This book offers eight essays examining the dark side of a tradition often regarded as a religion of peace. The authors note the conflict between the general Buddhist norms of non-violence and the prohibition of the killing of sentient beings and the acts of state violence that have apparently been supported by the Buddhist sangha, plus intersectarian violence and acts of civil violence in which monks have participated. The book considers contemporary and historical cases of Buddhist warfare from a wide range of traditions - Sri Lankan, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, and Tibetan - critically examining both Buddhist textual sources supposedly justifying violence and Buddhists currently engaged in violence. They draw not only on archival material but interviews with those living and involved in war zones around the world.
Includes: Making Merit Through Warfare According to the Arya Bodhisattva-gocara-upayavisaya-vikurvana- nirdesa Sutra by Stephen Jenkins; Sacralized Warfare: The Fifth Dalai Lama and the Discourse of Religious Violence by Derek F.Maher; Legalized Violence: Punitive Measures of Buddhist Khans in Mongolia by Vesna Wallace; a Buddhological Critique of "Soldier Zen" in Wartime Japan by Brian Daizen Victoria; Buddhists in China During the Korean War (1951-1953) by Xue Yu; Onward Buddhist Soldiers: Preaching to the Sri Lankan Army by Daniel W.Kent; Militarizing Buddhism: Violence in Southern Thailand by Michael Jerryson and Afterthoughts by Bernard Faure.
"Anyone with idealized notions of Buddhism as a religion fully committed to peace and non-violence will benefit from this fine collection. Outlining how a range of Buddhists have participated in war and justified this apparent violation of their ethical principles, these essays shed new light on sacred violence, just-war discourse, religious nationalism, and religious institutions' collaboration with the state. This is a rich and timely book." Christopher Ives.
