Buddhism and War

The teaching of Buddha is perfectly clear on the futility of war and violence.

In a short autobiographical passage, Buddha described his sense of dismay, while he was still an unenlightened Bodhisatta, at the violence in the world, together with his important, liberating discovery that the only escape from violence is to remove the causes of violence from one's own heart.

Violence breeds misery; look at people quarreling. I will relate the emotion that agitated me. Having seen people struggling and contending with each other like fish in a small amount of water, fear entered me
The world is everywhere insecure; every direction is in turmoil. Desiring a haven for myself, I did not find one that wasn't already laid claim to.
Seeing nothing in the end but competition, I felt discontent. But then I saw an arrow here, so very difficult to see, embedded in the heart. Pierced by this arrow, one runs in all directions. But simply on pulling it out, one does not run, nor does one sink
Whatever things are tied down in the world, one shouldn't be set on them. Having totally penetrated sense pleasures, sensual passions, one should train for his own unbinding.
--Sutta Nipata IV,15

The core of Buddha's teaching is the Four Noble Truths. The first truth is that all phenomena are unsatisfactory, inherently suffering. The second is that the cause of this suffering, which includes violence, is craving. The third is that the cessation of suffering is possible by eradicating craving. The fourth provides the path leading to the cessation of suffering, that is, the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Buddha was perfectly consistent in his renunciation of violence. Nowhere does he allow that there are cases where violence can be the instrument of the cessation of violence. Even if violence has a noble intent, even if it is "successful," it will inexorably produce further violence and more suffering.

Winning, one begets hostility
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
Having abandoned both victory and defeat.
--Dhammapada 201

The Bible teaches that there is a time for hate and a time for war, but for Buddha, that time is never. Another verse from Dhammapada states, "Hatred is never appeased by hatred."

Christianity and Judaism are ambivalent toward war and righteous anger. Peace and love are extolled, but God is described as a "man of war" who is "full of fury." He is a vengeful God whose "sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood." (Jer. 46:10) In the Old Testament God repeatedly exhorts the Israelites to wage war and violence: "And you shall destroy all the peoples that the Lord your God gives over to you, your eye shall not pity them." (Deut. 7:16). "When the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them and show no mercy to them." (Deut. 7:2).

All of the world's major religions teach that it is wrong to kill, but that injunction usually includes rationalizations and circumstances where killing is justifiable. In many countries, clergymen serve as chaplains of the armed forces. Religious leaders provide blessings to the troops, and lead prayers for victory. In some cases, they call on the government and the people to go to war. They may claim divine authority, and they may promise rewards in the afterlife to those who die in the conflict. Such actions by religious leaders weaken the moral and ethical imperatives in the minds of the faithful and tend to legitimize war.

Pope John Paul II plainly declared that the United States' war on Iraq was not just and that it should be stopped at all costs. What are his criteria for a just war? According to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, about 1500 years ago, when barbarians were sweeping over the Roman Empire (in which, a century earlier, Emperor Constantine had made Christianity the official religion), St. Augustine provided Christians with the moral justification necessary to kill barbarians to defend themselves. His five criteria for a "Just War" are still used by the Catholic Church:

Thai painting of Buddha; the hand gesture indicates "Stopping his relatives from fighting." (British Museum)

Just cause:

Protection of the innocent from unjust aggression.

Common good authority:

The use of force must be ordered by a competent and lawful authority with responsibility for the common good.

Last resort:

All peaceful means to resolve the conflict must be exhausted first.

Just motivation:

The intent of the war must be to restore order and justice—not to satisfy hatred and vengeance.

Proportional benefits and probable success:

The expected benefits have to be proportional to human lives lost and damage caused to achieve it, and there has to be a good chance of winning.

According to Buddha's teaching, there is no such thing as righteous anger, let alone a just war. The three defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion are the reasons the world goes round and round. Wars begin because the people of one country--or, at least, their rulers--have unfulfilled desires. They are greedy for advantages, benefits, wealth, or power; they are angry, jealous, or filled with rage. Either their desires have been thwarted, or their pride and their sense of self have been offended. Often conflicts involve racial or national arrogance. Leaders wrongly feel that the solution to problems, which are essentially within their own minds, can be found externally, through the use of force. Those in power are deluded into thinking that the violence of war will bring real and lasting benefit to themselves and to their group.

