tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038920.post-915089862003-03-28T09:19:00.000+10:002003-03-28T10:47:18.000+10:00<blockquote>"May we exist like the lotus - at home in a muddy pond. Thus we bow to life as it is." </blockquote> It would be nice to romanticise certain religions, as though there's a 'liberated zone' somewhere in the world that is free of war and the ideologies of war. Unfortunately there isn't. Although Buddhism is generally speaking a peace loving religion (or philosophy or whatever), there are some notable exceptions. People who think Buddhism has a great pacifist record should read Brian Victoria's book, Zen at War, which indicts some well known Japanese Zen teachers with actively promoting Japanese militarism in the pre-war period, and supporting massacres in China. Also worth reading on this subject is In Defense of Dharma: Just-War Ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka by Tessa J. Bartholomeusz. She shows how certain Buddhist texts and stories have been used to defend war against Tamils in Buddhist terms. Unfortunately, war is everywhere and the seeds of war are in each one of us. Happily, though, peace is everywhere and the seeds of non-violence are in each one of us. With each word and thought and action we have to choose which seeds we will water. To help us on the way there are sereral well-known Buddhist exemplars of non-violence, such as the <a href="http://www.tibet.com">Dalai Lama</a>, <a href="http://www.parallax.org">Thich Nhat Hanh</a>, <a href="http://www.dassk.com"> Aung San Suu Kyi</a>, <a href="http://www.sarvodaya.org">AT Ariyaratne</a>, <a href="http://www.sulak-sivaraksa.org">Sulak Sivaraksa</a>, <a href="http://www.joannamacy.net">Joanna Macy</a>, a whole generation of leaders who have consistently chosen to embody the way of peace. And to them, much respect. presentmomenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00408956745819058703noreply@blogger.com