Searching The Theravada Tipitaka for Clues to A Buddhist textual perspective on War, Conflict and Healing

Dr. Matthew Kosuta,
Mahidol University

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a survey of the Jātaka, Vinaya and Suttana passages that give clues as to the results of a conflict and allude to strategies for dealing with the aftermath of the conflict. The Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism is an enormous body of work and contains a variety of teachings, many told in story form especially the Jātaka. Among these teachings and stories we find mention of wars and military action. However, these passages rarely contain teachings which comment directly on war and what is mentioned is often done in an oblique fashion. Given these limitations, can we find ideas corresponding to the modern conception of healing strategies? Does the Tipitaka describe anything comparable to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and how it may be treated? A thorough study of the passages related to war and armed conflict in the Tipitaka reveals few stated consequences in wake of a war and fewer stated strategies for coping with the aftermath of war.

In order to bring out these few but essential ideas some key passages are addressed: the Jātaka stories Kusa-jātaka # 531, Mahāsīlava-jātaka #51, Seyya-jātaka # 282, and the Asātarūpa-jātaka #100; the Mahādukkhakkhandha-sutta, and the important sutta Two Sayings on War (Sangāme dve vuttāni S i 82-85) where the Buddha comments on two battles fought between King Pasenadi of Kosala and King Ajātasattu of Māgadha which contains the famous stanzas spoken by the Buddha:

Victory breeds hatred;
The defeated live in pain.
Happily the peaceful live,
Giving up victory and defeat.

From these and other passages and the general teachings delivered in the Tipitaka an attempt is made to isolate psychological and social effects of war and any healing strategies, explicit or implicit, contained therein. It is hoped this paper will provide a textual basis in addressing the theme of War, Conflict and Healing from a Buddhist perspective.