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There have been several notable instances of violent conflict between Buddhist sects, primarily driven by political power struggles, competition for influence, and the close ties between religious institutions and state authority.

1. Tibet: Gelugpa Supremacy in the 17th Century

The most direct sectarian conflict occurred in Tibet when the Gelugpa sect, led by the 5th Dalai Lama and backed by Mongol military forces, consolidated power in the 17th century. This campaign involved the conquest of the Sakya sect’s political dominance and the violent suppression of the Jonang school, which was declared heretical. Jonang monasteries were forcibly converted to Gelugpa use, and their monks were exiled. While framed as a religious purification, the conflict was fundamentally about unifying Tibet under a single theocratic rule.

2. Japan: Warrior Monks and Sectarian Warfare

In feudal Japan, Buddhist sects maintained private armies of sohei (warrior monks) who engaged in armed conflict:

• Mount Hiei (Tendai Sect): Monks from Enryaku-ji temple used force to influence imperial politics and attack rival temples.
• Ikko-ikki Rebellions: Followers of the Jōdo Shinshū (Pure Land) sect formed armed leagues that fought against both rival Buddhist schools and samurai lords. These uprisings, lasting from the 15th to 16th centuries, were among the largest internal conflicts of the era.

The justification for violence often stemmed from the belief that defending one’s sect was a meritorious religious act, despite the Buddha’s teachings on non-violence.

3. China: Shaolin Monks and Political Alliances

The Shaolin monks, renowned for their martial arts, participated in military campaigns, such as aiding Li Shimin (later Emperor Taizong of Tang) in the 7th century and fighting Japanese pirates in the 16th century. While not a war between sects, their involvement in state conflicts illustrates how Buddhist institutions became entangled in warfare.

Key Insight

These conflicts were rarely about doctrinal differences alone. Instead, they arose from the fusion of religious and political power, where monasteries controlled land, wealth, and armies. The concept of “just war” or “defensive violence” was sometimes invoked, as seen in Buddhist texts like the Skill in Means Sutra, which praises a captain who kills one to save many.

While such actions contradict the ideal of ahimsa (non-violence), they reflect the complex reality of how religious institutions operate within political systems.

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I tend to think of all the Abrahamics as sects of the same religion, which is probably not a good use of the word sect except insofar as it focuses attention on the history and common aspects of these religions. The images above provide Catholic views on Zionism. Like everyone else in the world, Buddhists too have fought wars. Right now, and for many centuries in some cases, the Western elite appears to be entirely controlled by Jewish Supremists, a sect within the sect of Judaism itself. Many Western elites are atheists and not religious at all. Christian Zionists who support Israeli wars based on provably fraudulent insertions in the Bible seem to me to be either elite false shepherds, who know they are lying, or more often pious ordinary Christians, who have been duped by their elite false shepherds and Jewish Supremists, a good many of whom have infiltrated Christianity. ABN