A Buddhist Chaplain s Account of Serving in the British Military

A Buddhist Chaplain s Account of Serving in the British Military Dr Sunil Kariyakarawana Buddhist Chaplain to HM Forces The Military and Buddhism do not seem to go together for many..people, especially in the West. But for the past 200 years, Nepali Buddhists (Gurkhas, who are mainly Buddhists) have been serving in the British army. There are more than 1,000 further Buddhists serving in the UK military at present. This article investigates the religious and scriptural position of a Buddhist joining and continuing in the military. It also records the experience of the first-ever Buddhist chaplain to HM forces and the first tri-service annual Buddhist conference. The news that the UK and US militaries were looking to appoint Buddhist chaplains alongside other minority faith chaplains in recent years has raised the eyebrows of many Buddhists. And both Buddhists and non-buddhist communities have expressed mixed feelings about the proposition. 1 Some have taken the view that the role of a chaplain in any service is to provide religious, spiritual, moral and pastoral care to the serving personnel and therefore that there was nothing wrong with Buddhists ministering to the military. For example, it was said, You may not like what the soldiers are called upon to do but they too are a segment of our society who need our attention and care as much as anyone else. 2 Given the common perception of Buddhism as a pacifist spiritual path, it is not surprising to see such strong opposition even to the idea of Buddhists in the military serving either as chaplains or as soldiers. As Buddhism is so closely associated with vegetarianism, yoga, meditation, peace and harmony, it does not take long for anyone to detect the incompatibility between the military and non-violence in Buddhism. Although any military presence in a democratic country has a strong element of peacekeeping and welfare at its heart, more often than not the military in the eyes of the general public is associated with war, fighting, weapon dealings and the like, which seems to be directly opposite to those peaceful Buddhist ideals. For these reasons, one can understand the dilemma a Buddhist community may face in reconciling a military career with Buddhist ethics. Any satisfactory answer to the question Is it all right for a Buddhist to work for the military? therefore demands an answer that goes beyond a simple yes or no or right or wrong. The fact that the UK and US militaries have recently been engaged in 1 Amidatrust.typepad.com/eschatology 2005. 2 Buddhists in the military-weblogs. 1

T H E M I D D L E WAY at least two controversial wars, and the casualties of such wars are painful realities in our everyday life, has further influenced opinion in Britain. However, the appointment of a Buddhist chaplain to the UK armed services was made in 2005, and 18 months later, the post the firstever Armed Forces Buddhist Community Conference was held. Many Buddhist personnel from all three services, as well as Buddhist lay scholars and monks, attended the conference. Over the weekend the issue of Buddhists in the military was discussed in glorious detail. In addition to its purposes set out above this article aims to explore the crucial issues addressed in this debate in some detail so as to shed some light on the scriptural Buddhist position in these grey areas. In so doing, I shall briefly describe what I have been doing over the past two years in order to assess the ethical position of Buddhist involvement with the military. The effort here is to revisit the conceptual understanding of Buddhist pacifism against the pragmatic realities that we are living under today and to find reasonable answers to the following questions: What does it feel like for a Buddhist to serve in the military today? Why did the Buddha advocate complete non-violence while not directly opposing a state military? Is a military career a wrong livelihood for a Buddhist? Why did Buddhist countries always have militaries in the past and why do they continue to have them without much opposition? The aim here is not to try to justify our involvement in the military from an academic or theoretical point of view but to share my two years experience with the reader from a practitioner s point of view. The Military and Non-violence There is much diversity within Buddhism and Buddhist practices, but one common thread that binds all Buddhist traditions together is complete agreement about moral ethical conduct (sıl ), which is founded on the concept of universal loving-kindness (mett ) and compassion (karun ). Morality, in turn, paves the way for attaining mental purity and serenity (sam dhi), and the two together lead one to wisdom and understanding (panna) of the true nature of things. Full Enlightenment marks the culmination of morality, serenity and insight, which enables one to experience complete freedom from the root causes of defilements: greed, hatred and delusion. Final liberation thus comes as a result of living in accordance with the Eightfold Noble Path to its perfection. The practice 2

