Is VIolence JustIfIed In theraVada BuddhIsm?
Journal Title: Social Affairs - Year 2014, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
Focusing on three kinds of textual sources of Theravada Buddhism (the Pali canon, postcanonical Pali chronicles and medieval Sinhala literature), this paper examines whether there is any justifcation of violence in Theravada Buddhism. Though Buddhism has recognized the relative merits of the use of mild forms of force in certain rare circumstances, by advocating a path of non-violence as one of its central doctrines Buddhism has rejected the use of violence even as a skill-in-means (Skt. upayakausalya). The paper thus examines justifcations both for violence and non-violence within the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It evaluates controversial discussions of violence in the post-canonical Pali chronicle, the Mahavamsa, in which one fnds a rare case of justifying violence in the attempt to explain potential war crimes of King Duttagamani. By comparing Mahavamsa’s views with Pali canonical literature, the paper argues that both in theory and practice Theravada Buddhism does not profess violence.Asserting that violence cannot be justifed under any circumstance, violence and its manifestations in Buddhist societies can be viewed as a deviation from the teachings of the Buddha.
Authors and Affiliations
Mahinda Deegalle
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP31407
- DOI -
- Views 492
- Downloads 2
EXPANSION OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION, GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE KNOWLEDGE HUB IN SRI LANKA
The main objective of this paper is to examine the nexus between the existing university education system and graduate unemployment, and to explore the responses of successive governments to address this issue. It also...
‘VAJRA JAYANTHI’ OF A GREAT SEAT OF HIGHER LEARNING: A MILLENNIUM PERSPECTIVE
Mine was a life closely intertwined with this great university and its intellectual traditions. I happened to be one of those few individuals who were privileged to be born in the same year in which the university was...
The Role played by The Ceylon RefoRmed SoCieTy and The oRienTal mediCal SCienCe fund in The Revival of TRadiTional mediCine in Ceylon/SRi lanka
This paper elaborates on how and in what ways the nineteenth century nationalist unrest motivated local elite groups to work together to restore traditional medicine in Sri Lanka which underwent a signifcant decline as...
SOCIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON
For eight years after its establishment in 1948, the Department of Sociology remained in the ambiguous terrain of being both an independent department and a subordinate partner of the Economics Department. In that role...
SOME ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES OF THE VEDDAS IN SRI LANKA
Veddas are considered to be the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. A century ago, the Veddas were scattered across the Eastern Province, and some parts of the North-Central and Uva Provinces, although at present they are...