with a POD at whenever, make a Buddhist crusade whose objection is to free the "holy lands" of northeastern India from the Muslims. (stopping the Mongols is also a possibility.)
Participants: China, Korea, Japan, Siam, etc.
given that Buddism never really have been that militaristic (if not outright qualifying as pacifistic for the most part), lets go with an 'i doubt it'
Not likely. The most obvious reason is that India is quite far away from most Buddhist countries, so that's going to be a substantial obstacle until modern times. China, the largest country you mention, also developed its own Buddhist holy sites in China itself, rather reducing its dependence on India for Buddhism, so there's going to be less interest for invading India to reclaim sacred sites. While there are historical examples which might qualify as Buddhist holy war in China, they're poor examples because they are motivated more by war and hardship than religious devotion. So there's not going to be much interest in holy war in that sense either.with a POD at whenever, make a Buddhist crusade whose objection is to free the "holy lands" of northeastern India from the Muslims. (stopping the Mongols is also a possibility.)
Participants: China, Korea, Japan, Siam, etc.
No, Buddhists can be quite militaristic, and the idea that all/real Buddhists are pacifists does not make sense. The example of the Japanese from the 1930s to 1945 is one example, perhaps the most prominent, of a militant Buddhist population. Modern day examples would be the conduct of Buddhists in Sri Lanka and to a lesser extent Burma and Thailand.given that Buddism never really have been that militaristic (if not outright qualifying as pacifistic for the most part), lets go with an 'i doubt it'
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In addition, East Asia generally did not have particularly strong cultural ties with India after the 10th century, not to mention that various entities within Southeast Asia had numerous regional issues to deal with.
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It seems there is a big difference in foreign policy of Buddhist countries before and after the 10th century. Therefore, I should stop limiting the "crusade" only against Muslims and should also include Hindus- so that it can be before the 10th century...............
Assuming you have a POD after Islam takes over northern India (so roughly 1000 or so), you're talking about a time when China is much less interested in taking over foreign lands.
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And Christianity has tennants like 'turn the other cheak' and 'thou shat not kill'.given that Buddism never really have been that militaristic (if not outright qualifying as pacifistic for the most part), lets go with an 'i doubt it'
I'm quite sure you knew, but just in case you didn't, in Burma the Buddhists are militaristic and Muslims are pacifist. So it's always the Buddhist monks that blow up mosques and other things. At least in Burma, that is. So there's the example for a non-pacifistic Buddhism!given that Buddism never really have been that militaristic (if not outright qualifying as pacifistic for the most part), lets go with an 'i doubt it'
No, there are still problems. The reason I bring up the 1000s is because that's when Muslims took over the Buddhist parts of India, so no anti-Muslim Buddhist holy war could have taken place before that. After about 750, China isn't likely to go on foreign expeditions in India at all. And even before that, China is developing its own Buddhist institutions, so it won't be dependent on India.It seems there is a big difference in foreign policy of Buddhist countries before and after the 10th century. Therefore, I should stop limiting the "crusade" only against Muslims and should also include Hindus- so that it can be before the 10th century.
Of course, there are major obstacles for this to happen, some of which I can identify are:
1. the Strait of Malacca is probably controlled by a Hindu government, which means it needs to either be circumvented or attacked. (in retrospect, this can get very interesting.)
2. there needs to be a central religious authority (and/or a regional Indian Buddhist government) that calls for action because of an attack.
3. the technology of the ships need to be in capacity to carry large amounts of people across a large expanse of water(Indian Ocean and South China Sea).
4. the Buddhist regional government that (may/may not) control the "holy areas of Buddhism" needs to logistically support the attack. Otherwise, it is impossible to go all the way into Northeast India.
please add to the list if you can find any other difficulties that have to be overcome to have the Buddhist Crusade!
I think the problem is that the specific things that made for the crusades work are not necessarily present in Buddhist countries.
For example, samurai don't have a lack of things to do back home, nor any reason to think that going to free the "holy land" is going to be part of an already established tradition that pilgrimage to there is soul-saving.
Its not something you can just swap the trappings and call it the same thing, even if Buddhist warriors are entirely possible.
Idea - Korea or Vietnam as China start to loom in... and the rise of a 'radical' Confuscianist anti-Buddhism feeling, maybe... a mix of 'colonialism' and religious-philosophical warfare on local buddhism come... and the native buddhist radicalises.
More a form of 'Jyhad' than 'Crusades', more defensive than offensive, and I may say something ASBy, but..
Blatantly false. Buddhism was one of the more bloodsoaked religions of the east and has been aggressively expansionistic and xenophobic in more than one area of the world.given that Buddism never really have been that militaristic (if not outright qualifying as pacifistic for the most part), lets go with an 'i doubt it'
You can have Buddhism strike back (or strike first) without trying to pack into a mold that it doesn't fit.
Blatantly false. Buddhism was one of the more bloodsoaked religions of the east and has been aggressively expansionistic and xenophobic in more than one area of the world.