[Buddha-l] Religious, But is it the power of Kings?

[jkirk]

That's basically right, Bob. From the start, Japanese Buddhism was quite
literally the property of ruling class. The govt. built the temples,
controlled ordination, and supervised overseas contacts. Major monasteries
eventually developed their own military components, and were major players.
...................
Dan
===============
Hello Dan, Please tell me or us more about the Japanese monasteries that
developed martial arts.
Wasn't there one that maintained its own small army? Perhaps the Burma
Theravadans could take a lesson from this history?  Meanwhile, I saw on one
of the Burma alt. websites that some monks are collecting weapons--but guns
not available--sticks and machetes, swords......this is sad because it's
against their dharma--but this is 2001 and they are up against a wall that
neither the Buddha, nor Bodhidharma, ever faced. 
Thanks
Joanna

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