Bushido, Buddhism, and Warriors

Paper Summary:

This paper explores how Buddhist beliefs shaped the samurai warrior philosophy. The paper begins with a review of Buddhist philosophy and its religious development. Next, the paper examines principal sources of Bushido writings, such as the the "Hagakure" and "The Book of Five Rings". Both books are reviewed in depth, including a detailed summary of their philosophies. The paper concludes by comparing Bushido philosophy with other Buddhist beliefs and explaining that Bushido combines the best parts of a skilled martial artist with Buddhism, which allows the samurai to fulfill their obligations as warriors without forcing them to abandon the teachings of the Buddhas.

From the Paper:

"Bushido, the samurai a "way of the warrior", is a concept that has held great power over the years. This unwritten code was essential to the samurai philosophy, similar to the chivalry codes of European knights during the Medieval Ages. Some of the virtues stressed under bushido were loyalty, honor, benevolence, and honesty. These ethics would be lauded by almost any society but they are also central to Buddhist religious beliefs, which dominated Japanese culture throughout the era of samurai prominence. The samurai were a warrior class, their profession was warfare and killing, principles that ran counter to all Buddhist teachings; the very idea of a Buddhist warrior is a paradox. In order to reconcile their violent profession with their religious beliefs, samurai needed an ethical code that would not only absolve their warrior's guilt but would praise many of the values that made them great warriors. This paper will examine principal texts by ancient samurai and contemporary essays to argue that Bushido arose among the samurai as a means of reconciling Buddhist teachings with the violent lifestyle of an elite warrior class."

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