There is a new book out by Michael Jerryson and Mark Juergensmeyer called Buddhist Warfare (Oxford, 2009).
This book chronicles the history and significance of violence caused by Buddhist practitioners and their reasonings and rationale for engaging in such actions. The notion of violence by Buddhists flies in the face of most Westerners' stereotypes of Buddhism as a thoroughly peaceful and non-violent religion. Indeed, while the principles of Buddhism and the Buddha himself largely advocated for peace and non-violence, nonetheless, in the harsh reality of daily life in the world of samsara violence and aggression have been argued for and engaged in by devout Buddhist practitioners.
I believe this simply goes to show how ambiguous religion (any religion) can be. Religious principles and faith can be used to develop some of the most loving, compassionate, and selfless acts the world has ever seen but can also be used to justify the most heinous of actions causing hatred, suffering, and destruction. Yes, even Buddhism:)
For more info on the new book visit OUPs website.
To read a commentary on the book see Religion Dispatches.
We discussed the issue of violence in Buddhism in our philosophy class here at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal. Our teacher said that if someone attacks you, it isn't necessarily compassionate to allow them to create the negative karma of being successful. Stopping them, however, while necessitating agression, does not necessitate hate. I must say I agree.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great insight Ven. Gyatso! So, in that case, the aggressive/violent action is "negative," but the intention or volition behind the aggression is compassionate. Very nice.
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