ATDTDA: 749/750 "The Compassionate"

[Monte Davis]

Michael Bailey asks:
 
> Is it true that nobody has ever killed anybody in the name of 
> Buddha? (except themselves)

Maybe not in so many words -- but there've certainly been wars and dynastic
fights in Thailand, Cambodia, Ceylon, Tibet etc. in which one or both sides
were led by people with stature in Buddhist as well as secular hierarchies.

You can make a case that it requires significantly more hypocrisy and
rationalization for Buddhists to kill each other -- but hey, people are
resourceful. :-( 

(IMHO the idealization of underdog Tibet has something in common with the
"noble savage-ization" of the New World. Yes, China's role since 1950 has
been shameful and yes, recent Dalai Lamas have been admirable. But it takes
some serious twisting not to see the exploitative and sometimes very harsh
theocracy of "traditional" Tibet.)