[Buddha-l] Zen War Guilt/Zen and the Sword

[curt]

A very direct Zen-martial link exists in Korean Zen. The
sixteenth century Korean Zen master Sosan Taesa organized
and led a guerilla army to fight against the Japanese invasions
toward the end of the sixteenth century. I believe this is well-
documented historical fact - but the original sources would
of course all be in Korean, Japanese and Chinese (the Chinese
played a decisive role in defeating the Japanese - and I have
read quotes from Chinese documents of the time in which they
praise Sosan Taesa and his fighters). There is a tradition of Zen
monks serving in the national military of Korea that supposedly
dates back to Sosah Taesa's expoits. I found an on-line bibliography
on "Korea-Japan Relations" which lists several works on this
sixteenth century war between Korea and Japan:
http://www.hawaii.edu/korea/bibliography/choson-japanrelations.htm
- Curt

d f tweney wrote:

> At the risk of veering off-topic, I am wondering whether anyone has 
> considered older, Chinese connections between Buddhism and military / 
> state power. It seems clear that the kinds of militarization of Zen 
> that happened in Japan also happened in China, perhaps at a very early 
> stage. For instance, even a passing acquaintance with Chinese martial 
> arts reveals abundant connections between Buddhism and the martial 
> arts (cf. Shaolin temple), many of which were employed in decidedly 
> non-peaceful ways.
>
> The problem is that many of these connections are obviously 
> mythologized to a high degree, and I don't have the scholarly 
> expertise to figure out what has some basis in historical fact and 
> what doesn't. I'd welcome pointers to any good sources on the subject.
>
> At any rate, my point is that fusing Buddhism and militarism may not 
> be a strictly Japanese invention.
>
> --dylan.
>