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Article: Is violence justified in Theravada Buddhism?
- Article from:
- The Ecumenical Review
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 World Council of Churches. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Is there a place for violence in Theravada Buddhism? This question is often raised when various recent events are examined in relation to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and the genocide of 2-3 million Khmers (mostly Buddhists) between 1975 and 1979 by Poi Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. (1) Both Sri Lanka and Cambodia are primarily Theravada Buddhist societies and in the last three decades both countries have witnessed a great deal of physical violence and abuse of human rights. While the violence can be attributed to various political problems, civil unrest, growth of communist thinking and fanatical armed groups, corrupt politicians and poor economic ...