[Buddha-l] Dharmapala

[L.S. Cousins]

  On 14/07/2010 02:17, Curt Steinmetz wrote:
> The Buddha appears to have accepted not only the economic
> largesse of powerful allies, but also their physical/armed protection.
> If the Buddha himself did not do this, then it happened very soon
> afterwards because the theme of political allies militarily protecting
> Buddhism is in the Pali Canon as far back as one can go.
>
> In all of "Buddhism and Warfare" there is no mention, not even in a
> footnote, of Matthew Kosuta's excellent study "The Military in the Pali
> Canon", in which Kosuta concluded that "in a mundane perspective, the
> military is ever present, of high prestige, and even necessary in some
> circumstances for the protection of Buddhism."
>
> Here is a link to Kosuta's paper:
> http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/militarycanon.html
>
I haven't read Kosuta's paper, but this seems a bit puzzling. The idea 
of 'military allies protecting Buddhism' seems quite anachronistic in 
this context. We have monks and their associates. We have teachings 
attributed to the Buddha and his disciples, but I don't see anything one 
could call a religion of 'Buddhism'. That comes later.

Lance Cousins