Zen at War

What Hacker News says

1. crispinbNov 2019
   > The idea that mindfulness creates better killers or justified immoral behavior also seems spurious to me

   Read Brian Daizen Victoria's Zen At War. OK, Zen, but the principle's the same. Effective mind training techniques sans ethical critique can create cooler killers & greed mongers. Mindfulness' popularity amongst the ethical hellscape of contemporary SV culture is surely also at least a tad suggestive?

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2. sorokodJul 2025
   There is considerable cherry picking along with cultural appropriation going on here. Buddhism has flavors that are worlds apart from what is described in the post.

   A spicy example is discussed in the book "Zen at War"[1]. Myanamar and Sri Lanka[2] have their own ultra nationalistic Buddhists movements.

   [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_at_War

   [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhalese_Buddhist_nationalism

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3. _glassMay 2025
   I think it is a great insight that every ideology can be turned violent. I first heard this where Zizek cites the book has a story from: "During World War II, Zen Buddhism provided a strong foundation for Japanese militarism, including Imperial Japan's use of suicide warfare."[1] Where a Japanese soldier in WW2 wouldn't do the killing, but his sword (?) This is seen that all ideology can be turned violent.

   [1] Brian Daizen Victoria, Zen at War (New York: Weatherhill, 1997).

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4. amadeuspagelJul 2022
   > [Zen at War] meticulously documents Zen Buddhism's support of Japanese militarism from the time of the Meiji Restoration through the World War II and the post-War period. It describes the influence of state policy on Buddhism in Japan, and particularly the influence of Zen on the military of the Empire of Japan. A famous quote is from Harada Daiun Sogaku: "[If ordered to] march: tramp, tramp, or shoot: bang, bang. This is the manifestation of the highest Wisdom [of Enlightenment]. The unity of Zen and war of which I speak extends to the farthest reaches of the holy war [now under way]."

   > The book also explores the actions of Japanese Buddhists who opposed the growth of militarism.

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_at_War

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5. vsefApr 2019
   The core argument of the article is not that Buddhism was either a unique spur to warfare or the specific source of obedience.

   The article is about how Zen has at various historical moments, despite core anti-violence Buddhist beliefs, been used to justify and excuse violent acts, or even be directly referenced in learning martial killing arts. Then the question is: How has a deeply anti-violence religion found pro-war or pro-violence logic when in those contexts. The author looks for explanations of this contradiction in the Taoist elements of Zen.

   The article references https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_at_War, it is factual that (some) Zen leaders supported the imperial holy war in WWII. Enough that some contemporary leaders have issued apologies.

   I think the question is more similar to: Christianity has explicitly stated principles of non-violence and against killing, yet has also been used at historical moments to justify holy war, during WWII did not prevent (some) German churches from aligning with Nazism and violent anti-Semitism, etc. What are the historical philosophical strands in Christianity that have allowed it (sometimes) to be used to justify acts that would seem to be in direct contradiction to its core.

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