Military careers and Buddhist ethics

Abstract

PurposeFor many people, the military and Buddhism do not seem to go together, especially in the West. However, during the past 200 years Nepali Buddhists (Gurkhas who are mainly Buddhists) have been serving in the British Army. There are nearly 600 more Buddhists serving in the UK Military at present. Via the author's personal experience, this paper seeks to investigate the religious and scriptural position of a Buddhist joining in and continuing in the military.Design/methodology/approachThe paper records the experience of the first ever Buddhist Chaplain to HM forces and the first tri‐service annual Buddhist conference.FindingsThe aim of this paper is by no means to try to justify Buddist involvement in the military from any academic or theoretical point of view, but to share three years' experience from a practitioner's point of view.Originality/valueAs the first Buddhist Chaplain to the UK Armed Services, the author confirms what he has been doing over the past two years in order to assess the ethical position of Buddhist involvement with the military and explores the crucial issues surrounding this debate.