(Another must read) Zen at War - Review by Austin Cline

[Guest guest]

Zen at War, by Brian Victoria

 

Review by Austin Cline

About.com Guide to Atheism

 

When one thinks of " holy wars, " wars waged with the approval of

religion, Western religions like Christianity and Islam come to mind.

This is often contrasted with Eastern religions which appear more

peaceful. Buddhism, and especially Zen Buddhism, are thought of as

systems focused on the personal development of peace and harmony with

the universe. Most don't realize the extent of Zen Buddhism's

complicity with the Japanese war machine and the horrors it unleashed on

Southeast Asia.

 

Summary

Title: Zen at War

Author: Brian Victoria

Publisher: Weatherhill

ISBN: 0834804050

 

Pro:

• Translates many key texts and passages otherwise unavailable in the

West

• Copious quotes demonstrate how Zen could be used to promote

violence

 

Con:

• Says more about what happened than why — that is left for future

scholars

 

Description:

• Analysis of how Zen Buddhism provided ideological grounding for

Japanese militarism

• Describes how Zen Buddhist leaders became supporters of imperialism

and militarism

 

Book Review

Brian Victoria teaches Japanese studies at the University of Adelaide

and is an ordained Soto priest. He began to realize that there was

something wrong with Zen Buddhism when he was advised to curtail his

activism against the Vietnam War. If Buddhist teaching is opposed to

war and violence, what could be more appropriate than working against

war? This inspired Victoria to research Zen Buddhist writings on war,

and what he discovered shocked him.

 

Victoria's book Zen at War is meticulously researched and, as far as

I have been able to tell, there have been no scholarly disputes about

the accuracy of either the information he presents or the conclusions

he reaches.

 

This does not mean, however, that everyone is happy with his

research. It appears that many Zen masters would have preferred that

Victoria keep quiet about what he discovered — they would prefer, it

seems, that the truth remain hidden if the truth portrays Zen

Buddhism in a negative light.

 

Victoria relies extensively on the writings of Japanese Zen Masters

between 1868 and 1945. He shows how they transformed Buddhist

messages of compassion and selflessness into doctrines that war was a

manifestation of compassion (members of " lower " cultures deserve to

die if they don't submit to more " enlightened " cultures like in

Japan) and true selflessness means unquestioning obedience to the

state.

 

It's understandable that things might reach this point. During the

mid-nineteenth century, Buddhism was being repressed and Buddhist

leaders felt that their only hope of survival was to align themselves

more closely with the state. By becoming more nationalistic than the

nationalists, they became part of the system — and paved the way for

horrific acts less than a century later.

 

Particularly disturbing to readers familiar with Buddhism will be the

complicity of some of the most important Zen Buddhists from the past

century. Apologists for war weren't fringe priests, but some of the

biggest names of Japanese Buddhism — including, for example, D.T.

Suzuki, a famous Zen scholar whose works have been widely translated

and studied. Victoria finds that Suzuki laid out many of the basic

principles that would be used by Buddhist leaders right up to Japan's

defeat:

 

" (1) Japan has the right to pursue its commercial and trade ambitions

as it sees fit; (2) should " unruly heathens " (jama gedo) of any

country interfere with that right, they deserve to be punished for

interfering with the progress of all humanity; (3) such punishment

will be carried out with the full and unconditional support of

Japan's religions, for it is undertaken with no other goal in mind

than to ensure that justice prevails; (4) soldiers must, without the

slightest hesitation or regret, offer up their lives to the state in

carrying out such religion-sanctioned punishment; and (5) discharging

one's duty to the state on the battlefield is a religious act. "

 

Zen at War, by Brian VictoriaIt's not that no Buddhists spoke out

against any of this, but very few did and not much evidence of their

actions survives. Had more of them organized against the war, things

might have proceeded very differently. In fact, there is little

evidence of regret even after the war. Japan's largest Protestant

group issued an apology in 1967; the first Buddhist admission of

complicity didn't appear until 1987. At the writing of Victoria's

book, only four Buddhist statements about the war had been issued and

most leading sects remain silent.

 

Even worse is that there has been no repudiation or reform of the

ideas that led to all of the problems in the first place. The

ideology has been transferred from the state to the corporation. Zen

Buddhist teach that selfless devotion to the goals of a company is

itself a form of enlightenment. The Imperial Zen Soldier has become

the Corporate Zen Salaryman.

 

Brian Victoria's book is a fascinating account of how religion can be

manipulated into serving the violent ambitions of governments and

politicians. If Buddhism can provide the ideological underpinnings of

militarism and imperialism, any religion probably can. Both believers

and non-believers need to better understand how this can occur.

 

http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/ZenAtWar.htm

[Guest guest]

http://adishakti.org/_/zen_at_war_review_by_austin_cline.htm