A S E RV I N G B U D D H I S T C H A P L A I N S A C C O U N T of this ethical system is essential in order for one to attain Nibbana, the ultimate of all Buddhists. Within this moral ethical system, there is absolutely no justification for violence and the Dhammapada tells us, One should neither kill nor cause others to kill. 3 A modern writer, the monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu, points out that it is quite clear as to what is skilful and what is not skilful: The early texts report that a group of wonderers, in a discussion with one of the Buddha s lay disciples, once accused the Buddha of not taking a position on any issue, and the disciple replied that they were mistaken. There was one issue on which the Buddha s position was very clear: what kind of behaviour is skilful and what kind of behaviour is not. When the disciple later reported the conversation to the Buddha, the Buddha approved of what he had said. The distinction between skilful and unskilful behaviour lies at the basis of everything the Buddha taught. In making this distinction, the Buddha drew very sharp lines: What is unskilful? Taking life is unskilful, taking what is not given... sexual misconduct... lying... abusive speech... divisive tale-bearing... idle chatter... is unskilful. Covetousness... ill will... wrong views are unskilful. These things are called unskilful. And what is skilful? Abstaining from taking life is skilful, abstaining from taking what is not given... from sexual misconduct... from lying... from abusive speech... from divisive tale-bearing... abstaining from idle chatter is skilful. Lack of covetousness... lack of ill-will... right views are skilful. These things are called skilful. 4 (MN-9) Thanissaro Bhikkhu further observes how this unconditional promise becomes a powerful universal gift. Take, for instance, the first precept, against killing ( I undertake to refrain from taking life ): There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from taking life. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression, to limitless numbers of beings. By doing so, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity and freedom from oppression. This is the first gift, the first great gift-original, long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated from the beginning that is not open to suspicion, will never be 3 Dhammapada 129. 4 Give full source? 3

T H E M I D D L E WAY open to suspicion, and is unfaulted by the knowledgeable contemplatives and brahmins.5 (AN-8.39) What is interesting is that against this Buddhist pacifistic background, in almost all Buddhist countries a strong military tradition has continued side by side. And no Buddhist tradition or organization has criticized or objected to possessing a military either within or outside a Buddhist country. The crucial questions to ask, then, are: Does Buddhism permit the state to build and foster an army? Can a Buddhist kill for the sake of the country? What about the defence of a country? When a ruthless army invades a country, does Buddhism prohibit a Buddhist king from defending his country and his people? If Buddhism is a way of life, is there any other way for a righteous king to battle against an invasion of an army? In what follows, I shall review three studies on this topic. This will be followed by my own experience as the first-ever Buddhist civilian chaplain to the military. Three Studies: A Sri Lankan general There have been several attempts to deal with the apparent contradiction of Buddhism and the military. Major General Ananda Weerasekera, who now is a practising Buddhist monk and who served in the Sri Lankan army for many years, tries to answer some of these questions in one of his comprehensive research papers. He claims: The (Buddha) Dhamma is a way of life based on Right Thought, Right Livelihood, Right Action etc. culminating in the supreme goal of Nibbana. However, it is a gradual process of training and progressing on the path through one s long samsaric journey until one has fulfilled the necessary conditions and is ready to let go the cycle of birth decay and death. Hence until then the king has to rule, the farmer has to farm, the teacher has to teach, the trader has to trade and so on. But they are expected to do it the righteous way in order to help them progress on the path.6 5 Give source? 6 Major General, Ananda Weerasekara, Buddhism and the Soldier, 4

A S E RV I N G B U D D H I S T C H A P L A I N S A C C O U N T Major General Weerasekera also refers to the Silha Senapathy Sutta of the Anguttara Nikaya (the original Pali text of the Buddha s teachings), which provides an example of a high-ranking officer who consulted the Buddha on different issues. Silha, one of the army commanders, went to the Buddha to clarify certain doubts on the Dhamma. At the end of the discussion, Silha expressed interest in becoming one of Buddha s disciples. The Buddha, without advising him to resign from the army or to disband the army, asked him to reconsider his decision: Silha, it is proper for a popular person of your status to always think and examine when attending to affairs and making decisions. The commander Silha attained sotapanna (stream-enterer status, the first sainthood), having listened to the Dhamma, but he remained in the army as a commander.7 Major General Weerasekera claims that the Buddha could have easily advised the Commander Silha against continuing in the army he had thought it would be highly inappropriate for a Buddhist to serve in the military, but did not. Rather than asking him to resign, the Buddha advised him to discharge his duties in the proper way. The writer assumes that this was an indication of the fact that what matters for a Buddhist is the right intention to serve in whatever career does not involve wrong livelihoods8 rather than to change career. The writer also recalls that the Buddha, on his father King Suddhodana s request, promulgated a rule (vinaya) for monks to the effect that no soldier could become a monk while in military service. This law is still valid. Accordingly, even today, unless a soldier is legally discharged from the army or unless he retires legally, he is NOT allowed to be ordained as a monk and will not be accepted into the order of monks. This is to ensure that soldiers do not desert the army to join the Buddhist Order, for which there was a tendency at the time of the Buddha. The writer then draws our attention to the fact that monks are allowed to visit the battlefield, but are ordered to return before the sunset, and are granted permission to visit injured relatives in the battlefield. General Weerasekera finally concludes: 7 Ibid., 8 The following are the five wrong livelihoods in which soldiering is not included. 1) Business dealings with (sentient) beings (satta vanijja) 2) Business dealings with weapon (sattha vanijja) 3) Business dealings with meat (mansa vanijja) 4) Business dealings with (destructive) poison (visa vanijja) 5) Business dealings with intoxicants (majja vanijja) 5

