Not sure if this type of posts is allowed in this subreddit, but I am taking a class right now that examines the historical, social, and even spiritual context of certain events of biblical religions that led them to go to War. The class also delves into what is deem as holy war, what is also seen as just war, and how these religions had a militant history, despite some verses in their historical text talking about peace and an aversion to violence.

I have a paper coming up, and I wanted to talk about War and Buddhism. I am a buddhist, not very devout, but I wanted to view this topic through a Buddhist lens. Especially since one of the noble truths is that we should not bring harm to any other living creature. Despite that, there have been many countries, influential powers, and people that are buddhists but have still violated this noble truth. I know that I shouldn't view it in such a black and white manner of "X person is a buddhist, therefore it is spiritually wrong if they kill". I know that there is a lot of context needed to understand why these people have used violence either as a last resort or be on the offense that would better explain these actions, which is why I want to ask about important events throughout history that had a Buddhist country/ figure who did commit war or genocide to help me start my research. How did they justify their actions with their spiritual beliefs, etc., etc.

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side note, but when I ask my professor about this topic, he seemed to only focus on Japanese Buddhism, and about the actions that the Japanese took against their PoWs during WW2. While I know that the broad answer is that if these soldiers did not obey, than they would be killed, I haven't been able to find any more nuance than just that. They probably felt regret, but had to focus on the bigger picture and their nationalism.

Thank you