 8) ''You should not kill living creatures, nor should you admire

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

.'' 9) ''In our school, teaching about

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

s is prohibited, nor should you receive instructions about poisons from other physicians. Moreover, you should not give abortives to the people.'' 10) ''You should rescue even such patients as you dislike or hate. You should do virtuous acts, but in such a way that they do not become known to people. To do good deeds secretly is a mark of virtue.'' 11) ''You should not exhibit avarice and you must not strain to become famous. You should not rebuke or reprove a patient, even if he does not present you with money or goods in gratitude.'' 12) ''You should be delighted if, after treating a patient without success, the patient receives medicine from another physician, and is cured.'' 13) ''You should not speak ill of other physicians.'' 14) ''You should not tell what you have learned from the time you enter a woman's room, and, moreover, you should not have obscene or immoral feelings when examining a woman.'' 15) ''Proper or not, you should not tell others what you have learned in lectures, or what you have learned about prescribing medicine.'' 16) ''You should not like undue extravagance. If you like such living, your avarice will increase, and you will lose the ability to be kind to others.'' 17) ''If you do not keep the rules and regulations of this school, then you will be cancelled as a disciple. In more severe cases, the punishment will be greater.''

References

{{reflist Medical ethics Codes of conduct Oaths of medicine

The Seventeen Rules

See also

References