T H E M I D D L E WAY It is clear that contrary to the popular belief, the Buddha has NOT rejected or prohibited soldiering as a profession or occupation and the right of a king or a government to have an army and to defend one s country and its people. On the contrary, the Buddha has expressly recognised the necessity for a king to have an army and providing protection to the subjects of a country has been recognized as a prime duty of the king. 9 A Buddhist lt. colonel in the British army In my opinion it is difficult to generalize, as one nation s army is very different from another. Thankfully, I am content that our Army operates within the Geneva Convention and works for a democratically elected government. I think that our standards of professional behaviour are some of the highest of any army in the world, and this includes the treatment of prisoners, wounded etc. Abuses of course can happen in any organization, but I sincerely believe these to be very rare in our army. I think that we take huge care in the way that we act on operations and do all that is possible to avoid unnecessary killing and suffering. We consider our position in society carefully, and we protect our people from abuse in whatever ways we can. I am not sure that this can be said of every army, and therefore generalizations about our profession are somewhat dangerous. I believe that our soldiers are some of the very best in the world, not only as soldiers but in their generosity and willingness to help others far more than in almost any other profession that I have come into contact with. An example that very often surprises others is British soldiers frequent willingness and desire to engage in charitable work. Last year in Albania, I had 135 British soldiers on exercise. I asked them if they might be interested to do something non-military, and told them about a city I have connections with in the north of Albania that has some very poor communities. The soldiers were overwhelming in their interest and generosity and with their money we made up bags of toys, children s clothes and some baby food etc. I then took 10 soldiers to distribute the stuff to a very poor Romany community and to some other disadvantaged children in the troubled city. I have taken civilians there, and some of them haven t even wanted to get out of the car, but our soldiers were out there straight away, picking up the babies, kicking footballs with the children and putting their arms around the adults. Our soldiers were wonderful. We received some publicity for it, and many of the Albanians and other internationals simply could not understand why our soldiers would have been interested to visit such a community as this. And when I explained that they had given their own 9 Weerasekara, Buddhism and the Soldier, p. 2 6

A S E RV I N G B U D D H I S T C H A P L A I N S A C C O U N T money, well.... But I think that there is also a serious military side which we simply cannot ignore. It s a difficult one. What we cannot have in the military is a situation where our soldiers/officers hesitate on the battlefield. It would be disastrous if groups of us were ordered to do something and then we decided to contemplate the rights and wrongs before we were prepared to take action or even worse, to deliberately not carry out the order given, which may be to pull the trigger. This is the real moment of truth about our choice of profession. I am not suggesting that we blindly follow orders if those orders are illegal, but then all soldiers are taught this in any case. If an order is illegal, then it is a different thing. So in my opinion, this is why I personally frequently contemplate my position. Do I trust that my government are correctly motivated in their considerations over the use of their armed forces? Does our army still function in as humanitarian manner as possible? Do I think that we are still acting as a force for good in what we are doing? If I can truthfully answer Yes to all these, then I am content that I can remain in this profession, but it is a personal decision. It is my Karma. If I have doubts over any of these questions, I would have to leave. But if I have remained in the army and the time comes for me to carry out or give an order that involved taking life, then I must do so, but in full mindfulness about that decision and with full cognizance as to the karmic consequences. But I must not hesitate. The decision about my profession must be made before I am in that situation. On the battlefield is not the place to make such a decision. But at the same time, my religious beliefs will make me conscious of others suffering. I will do all I can to reduce suffering. I will show kindness and compassion whenever I can. I will always try to be a force for good. I will make every effort not to be selfish. I will always try to treat people and animals as fellow beings, equal to me and with equal rights to me. And this also means that if someone shot me on the battlefield, I would feel no anger towards him he would just be doing his duty the same as I would be doing mine. I will try to be correctly motivated at all times. I will continue to train myself to be mindful, no matter how difficult the circumstances. I will follow my precepts whenever it is not impossible. I will always try to be honest and truthful; and if others are not always truthful or honest with me, I will try not to let this affect me. That is their Karma and I must be mindful of my own reaction so as 7

