[Buddha-l] FW: H-ASIA: New Book: Buddhist Warfare

[JKirkpatrick]

Read the book first before jumping to conclusions! You're
reacting to a blurb.
JK

=============

Talk about straw man arguments.

For "Though traditionally regarded as a peaceful religion" one
should read "though consistently misrepresented by a few
westerners as a pacifist religion".

For "Buddhism has a dark side" one should read "we are going to
try to do everything we can to obfuscate the yawning abyss that
separates intrinsically violent and intolerant religions such
Christianity and Islam from the vast majority of religions
throughout human history, such as Buddhism."

For "On multiple occasions over the past fifteen centuries,
Buddhist leaders have sanctioned violence" one should read
"although neither the Buddha nor any significant Buddhist teacher
in history has ever advocated pacifism, nevertheless we are going
to portray any deviation from pacifism as if it were somehow a
failure and a deviation from the teachings of the Buddha."

And so forth.

Curt

JKirkpatrick wrote:
>  
> X-posted --new book of interest; includes chapters by some
well-known 
> Buddhologers.
> Looks like a must-read.
> JK
> ========================
>
>
> H-ASIA
> Dec. 4 2009
>
> Member's New Book: Buddhist Warfare
> ********************************************
>
> Mark Juergensmeyer and I would like to announce the publication
of our 
> co-edited volume next month:
>
> BUDDHIST WARFARE, edited by Michael Jerryson and Mark
Juergensmeyer 
> (New
> York: Oxford University Press, 2010). ISBN: 978-0-19-539483-2
>
> From OUP's website:
>
> Though traditionally regarded as a peaceful religion, Buddhism
has a 
> dark side. On multiple occasions over the past fifteen
centuries, 
> Buddhist leaders have sanctioned violence, and even war. The
eight 
> essays in this book focus on a variety of Buddhist traditions,
from 
> antiquity to the present, and show that Buddhist organizations
have 
> used religious images and rhetoric to support military conquest

> throughout history.
>
> Buddhist soldiers in sixth century China were given the
illustrious 
> status of Bodhisattva after killing their adversaries. In
seventeenth 
> century Tibet, the Fifth Dalai Lama endorsed a Mongol ruler's
killing 
> of his rivals. And in modern-day Thailand, Buddhist soldiers
carry out 
> their duties undercover, as fully ordained monks armed with
guns.
>
> Buddhist Warfare demonstrates that the discourse on religion
and 
> violence, usually applied to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity,
can no 
> longer exclude Buddhist traditions. The book examines Buddhist 
> military action in Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Sri
Lanka, 
> and Thailand, and shows that even the most unlikely and
allegedly 
> pacifist religious traditions are susceptible to the violent 
> tendencies of man.
>
> REVIEWS
> "Anyone with idealized notions of Buddhism as a religion fully 
> committed to peace and non-violence will benefit from this fine

> collection.
> Outlining how a range of Buddhists have participated in war and

> justified this apparent violation of their ethical principles,
these 
> essays shed new light on sacred violence, just-war discourse, 
> religious nationalism, and religious institutions'
> collaboration with the state.
> This is a rich and timely book." ---Christopher Ives, author of

> Imperial-Way Zen
>
> TABLE OF CONTENTS
> Introduction
>            Michael Jerryson
>
> Buddhism and War
>            Paul Demiéville
>
> Making Merit through Warfare According to the 
> Arya-Bodhisattva-gocara-upayavisaya-vikurvana-nirdesa Sutra
>            Stephen Jenkins
>
> Sacralized Warfare: The Fifth Dalai Lama and the Discourse of 
> Religious Violence
>            Derek F. Maher
>
> Legalized Violence: Punitive Measures of Buddhist Khans in
Mongolia
>            Vesna A. Wallace
>
> A Buddhological Critique of “Soldier-Zen” in Wartime Japan
>            Brian Daizen Victoria
>
> Buddhists in China during the Korean War (1951–1953)
>            Xue Yu
>
> Onward Buddhist Soldiers: Preaching to the Sri Lankan Army
>            Daniel Kent
>
> Militarizing Buddhism: Violence in Southern Thailand
>            Michael Jerryson
>
> Afterthoughts
>            Bernard Faure
>
>
> Anyone who wishes more information may contact me off list, or
visit 
> Amazon.com to view more of the volume:
>
>
http://www.amazon.com/Buddhist-Warfare-Michael-Jerryson/dp/019539
> 4844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259727039&sr=8-1
>
> best,
>
> Michael
>
>
> --
> Michael Jerryson
> Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Eckerd College -
Letters 
> Collegium 4200 54th Ave. S.
> St. Petersburg, FL 33711
> jerrysm at eckerd.edu
> --
>  Michael Jerryson
>  Assistant Professor
>  Eckerd College, Florida
>  jerrysm at eckerd.edu
>
>
>
>
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>   

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