the death penalty in buddhist countries?

Question

i want to know about the death penalty in buddhist countries

Answer 1

Go to a fundamentalist Buddhist country, if there is such a thing, commit a crime and find out!

Answer 2

You are right , Buddhists are supposed to be followers of non violence and there should not be any death penalty in these countries. From the religion point of view , the same is alright , as a life imprisonment is more punitive for a criminal .
But let us think in the way the administrators and politicians think , who takes these decisions . These people are afraid of tomorrow , as they may not be in power . Naturally they would like to execute their enemies , to clear their existence . This is what is happening in China and all Buddhist Communist countries.
In Japan , where the people are so self esteemed that they will commit Harakiri instead.
Religion is a tool used by politicians to subdue the masses and this can never come in their way to obtain and maintain absolute power.

Answer 3

It is true of countries with a majority Buddhist philosophy that the Death penalty is imposed for certain crimes. In my adopted country of Thailand for example, the Death Penalty is imposed for drug dealing, smuggling and some other crimes. Not unlike Christian countries. Muslim countries also impose the Death penalty. Malaysia imposes it, Singapore, a mainly Christian country imposes it, the U.S imposes it. Personally as a Buddhist I do not agree with its imposition.

It should be noted that in Thailand, it is not automatically imposed for drug use however. Cleansing regimes are imposed and dug users are given several chances to reform before other sanctions are imposed. Thais see the drug problem as equivalent to murder on a grand scale. Drug use is seen as a disease of the mind and measures are imposed to try to cure users of the affliction before harsh penalties are imposed. Smuggling on the other hand brings swift justice.

Peace from a Buddhist...

Answer 4

Buddhist countries and capital punishment

Despite teachings several countries with substantial Buddhist populations retain the death penalty, and some of them, for example Thailand, continue to use it.

These are no states that have Buddhism as their official religion.

Alarid and Wang* suggest that this apparent paradox partly stems from the difference between popular and monastic Buddhism. The majority of lay Buddhists in these countries follow Buddhist practices and are entirely sincere in their commitment, but "the genuine study of Buddhism, its rituals, and carryover to daily life is superficial for most Buddhist followers."

Other reasons Buddhist countries retain the death penalty are:

belief by politicians that capital punishment is necessary for retribution, cultural customs, or for deterrence value
a long tradition of capital punishment in a particular country
keeping order in society is seen as more important than Buddha's teaching
reaction to long periods of political unrest or economic instability
*Reference: Material in this sub-section is largely taken from Mercy and Punishment: Buddhism and the Death Penalty; Alarid and Wang

Answer 5

What about death penalty in buddhist counties you wish to know? How is it different death penalty in a christian country?

Answer 6

Just like in America, the actions of a country's political leaders do not always reflect the views of it's people.

"We believe that capital punishment not only fails to serve as deterrence to violence and murder, but that it nourishes the seeds of violence that exist within each of us."

- Buddhist Peace Fellowship Statement onThe Death Penalty
http://www.bpf.org/html/resources_and_links/statements/death_penalty.html

Answer 7

Sri Lanka - i do not know the official position , but i do know that nobody has been given a death penalty for atleast 20 years.

Answer 8

Sri Lanka has the death penalty but it has not carried it out since mid 70's.

Answer 9

In Japan, there is the death penalty. Asahara Shoko, the mastermind of the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo Subway is due to hang this month, although the exact date is being kept secret.

Answer 10

Japan has a death penalty. There are not many death penalties given, and many ot them given end up not being carried out.

Answer 11

Look at the map:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_capital_punishment_by_nation

The death penalty exists in multiple countries that have a majority of adherents to Buddhism, as well as countries that have majority adherents of every other one of the Big 5 religions.