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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Killing for the Dharma: An Analysis of the Shugden Deity and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism

Nau, Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1178300733

Abstract Details

2007, Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, College of Arts and Sciences - History.
Violence is a problem endemic to organized religion. What this thesis will examine is a particular manifestation of violence in Tibetan Buddhism with the controversy surrounding the deity Shugden. In order to understand and contextualize this conflict, I examine the roots of how a supposedly pacifist religion can sanction bloodshed. This requires an analysis of Tibet’s slow and ongoing conversion to Buddhism and how this process occurred as a navigation of political, economic, and social transformations. This materialist basis for conflict is essential in understanding of the contemporary Shugden phenomenon, which has attracted the attention of Western media and several national governments who all have certain political objectives regarding the worship of Shugden. What this paper will therefore argue is that this violence is not a result of abstract theological debate, but rather due to changing demographics, economic pressures, claims to legitimacy, cultural adaptations, and control of resources. In this way, Shugden is best understood as a metaphor representing the interests of certain groups making claims to power.
Homayun Sidky (Advisor)

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Nau, M. (2007). Killing for the Dharma: An Analysis of the Shugden Deity and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism [Undergraduate thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1178300733

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Nau, Michael. Killing for the Dharma: An Analysis of the Shugden Deity and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism. 2007. Miami University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1178300733.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Nau, Michael. "Killing for the Dharma: An Analysis of the Shugden Deity and Violence in Tibetan Buddhism." Undergraduate thesis, Miami University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1178300733

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Miami University Honors Theses and OhioLINK.