ABSTRACT
Hauerwas’s project is constructive; his aim is to “call attention to the manner in which [Jesus’] story teaches us to know and do what is right under definite conditions,”3 a calling unrelated to this study. Nevertheless we can heed his request to pay attention to narratives as we ponder ethical systems. This study takes advantage of Hauerwas’s point of view, inasmuch as it establishes the significance of narrative for ethical reflection and is concerned with the narratives that constitute a particular ethical dilemma in a particular culture – namely, defense of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Such a study will reveal that, while there is a narrative thread in Sri Lankan Buddhist history and in contemporary rhetoric that endorses pacifism, there are Buddhist stories that argue that, for the defense of Buddhism – that is, of the Dharma – violence and war are permissible, even necessary, under certain conditions. In other words, this study will probe a type of Buddhist “just-war thinking” that calls into question scholarly obedience to the canon’s narratives of pacifism. Moreover, inasmuch as the data suggest that Sri Lankan Buddhists have taken (and take) full advantage of the range of resources available to them to legitimate their ethical stance on war – namely, canonical and post-canonical stories – this study aims to demonstrate that inquiry into the full heritage of SinhalaBuddhist ethics should not be limited to a survey of the Pali canon.4
