Vol. 58, No. 1, War Magic and Warrior Religion: Sorcery, Cognition, and Embodiment
關鍵詞
Buddhism; just war; mantra; pacifism; tantra; Vajrayāna; violence; warfare
摘要
Warfare was widespread in classical India. Although the Buddhists of India abhorred killing, they could not evade or ignore war altogether. From the seventh century to the thirteenth century, various types of war magic, together with justifications for their use, developed in tantric Buddhist communities. Defensive types of war magic adhered to pacifist ethics and aimed to avoid, halt, or disperse armies. Harmful war magic was applied in the context of the transcendent ethics of enlightenment. Even when warfare was fully incorporated into Buddhist soteriology, non-violence remained a paramount virtue, and the scope of a just war was very limited. The present survey of tantric sources shows that tantric Buddhist war magic emerged as a reaction to the inevitability of war and was applied in the hope of mitigating warfare's excesses.
目次
Abstract 149 Harmlessness and War Magic in Early Tantric Buddhism 151 A Paradigmatic Myth for the Deployment of War Magic 156 Frightful War Magic at the Front Line 157 Enlightened Yogins Waging Enlightened Warfare 158 War's Inevitability According to the Kālacakra-tantra 160 Just War Doctrine in the Kālacakra-tantra 161 Concluding Remarks 163 Acknowledgment 163 References 164 Primary Sources 164 Secondary Sources 165
