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5 - Buddha in the Ring of Fire

The Buddhist Ethics of Warfare

from Part I - Classical Foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2023

By
Stephen Jenkins
Edited by
Margo Kitts
Margo Kitts
Affiliation:
Hawai'i Pacific University, Honolulu
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Summary

This chapter dispels the guiding misconception of Buddhist pacifism, historically and textually, with reference to its origins in the early transmission of Buddhism to the West and the influence of mistranslations of ahiṃsā in the distorting modern discourse of “nonviolence” versus violence. At the same time, it highlights the Buddhist ideal of nonharm and the nuanced ways in which Buddhists applied compassionate values to the avoidance of armed conflict, the effective and ethical conduct of warfare, and postwar reconciliation.

Keywords

DuṭṭhagāmaṇiAśokaahiṃsācakravartin
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War , pp. 114 - 140
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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