Martial Monks in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

Martial Monks in Medieval Chinese Buddhism NIKOLAS BROY University of Göttingen (Germany) 1. Introduction The great religious traditions of the world generally pay special attention to what may be called “pacifism” or renunciation of violence. But for several reasons, Buddhism is thought of as the most peaceful one among them. Particularly in comparison to the Abrahamic religions, a supposed fundamental difference is often observed. Moreover, in terms of peaceful conduct, Buddhism tends to be understood as diametrically opposed to Islam, which is sometimes considered a “militant religion.”1 In recent years, this supposition has become the subject of increasing scholarly interest. Studies on Buddhism as well as on Buddhist ethics in different countries such as Śri Lanka, Tibet, Korea and Japan show not only that Buddhist norms and Buddhist practice are unable to match the ideal of an ever peaceful religion; they moreover indicate that violence in some cases was even perceived as a perfectly reasonable course of action. Although this often is interpreted as a sign of moral decline, justification of violence can also be found within Buddhist thought itself.2 In pre-modern Korea and Japan in particular, under the strong influence of both the Chinese world and the Buddhist tradition, primarily in its “Chinese variant” (Hanchuan Fojiao 漢傳佛教), martial engagements of Buddhist monks and their followers were nothing unusual. On one side there were the great and powerful Buddhist monasteries of medieval I am indebted to Christoph Kleine, Kai Filipiak, Philip Clart as well as two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions to an earlier version of this paper. Furthermore, I am grateful to Yu Zhejun for his help with some of the Chinese translations and to Daniel O. White for correcting my English. Of course it is needless to say that I alone am responsible for any shortcomings. 1 On a comparison of these stereotypes on the basis of religious texts, see Löhr, “Militanter Islam— friedfertiger Buddhismus?” 2 Important recent studies on Buddhism and violence include: Schmithausen, “Aspects of the Buddhist Attitude towards War”; Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics, 239–285; Hartmann, “‘Triffst du den Buddha, wirst du ihn töten’”; the special issue of the German religious studies journal Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft (no. 2, 2003) on “Buddhism and Violence”; Faure, Bouddhisme et Violence, and two edited volumes: Zimmermann, ed., Buddhism and Violence; Jerryson and Juergensmeyer, ed., Buddhist Warfare. Journal of Chinese Religions 40 (2012) 45 46 Journal of Chinese Religions Japan, which maintained armies to pursue their political and economical aims—a phenomenon condemned by most contemporary and current observers. In contrast, there was the phenomenon known as the “righteous monks” (Kr. ŭisŭng 義僧) in Korea, who gained fame primarily for their participation in the armed protection of the country against the Japanese invaders under Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豊臣秀吉 (1536–1598).3 However, little is known about violence in Chinese Buddhism itself. Although research conducted in recent years has increased our understanding of the connection between Buddhism and traditional Chinese martial arts (especially in regard to the Shaolin 少林 monastery),4 Buddhist uprisings in imperial China,5 and Buddhist militancy in the twentieth century,6 a newer overall study of violence in Chinese Buddhism is still missing. Students interested in this topic still have to fall back on the pioneering but aged accounts of de Groot and Demiéville.7 In a few cases that recent Chinese scholarship has addressed it, the study is focussed on the famous martial arts centers of Wutai 五臺 and Shaolin only.8 Moreover, A History of the Saṅgha Protecting the 3 On the well-known Japanese “warrior monks” (sōhei 僧兵), see: Adolphson, The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha, and Kleine, “Waffengewalt als ‘Weisheit in Anwendung.’” On the Korean “monk soldiers” (Kr. sŭngbyǒng 僧兵 or sŭnggun 僧軍), see: Suita Kazumitsu, “Richō-jidai ni okeru sōgun ni tsuite” and some of the articles in Nakao Hiroshi, ed. Chōsen gisōshō. On the doctrinal background of martial violence in East Asian Buddhism, see Kleine, “Üble Mönche oder wohltätige Bodhisattvas?”; and Kleine, “Evil Monks with Good Intentions?” On the embroilment of Japanese Zen during the Second World War, see: Victoria, Zen at War. 4 McFarlane, “Fighting Bodhisattvas...