Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Buddhism is good

Buddhism and violence.
Bowser — (archived)

There are extremists everywhere. Quoting them as an example of the entire faith does no one a service. For instance, describing GWB's actions as Christian would be silly. See the Dalai Lama quote for the great truth about what is happening in the Middle East.

Non-violence is at the heart of Buddhist thinking and behaviour. The first of the five precepts that all Buddhists should follow is "Avoid killing, or harming any living thing."

Buddhism is essentially a peaceful religion. Nothing in Buddhist scripture gives any support to the use of violence as a way to resolve conflict.

In times of war
Give rise in yourself to the mind of compassion,
Helping living beings
Abandon the will to fight.

One of Buddha's sermons puts this very clearly with a powerful example that stresses the need to love your enemy no matter how cruelly he treats you:

Even if thieves carve you limb from limb with a double-handed saw, if you make your mind hostile you are not following my teaching.
Kamcupamasutta, Majjhima-Nikkaya I ~28-29

Figures like the Dalai Lama (who won the Nobel Peace Prize) demonstrate in word and deed Buddhism's commitment to peace.

"Hatred will not cease by hatred, but by love alone.
This is the ancient law."

But Buddhism, like the other great faiths, has not always lived up to its principles - there are numerous examples of Buddhists engaging in violence and even war:

* in the 14th century Buddhist fighters led the uprising that evicted the Mongols from China

* in Japan, Buddhist monks trained Samurai warriors in meditation that made them better fighters

* In the twentieth century Japanese Zen masters wrote in support of Japan's wars of aggression. For example, Sawaki Kodo (1880–1965) wrote this in 1942:

"It is just to punish those who disturb the public order. Whether one kills or does not kill, the precept forbidding killing [is preserved]. It is the precept forbidding killing that wields the sword. It is the precept that throws the bomb."

* In Sri Lanka the 20th century civil war between the mostly Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the Hindu Tamil minority has cost 50,000 lives.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (68 posts)