[Buddha-l] A More Encouraging Read

[Franz Metcalf]

Gang,

I should have been more careful in my offhand comments in my last  
post. Curt and Joanna are right that Buddhists, as seemingly all  
religionists throughout space and time, have most often been more  
concerned with nation and tribe than with that which gives rise to  
vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to higher  
knowledge, to full awakening, to Nibbāna. What I really meant to say  
was that the *dharma* did not care for nations. This I still think is  
largely true.

So I disagree, Curt, with your assertion that there is no "evidence of  
any Buddhist teachers, including Old Shakyamuni, ever encouraging  
political leaders to abandon the principle of national self-defense."  
I admit you've left some room for common ground, as what you did was  
deny a negative. So let me rephrase: I *do* think there's reason to  
say the Buddha taught the non-importance of nations or at least the  
defense of nations. Might you agree to that? If not, I'll add we've  
discussed this at some length here on buddha-l. If I get time I'll  
look for the thread. But for now, here are two links to a very  
convincing (at least to me) paper on the notion of Buddhism and war,  
by James A. Stroble at the University of Hawaii. Just as I write this,  
neither link works. Grrrr. But perhaps they will work for you:

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~stroble/BUDDWAR.HTM
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~stroble/Buddhism_and_War.html

And here's a link I just found (and have not read), to Eric Sean  
Nelson's syllabus on Buddhism and War:

http://www.aarweb.org/syllabus/syllabi/n/nelson/nelson-20040823/buddhismandwar.htm

What you you think?

Franz

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Franz Metcalf, PhD.  323.467.3267  http://mind2mind.net
Buddhist Author, Teacher, Scholar, Husband, Dad, Beginner