Warriors Who Do Not Kill in War: A Buddhist Interpretation of the Warrior’s Role in Relation to the Precept against Killing
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a well-written and researched study. In reading it, I found a few minor problems, which I note below:
Page 4, note 13:
Correct aincient to ancient
Page 6, line 134:
The term “the subject” seems unclear here. Do you mean the king, who would see the sangha as a threat?
Page 10, lines 194-195:
In the same sentence you talk about a king’s interactions with plural “enemies” and a singular “enemy.” I’d recommend that these are brought into agreement.
Page 10, line 202:
“of [the one]” seems awkward. I recommend correcting it to “for [the one]”
Page 13, line 231:
Correct “quell a rebel” to “quell a rebellion”
Page 19, note 48:
I’d recommend changing “is required to do that way” to “should act in that manner,” as a better translation of de ltar bya dgos.
Author Response
This is a well-written and researched study. In reading it, I found a few minor problems, which I note below:
[Author’s response ---] Thank you so much for your warm comment. It is encouraging. I also thank your suggestions below. I agree with all of them. I have corrected or changed them based on your suggestions. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to offer your insightful comments to improve my article.
Page 4, note 13:
Correct aincient to ancient
Page 13, line 231:
Correct “quell a rebel” to “quell a rebellion”
[Author’s response ---] Thank you so much for your careful review of my English. I have corrected them as you suggest.
Page 6, line 134:
The term “the subject” seems unclear here. Do you mean the king, who would see the sangha as a threat?
[Author’s response ---] Thank you so much for the question. I do not mean that the king sees the Sangha as a threat. Bases on your question, I have changed the original sentence in order to be more faithful to what the Pali text explicitly states as follows: the original sentence, “On the premise, which was valid at that time, that if warriors left, the royal army would be weakened, possibly to the point of dysfunction; furthermore, the subject would disbelieve the Buddhist Sangha, where the warriors are ordained.”, was changed to “on the premise that if warriors left, kings would be furious, possibly to the point of killing or injuring monks, who ordained the warriors.” In this connection, in order to make clearer why the Buddha prohibited monks to ordain royal warriors, I have added a Pali text that explains it and my English translation of that text in footnote 16.
Page 10, lines 194-195:
In the same sentence you talk about a king’s interactions with plural “enemies” and a singular “enemy.” I’d recommend that these are brought into agreement.
[Author’s response ---] I agree with your suggestion. I have changed “enemies” to “enemy.”
Page 10, line 202:
“of [the one]” seems awkward. I recommend correcting it to “for [the one]”
[Author’s response ---] I have corrected it as you suggest. I have also corrected the same expression in footnote 32 in the same manner.
Page 19, note 48:
I’d recommend changing “is required to do that way” to “should act in that manner,” as a better translation of de ltar bya dgos.
[Author’s response ---] Your translation is better and clearer than mine. I have corrected it as you suggest. Thank you so much for your great help.
Reviewer 2 Report
This paper is very clear and sound. It has been well organized and carefully structured. the categories summarized by the author are plausible. the analysis is solid, which is based on very rich primary sources in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan languages. While reading the translations, they are fluent and clear. The author also demonstrates his/her familiarity with secondary sources. this paper is an exemplar of enduring research.
Author Response
This paper is very clear and sound. It has been well organized and carefully structured. the categories summarized by the author are plausible. the analysis is solid, which is based on very rich primary sources in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan languages. While reading the translations, they are fluent and clear. The author also demonstrates his/her familiarity with secondary sources. this paper is an exemplar of enduring research.
[Author’s response ---] Thank you so much for your warm comment. It is encouraging. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to review my article.
Reviewer 3 Report
The paper is well structured.
On could discuss whether the extensive notes need to be added, but in this research paper, I think they do have an added value, since readers can follow both the context of the quotations, as well as the exact primary terminology.
Lines 83-91 could be clarified. Previous research by Damien Keown is mentioned, but for those who have not (recently) read his work, it is not fully clear what exactly is criticized.
This paper is a good basis for potential future research into the reception/perception of the 'ancient' instructions in modern-day South Asia.
Author Response
The paper is well structured.
On could discuss whether the extensive notes need to be added, but in this research paper, I think they do have an added value, since readers can follow both the context of the quotations, as well as the exact primary terminology.
Lines 83-91 could be clarified. Previous research by Damien Keown is mentioned, but for those who have not (recently) read his work, it is not fully clear what exactly is criticized.
This paper is a good basis for potential future research into the reception/perception of the 'ancient' instructions in modern-day South Asia.
[Author’s response ---] Thank you so much for your warm comment. It is encouraging. I also appreciate your suggestion regarding lines 83-91. The lines appear obscure. Therefore, based on your suggestion, I have changed the sentence, “Consequently, he did not analyze the effect of what he deemed to be military deterrence, but which was, in fact, a mutual coupling of the wheel-turner’s virtue and the foreign kings’ morality in the Cakkavattisīhanādasutta.” to “Consequently, he deemed the wheel-turner’s bloodless conquest to be an effect of the deterrence by his huge army. However, it is, in fact, an effect of a mutual coupling of the wheel-turner’s virtue and the foreign kings’ morality in the Cakkavattisīhanādasutta.” Please check it. Thank you so much.
