Description
What guidance can Buddhism provide to those involved in armed conflict and to belligerents who must perhaps kill or be killed or defend their families, communities or countries from attack? How, moreover, does Buddhism compare with international humanitarian law (IHL) – otherwise known as the law of armed conflict – which protects non-combatants and restricts the means and methods of warfare to limit the suffering it causes?
Despite the prevalence of armed conflict in parts of the Buddhist world, few contemporary studies have addressed these questions. While there is a wealth of material on Buddhist conflict prevention and resolution, remarkably little attention has been paid to what Buddhism says about the actual conduct of war. IHL is also still relatively little known in the Buddhist world and might not therefore influence the behaviour of belligerents who self-identify as Buddhists and are perhaps more likely to be guided by Buddhist principles. This ground-breaking volume is part of an International Committee of the Red Cross project which seeks to fill this gap by exploring correspondences between Buddhist and IHL principles, and by identifying Buddhist resources to improve compliance with IHL and equivalent Buddhist or humanitarian norms.
This book will be of much interest to students and researchers of International Law, Buddhism, Ethics as well as War and Conflict studies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Buddhism.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Table of Contents
Preface
Andrew Bartles-Smith
Introduction: How Does Buddhism Compare with International Humanitarian Law, and Can It Contribute to Humanising War?
Andrew Bartles-Smith
Part I: Situating Buddhism in Relation to IHL
1. Buddhist Motivation to Support IHL, From Concern to Minimise Harms Inflicted by Military Action to Both Those Who Suffer Them and Those Who Inflict Them
Peter Harvey
2. Implications of Buddhist Political Ethics for the Minimisation of Suffering in Situations of Armed Conflict
P. D. Premasiri
3. Two Dimensions of Buddhist Practice and Their Implications on Statecraft
Asanga Tilakaratne
4. The Paradox of the Buddhist Soldier
Daniel Ratheiser and Sunil Kariyakarawana
5. Buddhist Empirical Realism and the Conduct of Armed Conflict
Elizabeth J. Harris
6. Fundamental Intelligence, A Buddhist Justification for the Universal Principles Underlying IHL
Diane Denis
Part II: The Military and the Conduct of War
7. The Buddhist Soldier: A Madhyamaka Inquiry
Dharmacārin Siṃhanāda
8. Limiting the Risk to Combatant Lives: Confluences Between International Humanitarian Law and Buddhism
Vishakha Wijenayake
9. ‘Not Knowing Is Most Intimate’: Koan Practice and the Fog of War
Noel Maurer Trew
10. Siege Warfare and the Prohibition of Intentional Starvation of Civilians: The Convergence of IHL and Buddhist Ethics
Nishara Mendis
Part III: Minimising Harm and Practical Values
11. ‘Freedom From Hatred’: The Role of Khanti in Complementing the Work of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Alex Wakefield
12. Restraint In Warfare and Appamāda: The Concept of Collateral Damage in International Humanitarian Law in Light of the Buddha’s Last Words
Bhagya Samarakoon
13. The Gift of Fearlessness: A Buddhist Framework for the Protection of Vulnerable Populations Under International Humanitarian Law
Christina A. Kilby
14. Addressing the Causes of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence with the Buddhist Doctrine of Lack of a Permanent Self and Meditation Training
Charya Samarakoon
15. How Buddhist Principles Can Help the Practical Implementation of IHL Values During War with Respect to Non-Combatants
Ven Kosgama Muditha, Ven Koralegama Gnanawasa and Ven Kirindiwela Pagngnawansa
Part IV: Buddhist Historical and Humanitarian Dimensions
16. Buddhism, The Royal Imaginary and Limits in Warfare: The Moderating Influence of Precolonial Myanmar Royal Campaigns on Everyday Warriors
Michael W. Charney
17. Between Common Humanity and Partiality: The Chogye Buddhist Chaplaincy Manual of the South Korean Military and Its Relevance to International Humanitarian Law
Hyein Lee
18. International Humanitarian Law and Nichiren Buddhism
Daiki Kinoshita
19. Socially Engaged Buddhism and Principled Humanitarian Action During Armed Conflict
Ha Vinh Tho, Edith Favoreu and Noel Maurer Trew
