Suchergebnisse

Remarks on Violence in Buddhist Ideology and Social Practice in Sri Lanka

Contrary to a common opinion, the Buddhist discourse on violence is essentially ambivalent. A casuistry built up during two milleniums of interaction with the lay society interprets violence as legitimate when used for the defense of the Doctrine, while condemning it in social relations inside the Buddhist polity. The history fo Sri Lanka is a case in point. The rise of violence, which is assuming a critical dimension in communal relations, may be understood as the product of the breakdown of traditional values under the colonial and post-colonial impact, or else as the modern form of the built-in tensions of any Buddhist society.