It is generally accepted in the West that Buddhism is a ‘peaceful’ religion. The Western public tends to assume that the doctrinal rejection of violence in Buddhism would make Buddhist pacifists; and often expects Buddhist societies or individual Asian Buddhists to conform to the modern Western standards of ‘peaceful’ behavior. This stereotype – which may well be termed ‘positive Orientalism;’ since it is based on assumption that an ‘Oriental’ religion would be more faithful to its original non-violent teachings than Western Christianity – has been periodically challenged by enthusiastic acquiescence by monastic Buddhism to the most brutal sorts of warfare. This volume demolishes this stereotype; and produces instead a coherent; nuanced account on the modern Buddhist attitudes towards violence and warfare; which take into consideration both doctrinal logic of Buddhism and the socio-political situation in Asian Buddhist societies. The chapters in this book offer a deeper analysis of ‘Buddhist militarism’ and Buddhist attitudes towards violence than previous volumes; grounded in an awareness of Buddhist doctrines and the recent history of nationalism; as well as the role Buddhism plays in constructions of national identity. The international team of contributors includes scholars from Thailand; Japan; and Korea.
#1564898 in Books Santiago Slabodsky 2015-05-19 2015-05-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .62 x 5.51l; .75 #File Name: 1137520280259 pagesDecolonial Judaism Triumphal Failures of Barbaric Thinking New Approaches to Religion and Power
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