T H E M I D D L E WAY not to cause more negative Karma by reacting badly. In my normal everyday life I remain a strict vegetarian (although I confess to eating dairy products for health reasons), and I avoid killing even a single fly. This may seem to be something of a contradiction for someone who is in this career, but for me it is a clear difference I have no need to kill the fly. Killing the fly will not help anything or anyone. Killing the fly will not contribute towards bringing peace and stability to anyone. An Academic Study Dr Mathew Kosuta, who completed his Master s thesis on The Buddha and the Four-Limbed Army: The Military in the Pali Canon, 10 has undertaken an interesting study of the subject in much detail. Consider his following remarks: During this study, while trying to draw out the Pali Canon s opinion of the military, an apparent contradiction arose: the canon alternates between explicit condemnation and implicit praise of the military. For the Pali Canon, the military seems to represent several things, both positive and negative. On the positive side, the Canon frequently praises the military and accords it great prestige in fact the military maintains its contemporary social status unchanged. The military provides one of the best examples for the type of man, qualities, and skills necessary for attaining Nibbana. The battle field proves excellent ground for perfecting and using certain of the Ten Perfections (dasaparamita), especially energy and effort (viriya). The battlefield also provides excellent ground for the fulfilling of one s duty despite great personal danger. On the negative side, war causes death and destruction and endangers a cycle of revenge. The Canon considers dealing with the military as ill-gotten. And finally the most powerful condemnation; military life and skills lead warriors to rebirth in a hell or purgatory. To understand this contradiction we must look to when and where the praise and condemnation is coming from. It becomes clear that praise of the military appears in a mundane context and condemnation in a transcendental context. Explicit praise of the performance of military actions comes from the mundane figures such as kings, warriors, backsliding monks, and even the Bodhisatta (Buddhist Saint). 10 The Pali Canon is the compendium of sacred scriptures of the Buddha s teachings preserved in the oral tradition first and later written by a council of ancient monks. It is considered to be the authority of the earliest tradition of Buddhism known as the Theravada (the teaching of the elders). 8

Condemnation and avoidance of military actions come from transcendental figures such as the Buddha, arahants, monks and from the Bodhisatta, kings, warriors, etc. who have realized the truth of the world form a Buddhist point of view. Since the transcendental ultimately has precedence, the final opinion of the Pali Canon towards the military must be said to be a negative one. 11 The Military and Buddhist Ethics At the first-ever Armed Forces Buddhist Community Conference, the military career and Buddhist ethics was discussed in some detail. The talks given by two senior monks illustrate the fact that even monks can differ in exercising the great freedom of thought that the Buddha has granted to Buddhists. Ven. Ajahn Khemadhammo, Spiritual Director of Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organization, articulated the case quite clearly: Buddhism is essentially pacifist and unlike other religions gives no justification whatsoever for violence and warfare. Buddhist chaplaincy is not there for what the forces are there for but for the people in the forces who suffered and who might benefit by hearing and practising the Dhamma. 12 Ven. Khemadhammo also made the point, however, that the serial killer Angulimala, in the ancient Buddhist story, later became a bhikkhu and then an arahant (the highest level of sainthood). The second monk who spoke, Ajahn Brahmavamso (Ajahn Brahm), was a scholar and graduate from Cambridge University. His talk on Buddhist ethics and the military was a clear presentation of the Buddhist position on the questions raised above. Contemplating the Past several Years A S E RV I N G B U D D H I S T C H A P L A I N S A C C O U N T Let s return to the main issue raised above in the light of the discussions. As the Buddhist civilian chaplain to the British forces, what have I being doing? I have been providing spiritual and pastoral support to the military community. I have met hundreds of Buddhists and non-buddhist service personnel, both officers and junior ranks. Opportunities have arisen to share knowledge of Buddhism with soldiers in many different settings both formal and informal. I have conducted meditation sessions at several central establishments, and many Buddhist and non- 11 Mathew Kosuta, The Buddha and the Four-limbed Army: Military in the Pali Canon, Master s thesis, University du Quebec at Montreal, pp. 45. 12 News and Musings from Luangpor at the Forest Hermitage, Saturday 28 April, p. 1 9

