Buddhist Warfare by Michael K. Jerryson

 

As we delve into the profound complexities of Buddhism, a faith oft regarded as a bastion of serenity, it becomes increasingly evident that this venerable religion harbours a more sinister aspect. Throughout the expanse of fifteen centuries, esteemed Buddhist leaders have, on numerous occasions, condoned the perpetuation of violence and, indeed, the scourge of war. The eight erudite essays compiled within this tome undertake an exhaustive examination of diverse Buddhist traditions, traversing the vast expanses of time, from the remotest antiquity to the present epoch, and lay bare the unsettling reality that Buddhist institutions have, throughout the annals of history, exploited the potent symbolism of religious iconography and the persuasive force of rhetoric to legitimate the conquests of militarism. In the sixth century, Chinese Buddhist warriors, having vanquished their foes, were elevated to the sublime status of Bodhisattvas, their martial prowess thus sanctified by the very fabric of their faith.

 Similarly, in seventeenth century Tibet, the venerable Fifth Dalai Lama lent his tacit endorsement to the ruthless elimination of rivals by a Mongol potentate. Furthermore, in the contemporaneous landscape of Thailand, Buddhist soldiers, clad in the austere robes of fully ordained monks, discharge their martial duties with stealth, their guns a jarring juxtaposition to the tranquil ideals of their order. 

The seminal treatise, Buddhist Warfare, irrefutably demonstrates that the dialectic on religion and violence, hitherto predominantly applied to the triumvirate of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, can no longer conveniently exclude the Buddhist tradition from its purview. 

This groundbreaking work conducts an exhaustive analysis of Buddhist military interventions across a vast geographical expanse, encompassing Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and starkly illuminates the sobering reality that even the most seemingly pacifist and unlikely of religious traditions are, in fact, susceptible to the primal, violent propensities that beset humanity.