Compassionate Violence?: On the Ethical Implications of Tantric Buddhist Ritual

Abstract

Abstract Buddhism is often presented as a non-violent religion that highlights the virtue of universal compassion. However, it does not unequivocally reject the use of and leaves open the possibility that violence may be committed under special circumstances by spiritually realized beings. This paper examines several apologetic defenses for the presence of violent imagery and rituals in tantric Buddhist literature. It will demonstrate that several Buddhist commentators, in advancing the notion of violence, also advanced an ethical double standard insofar as they defended these violent actions as justifiable when performed by Buddhists, but condemned them when performed by non-Buddhists. ********** Violence and Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism Buddhism has typically been portrayed, by both insider advocates and outside observers, as a peaceful religion, one which condemns violence and seeks rather to cultivate, internally, states of mental calm and clarity, and externally, a compassionate mode of engagement with others. (1) This portrayal is supported by the fact that most Buddhist traditions emphasize the cultivation of compassion and loving-kindness as indispensable aids to spiritual development. Yet despite this important focus, violence has not been completely repudiated within many Buddhist schools of thought. Rather, it is left open as a possible mode of action, albeit an exceptional one, to be used by exceptional beings under exceptional circumstances. This caveat supported the development of an ethical double standard, (2) in which behavior that is normally condemned, especially when committed by members of other religious or ethnic groups, is portrayed as justifiable when committed by members of one's own group. In this paper I will seek to examine this ethical tension as it arises in tantric Buddhist ritual literature, a genre that challenges Buddhist self-representation as peaceful and non-violent through its description of ritual procedures that are believed to yield violent results. Buddhists generally condemn violent behavior, and uphold instead the virtues of loving-kindness (maitri) and compassion (karuna), which are powerful inclinations to augment the happiness and minimize the suffering of others, respectively, often at the expense of one's own self-interest. The virtue of compassion was given a central role in Mahayana Buddhist soteriology, as an indispensable aid to the achievement of Buddhahood. (3) On the popular level, the virtues of compassion and generosity were highlighted in narratives such as the Jataka tales, which relate the Buddha's past lives. These themes are dramatically illustrated in stories such as the Bodhisattva's self-sacrifice to feed a hungry tiger family, or in the stories of King Sibi, who sacrificed his own eyes at the request of a beggar, as well as his own flesh to save the life of a pigeon. The importance of these stories is such that they stand at the beginning of Arya Sura's Jataka collection (Khoroche 1989:5-17), and they were also illustrated on a number of Buddhist monuments. (4) Mahayana Buddhists advocate universal compassion, which is nondiscriminatory and active in all contexts. This, naturally, reflects a distinctive worldview. As Charles Taylor argued, moral reactions seem to involve claims, implicit or explicit, about the nature and status of beings ... a moral reaction is an assent to, an affirmation of, a given ontology of the human (Khoroche1989:5). Universal compassion, as understood by Mahayana Buddhist scholars such as Santideva, implies underlying beliefs about the nature of the self. In their view, ordinary individuals' moral reactions are discriminatory, and as a consequence their compassion is limited in scope, typically restricted to friends and family. This is because they adhere to a limited view of the self as an isolated and independently existent entity. Universal compassion, on the other hand, arises from the realization of selflessness and interdependent origination. …

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