T H E M I D D L E WAY Buddhist personnel have benefited from it. I have had many one-to-one sessions with serving soldiers and their family members. Three Buddhist community conferences for the serving personnel were organized and successfully completed. The one held in February 2010 in Birmingham was attended by many military and by community dignitaries, including two distinguished professors, Professor Peter Harvey and Professor Peter Gilbert. It was a real collaboration of the military and the faith community. All this has given me a great opportunity to offer my services to the military community in the most effective way. It has also given me the opportunity to develop as a Buddhist scholar and a meditation teacher while supporting my to compromising Buddhist ideals as it was once warned? I would say certainly not. Has it provided an opportunity to engage with a society in a most effective way to instil Buddhist ideals into a group of serving people. I would say certainly yes! I am constantly reminded of the Buddha s mission statement that he gave to the first 60 of his disciples: Bhikkhus (monks), I am free from all shackles, whether human or divine, so are you. Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare and happiness of gods and men, do not go two in one direction, spread out as much as you can, teach the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, middle and in the end, with the meaning and the letter. Explain a holy life that is utterly perfect and pure. There are beings with little dust on their eyes who will be lost through not hearing the Dhamma.13 As the Buddhist civilian chaplain to the HM Forces, I certainly have not deviated a bit from that mission statement. As a lay scholar, I have been able to reach out to more people who are so keen to find out the sublime message of the Buddha. Summary and Conclusions In the above sections, we have tried to address one basic question: what is the moral and ethical position of a Buddhist in the military? The answer is quite clear. Serving in the military is no different from serving anywhere else. In other words, it doesn t really matter what job you are doing as long as it does not come under the wrong livelihood. What 13 Give source? 10

A S E RV I N G B U D D H I S T C H A P L A I N S A C C O U N T matters is how you do the job and what your intentions are in doing it. For example, if one were to have wrong intentions in the medical profession, one could end up misusing the profession, as in the case of Dr Harold Shipman, a serial killer convicted for killing over 215 of his unsuspecting patients. One must have all good intentions to cure people, as formulated in the Hippocratic Oath. Someone in the military, on the contrary, can end up saving several lives by sacrificing one s own, exactly as happened in the case of Pte Johnson Beharry, who is the living Victoria Cross winner for saving several lives. What is really remarkable is how the Buddhist scriptures, whose contents have been discussed over 2,500 years, address these ethical dilemmas in such a way as to leave no room for any ambiguity whatsoever. Ajahn Brahm s illustrations clearly point to the fact that Buddhism is interested in getting to the crux of a matter and is not interested in hair-splitting circular arguments. Finally let me conclude with the story of the lotus in Buddhism. The lotus is one of Buddhism s most significant symbols. It is a symbol of Enlightenment and mental purity, which is the most transcendental ideal of all in Buddhism. The lotus has its roots in mud but rises above its base and blossoms out, spreading its fragrance in all directions: As in a heap of mud and rubbish cast by the side of the highway A lotus might grow clean-smelling pleasing the heart so, in the midst of the worldly people run-of-the-mill and blind, there dazzles with discernment the disciple of the Rightly Self-Awakened One. 14 This simile expresses the connection between the spiritual ideals and the mundane realities within which such spiritual goals are made possible. The major event here is for the lotus to grow and blossom, but that whole process is enabled by the mud letting the lotus grow by providing nourishment for it, giving all the strength it can and allowing the lotus, to develop its sweet smell. When you smell the sweet smell of the lotus do not forget that it comes from the stinky mud, which has been transformed into sweet fragrance. 14 Dhammapada 58 9 11

T H E M I D D L E WAY Page 3 footnote 4: Please give appropreate footnote and page reference for Thanessaro extract. footnote 5: (AN-8.39) This looks to be a quotation from Thanissaro. Please give correct source and details Page 4 footnote 6: Major General, Ananda Weerasekara, Buddhism and the Soldier, Please give website, date and page reference. Page 5 7 footnote 7: Ibid., Please give a page reference Page 10 Second para: please supply missing text footnote 13: Please give a source. 12