Buddhist Manifestations of Patriotism during the Korean War

Abstract

A great deal of research on the Korean War has focused on the military, politics, economy and international affairs, and far less on the religious, particularly the Buddhist, perspective. The Korean War exerted a tremendous impact on institutional Buddhism, and consequently Buddhists were heavily involved. This paper examines the history of Chinese Buddhist participation in the “Resisting America and Assisting Korea Campaign” from Buddhist perspectives such as political propaganda, material donations especially the donation of the “Chinese Buddhist Airplane,” and the enlistment of young monks into the People’s Volunteer Army (the PVA). The paper will then look into social and political factors involved in Buddhist leaders’ reinterpretation of Buddhist doctrines to justify participation in the campaign, as a response to the surge of patriotism in Chinese society. This kind of investigation may shed light on the relationship between institutional Buddhism and politics in the new socialist society of China after 1949.

Keywords

Korean War / Buddhism / compassionate killing / propaganda / Buddhist doctrine / Buddhist institutions

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2014 Higher Education Press and Brill