Some religions claim that one who dies fighting for a righteous cause will be rewarded. Once a soldier named Yodhajiva asked Buddha about the ancient creed of the warrior caste: "When a professional warrior exerts himself in battle, if others then slay him, after death he will be reborn in the company of gods slain in battle." Buddha tried three times to discourage this question, but Yodhajiva persisted. At last Buddha said, "Apparently, Yodhajiva, I haven't been able to get past you by saying, 'Enough, don't ask me that.' So I will simply answer you. When a professional warrior exerts himself in battle, his mind is already debased and misdirected by the thought: 'May these men be slaughtered, annihilated, destroyed.' If others slay him while he is exerting himself in battle, after death, he will be reborn in the hell called the realm of those slain in battle. But if he holds the view you mentioned, that is his wrong view. Now, there are two destinations for a person with wrong view. Either hell or the animal womb." Hearing Buddha's answer, Yodhajiva wept because he had been deceived by that ancient creed. (Samyutta Nikaya XLII,3)

Buddha advanced a version of the Golden Rule as the key to solving the problem of violence and cruelty: "All tremble before violence, wish to live in peace, and do not want to die. Thus, putting oneself in the place of others, one should not frighten others, harm them, or cause them to be harmed in any way." (Dhammapada 129-130).

In the Parable of the Saw, Buddha said, "Even were villainous bandits to cut off the limbs of a man, and were he then of angry mind, he would not be carrying out my instruction." (Majjhima Nikaya, I, 21)

A man may spoil another, just so far
As it may serve his ends, but when he's spoiled
By others, he, despoiled, spoils yet again.
So long as evil's fruit is not matured,
The fool fancies: "Now is the hour, this is my chance!"
But when the deed bears fruit, he fares badly.
The slayer gets a slayer in his turn;
The conqueror gets one who conquers him;
The abuser wins abuse; the annoyer, annoyance.
Thus by an evolution of the deed,
A man who spoils is spoiled in his turn.
--Samyutta Nikaya III, 15

As predicted, Pasenadi's generosity was not enough to put an end to the conflicts. There were, indeed, more wars between the two kings afterwards.

Buddha's message, without exception, is that the only way to stop violence is to respond to violence with non-violence.

The Buddhist approach to peace is based not on sentimentality but on a clear understanding of the dynamics of violence and of its causes: greed, hatred, and delusion. The dependence on war or the threat of war to preserve one's security is, in the long run, bound to fail and to produce more violence and further suffering.

Obviously, Buddha's radical teaching runs counter to prevailing opinions on how to control violence. On every side we hear arguments that the only effective answer to violence is more violence, with an attempt, of course, to distinguish between "good" violence (sanctioned force and punishment) and "bad" violence (crime and, recently, terrorism). We often hear phrases such as, "force is all these people understand," "we must fight fire with fire," and "the war to end all wars."

The assumption is that violence itself is morally neutral and that what matters is the end for which it is applied. In this interpretation, violence is not the source of problems. It is only problematical when it is used by bad people, those with the wrong views. Common opinion relies on violence as an instrument to end unjust violence and justifies the killing of certain beings for one's own protection or happiness. Buddhism takes as its first precept the prohibition of the killing of any creature.

Buddha is invariably described as full of compassion:

He is a reconciler of those who are in conflict and an encourager of those who are already united, rejoicing in peace, loving peace, delighting in peace, he is one who speaks in praise of peace.
Abandoning killing, the monk Gotama lives refraining from killing, he is without stick or sword, he lives with care, compassion, and sympathy for others.
--Digha Nikaya I, 1

Once we understand that the cause of violence is greed, hatred, and delusion, it is obvious that the first step in its eradication must be our own. Not entering into the circle of violence is the only way to stay outside of it. This means that we must concern ourselves with our own thoughts, speech, and action rather than with those of others, not only because this is what is most directly within our control, but also because it is our own thoughts, speech, and actions that cause us to suffer.

By ourselves is evil done.
By ourselves we pain endure.
By ourselves we cease from wrong
By ourselves become we pure.
--Dhammapada 165

Rather than involve its believers in armed struggle to preserve itself, Buddhism retreated from the Muslim onslaught in India and from the communist attacks in China and Vietnam. When Sri Lanka was invaded by foreign aggressors, Buddhist monks were so committed to pacifism that the lineage of the monkhood virtually disappeared. To resume the lineage, the King of Sri Lanka called a group of monks from Siam to perform ordination ceremonies.

Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese scholar monk who traveled to India for scriptures, was once asked by the Emperor to accompany him on a military campaign. His tactful reply was entirely in keeping with the Buddhist monastic code: "Hiuen Tsang knows himself not to be of any assistance to your military campaign. I feel ashamed to be the object of unnecessary expenses and a useless burden. Moreover, the vinaya (monks' discipline) forbids monks to see military battle and displays of armies. As Lord Buddha gave such an admonition, I dare not, to please Your Majesty."

Every practicing Buddhist undertakes to observe the Five Precepts, the first of which is not to kill. This expands to encompass the notion of non-harming (ahimsa) and the practice of loving-kindness towards all. The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice is nibbana, perfect peace. The Buddha said, "There is no greater happiness than peace."

In Buddha's teaching, where even resentment is considered unwholesome, there is no room for violence of any kind. Buddha's Dhamma can never countenance righteous war, righteous torture, righteous execution, or even righteous anger. In this, there can be no compromise. For Buddha there is no just cause, for the sake of which we are justified in committing violence. Peace, according to Buddha, can only be achieved through peaceful means.