this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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I hypothesize that idealist ideologies (such as religion) tend to have a huge contrast between nice words and cruel reality. In feudal theocratic Tibet, monks would severely lash disobedient serfs then leave them to die in the freezing night. They still denied the reality that monks killed serfs, as Buddhism forbids capital punishment.
Edit: that was meant as one example. I didn't mean to accuse buddhism in particular. Christianism has similar problems.
Speaking as Buddhist, Buddhism def has some reactionary strains, but interestingly also some hardcore anti-imperialist ones in the modern era too, especially in Sri Lanka.
I highly recommend reading a history of christian imperialism in sri lanka, by Walpola Rahula (a buddhist socialist who wrote probably the most famous modern primer on Buddhism, What the Buddha taught), called the heritage of the bhikkhu. It also gets into why Christians tried to depoliticize and de-fang the buddhist monastic movement, to silence it from making criticisms of european imperialism.
Unfortunately most of christianity's anti-imperialist / anti-landlord strains died out by the middle ages, but there even are some in the modern era, like liberation theologists, and some anti-war christians.
Hi. Thank you for your polite reply. I clarify that my other comment meant to provide one example. I didn't mean to accuse buddhism in particular. Christianism has similar problems. I edited my other comment.
It's no probs! I agree with you also, we shouldn't exempt any religion from criticism, Buddhism included.