Should followers of Buddhism make an exception of fighting, if it's for the welfare of innocents?

Answer 1

The Buddha teaches that all warfare in which man tries to slay his brothers is lamentable.But he does not teach that those who are involved in war to maintain peace and order,after having exhausted all means to avoid conflict,are blameworthy.

Struggle must exist,for all life is a struggle of some kind.But make such certain that you do not struggle in the interests of self-interest against truth and justice.He,who struggles out of self-interest to make himself great or powerful or rich or famous,will have no reward.But he who struggles for peace and truth will have great reward;even his defeat will be deemed a victory.

"Great is a successful general,but he who conquers self is the greater victor." The Buddha.

Answer 2

The world is illusion, so one must be very careful in times of violence not to be swayed by popular opinions into committing unjust acts. All warlords always claimed to fight for a just cause - Buddhists believe violence should be the absolute last resort, and that its use should be minimal. War is certainly considered to be an evil, because innocents will inevitably suffer and the suffering of the guilty brings no joy to the Buddhists, since the guilty do evil deeds out of ignorance.
There is a little known Buddhist text (not necessarily accepted by all Buddhists) known as the sword of healing. The text described the use of violence and when it should be brought forth to fight an evil in the land. Basically, the text states that the sword should be drawn as an absolute last resort, and that it should be sheathed as soon as it is no longer absolutely necessary.

Answer 3

~~~Jonny ,,,, As a practioner of Aikido and Lifelong Student of Eastern Thought may I say that your particular Scenario does not provide enough description of The Circumstances which would allow a better Perspective. If, based on the supposition you desire an answer on a Scenario which "Demands" Physical Confrontation. For Example: A child is about to be injured by the Actions of Another,,,The Buddhist, in Good Conscience, takes the Path of Non-Action, regardless of Motivation and the child is injured. What is the Karmic Result of this Non-action? It is based in the root of The Buddhist's Conscience. For instance, one could say that The Buddhist's response was based on his Understanding that his Judgement of the Situation was that he had no means to prevent the outcome without causing Unecessary Injury to himself. To what End? Becoming a Martyr? I have personally been involved in a situation where 3 Men, who were not Drunk but bigger than me, were acting in Very Bad Form and most would say "Deserved a Beating". Well, knowing full well that My Physical Skills could render the situation Harmless in less than a minute,,,Using my Intellect, I maintained my Composure, acted like a "milktoast" to protect the intended Inoccent Victims, (a young couple) and rendered the situation Harmless. The Victory was in Non-violence, (as Non-action),,, For where is the Victory in sending 3 ******* to the hospital when I ALREADY know I can acheive this,( and possibly myself getting hurt), when The 3 Jerks were NOT in a State of Mind conducive to My Assitance in Transcending their Conciousness. ,,, Of Course there are Inevitabilities in Life and usually a person, or two in The Group that wants to spoil it for Everybody. They must be dealt with, like everything else, via Patience and Understanding. (I HAVE been forced to physically injure someone,,, but fortunately this has never occurred outside of The Dojo.)

Answer 4

We tend to forget the spirit in which these regulations were made in. Buddhism teaches peace at all costs but holds strongly to the sanctity of life. It is not a far cry from this to see that to break the rule of observing peace is not so important as to preserve the sanctity of life. I like to think that Buddhists will have the discernment to understand this and will be willing to surrender their own life for the life of another. But is there such a man in existance? A question for another day perhaps...

Answer 5

One should never enter a conflict resolved to violence. Intention is very important and any such situation should be entered with the intent to be as compassionate to all parties as possible. That said, sometimes "compassionate as possible" ends up being kicking someones ***, but do not be excessive. Try to find a peaceful resolution, empathize with them but if you hand is forced, it's forced . Just remember you are responsible for 100% of the things that happen to you (i.e. if you are on a place that crashes, don't blame the pilot, you decided to get one the plane in the first place). Good luck!

Answer 6

Buddism isn't always pacificist--but that's a quibble. They should--and I suspect most would agree that's a legitimate exception Even Gandhi (though he was a Hindu) granted that exception--though only as a laast resort.

Answer 7

well, we buddhists believe that the karmic effect of actions is determined by the intention behind it, so... I guess yes

Answer 8

Buddhists fight also ....Sri Lanka