Buddhism and Social Justice
...ddhist author, was once asked if he would rather have a war to preserve the existence of Buddhism or peace under a regime that would destroy it. He replied that it was better to have peace, no matter what the price. The Buddha was also very plain in his opinion of war: “Victory creates hatred. Defeat creates suffering. The wise ones desire neither victory nor defeat… Anger creates anger… He who kills will be killed. He who wins will be defeated… Revenge can only be overcome by abandoning revenge… The wise seek neither victory nor defeat.” So, according to Buddha, not only is war wrong, in relation to the gain of understanding towards enlightenment, but it will always ultimately result in defeat and suffering. The only way to really win, in reality, is to never fight at all. In several books I used in researching this paper, a Buddhist emperor by the name of Asoka (also spelled Ashoka) was mentioned. It is said that his decrees were always intended to improve the causes of Buddhism, and never to increase his own power. Thus, he has become an example of the ideal Buddhist ruler, with many leaders aspiring to compare to him. According to records found on rocks and pillars, Asoka controlled much of the Indian subcontinent, and successfully campaigned to add Andhra Pradesh and Orissa to his empire. Through this victory, a hundred thousand people died and many more were taken prisoner. Despite his triumph, however, Asoka became very saddened at the thought of this massacre of so much human life. He decided that from then on, he would follow the path of Dharma, meaning righteousness and religious duty, and rule with unconditional benevolence. Through this he became happy, and his name reflects this: Ashoka means “not-sorrowful”. Emperor Asoka introduced many policies that reflect current Buddhist approaches to social justice. One decree stated: King Asoka now thinks that even a person who wrongs him must be forgiven for wrongs that can be forgiven. This forgiveness did not, however, end all laws and make Asoka’s empire an absolutely free society. Ashoka also reminded his people that he would still punish those who violated the laws of the day, for the purpose of helping them to stop committing crimes and also avoid execution. He made it clear that the purpose of this was security, self-control, fairness, and happiness for all living creatures. In contrast to the statement by Thich Nhat Hanh reference earlier in this paper awarding merit to the concept of peace at any cost, Asoka kept an army present to avoid invasion by other empires, and a police force to uphold peace on the domestic front. Again, this point seems to reflect the weakness that Buddhism inherently suffers by perpetuating absolute nonviolence, and how hard it is to avoid such a disadvantage and still keep in line with Buddhist ideals. Even one of the most respected leaders in the history of Buddhism failed to completely adhere to the policy of nonviolence. It is certainly no surprise that modern rulers suffer through the same dilemma. On a more localized, individual, and downsized scale, Buddhism faces crime and punishment issues with the same basic pretense of love and benevolence. Within Buddhist monkish communities, legal functions are handled by a Codaka, meaning reprover or warner. His job is to decide how to treat a case according to the word and philosophy of the Buddha. This is considered an extremely important position, as indicated by the fact that several direct disciples of the Buddha filled it. It is difficult to understand how a Codaka can be just in his decisions while keeping in the spirit of benevolence, which rules in obvious favor of mercy, forgiveness, and sympathy. A Codaka must essentially deal in fairness and justice in the interest of the community as his position requires, then go beyond that boundary with goodwill and benevolence toward the monk in question. Given that contradiction, it is easy to see why the position of Codaka would be a hard one to fill. As far as punishment in general is concerned, it can be said that Buddhism inflicts its own spiritual flavor of retribution. A killer does not only affect his victim, but also himself, through a reversal of the progression towards enlightenment. This backtracking can last several lives. Thus, a potential killer is punished ...