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ABSTRACT
In international humanitarian law (IHL), collateral damage to civilians caught in warfare is restrained through the rule of proportionality. The first part of this chapter explains how this increasingly controversial area is dependent on the perceptions, values and good faith of the military commander in the specific instance. In determining which Buddhist teachings can guide the mind in this grey area, the quality of appamāda, ‘heedfulness’, is significant. The Buddha refers to it several times in his sermons (suttas) and, most importantly, included it in his final words before his demise. The second part explores what the Buddha meant by appamāda and argues that the concept has a moral dimension useful in decision-making for Buddhists engaged in warfare. The third part discusses Emperor Ashoka to whom the monk Nigrodha preached the Appamāda Vagga. The change in Emperor Ashoka’s manner of ruling and conquering as manifested in his many edict inscriptions proves that Buddhist values can be practically applied by the laity, not just monastics. The fourth analyses how appamāda could guide the minds of Buddhists engaged in warfare, and proposes that this could be done through sermons (to transform intention) and meditation (to aid such transformation).
Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the comments and guidance given by Prof. Kate Crosby, Andrew Bartles-Smith, Dr Noel Trew and Daniel Ratheiser in the revision of this article. The author is also thankful for the insights and guidance provided by Prof. Asanga Tilakaratne on the Buddhist philosophical aspects it contains.
Disclosure statement
This article has been supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Additional information
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Bhagya Samarakoon
Bhagya Samarakoon is a researcher attached to the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo. She obtained her LLB from the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, with a Second Class Honors (Upper Division) in 2020. As a student at the Faculty of Law, she was a member of the semi-finalist team at the Jean Pictet Competition on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) (34th Edition) in Denpasar, Bali, in 2020 and was also an Editorial Assistant for the Colombo Law Review (2019), Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. Her publications include articles in the Colombo Law Review and the Colombo Law Journal.