ABSTRACT
The last century proved to be one of the bloodiest in history, and the present one also began on a belligerent note. The terrible events of September 11, 2001 in New York brought home to the world the awesome damage that can be inflicted by well-trained and coordinated terrorists who act without concern for their own lives. In the aftermath of “9/11,” Buddhist writer and activist Stephen Batchelor (2001) wrote: “The attacks in New York and Washington burst my complacent Buddhist bubble.” In line with this new realism, attention has been drawn in recent years to an apparent disparity between what Buddhism preaches and what it practices with respect to issues such as terrorism, violence, and war. Recent historiography, such as Jerryson and Juergensmeyer (2010), suggests that Buddhists have regularly participated in wars, and have justified this by using arguments similar to those found in the Western “just war” tradition, although in a less systematic format. Such bellicose conduct seems in stark contrast to Buddhism’s well-known pacifist scriptural teachings, and the apparent willingness of Buddhists to resort to armed force has surprised and disturbed many Western converts who, perhaps somewhat naively, assumed that what they read in scriptures like the Doctrinal Verses (Dhammapada) accurately described the historical and political reality of Buddhism in Asia. It seems that with respect to war there is a fault line in Buddhism and a contrast between precept and practice. The scriptures teach that killing is wrong, but nevertheless wars are fought and not uncommonly justified by religious reasons. Schmithausen (1999) describes this as a “compartmentalization of values” which in extreme cases is “almost schizoid.” It seems there is a challenge for Buddhism either to consistently adopt pacifism, or to develop something along the lines of Western just war theory setting out in what circumstances it is justified to resort to war (jus ad bellum), and, if so, the principles that will guide combat once battle is joined (jus in bello).
