Extremism In Buddhism

Extremism in Buddhism

Since 2011, countries in Southeast Asia are experiencing changes in political, economic and social arenas. But the transition was hampered by animosity between Buddhists and Muslims. Burma (Myanmar) and Sri Lanka witnessed many cases of religious intolerance mainly triggered by Buddhists against other religious minorities, including a large minority of Muslims. Despite the fact that Buddhism is the religion which has ‘nonviolence’ and ‘not to kill’ as their main moral precepts, there were numerous cases when monks marched with mobs and showed their hatred and dislike towards religious minorities, mainly in the name of nationalism. These cases include Korean Buddhist monks who supported their army to defend the country

At the time when the state was concerned with political and socioeconomic problems due to this transition, the problem of religious violence became leading issue in the country. Inter-religious conflicts started to take a center stage since 2012, mainly due to the rise of 969 movement in 2011, and MaBaTha (Association of Protection of Race and Religion) movement in 2014 . The aim of these religious groups ruled by monks is to “protect and promote Buddhist values and traditions in the midst of the country’s transformation and as it opens up to the modern world” . Starting from 1962 until recent reforms military regime in Burma limited the religious freedom for non-Buddhists . Partly because of that, sense of nationalism and religious identity became inseparable, which means that being Burmese encompasses being a Buddhist. These nationalist groups, mentioned above, claim that their culture, practices, identity, values and even existence are threatened by within country and outside country elements . They hold this paranoiac viewpoint and blame Muslim minority as if they were planning to displace

He is known for his nationalist and pro-Buddhist rhetoric. He was accused for his hate speeches against Muslims and violence against them. They shape Islam as inimical to Buddhist values, mainly due to their specific attitudes towards women . The extremist Buddhists claim that non-Buddhist tactics such as buying only from the Buddhist shops came from Muslims, and that it shouldn’t be considered as discrimination, but rather supporting business of their people. They state that restricting inter-religious marriages is also not traditional Buddhist way, but if it helps Buddhism it is acceptable . Also, they criticize the violence in Islam, and their implicit aims to take over the country, region, and the world. The 969 lead by Ashin and MaBaTha movements use defense of the sasana, which is a Pali word meaning ‘Buddhism’, to justify their violence against Muslims . There was a historical precedent when Sinhalese king, Dutthagamani, killed Tamil king and said that he was not trying to occupy new territory, but to defend sasana