I have uploaded another research paper again. It is titled "The Buddha and the Maagadha-Vajjii War", which I presented at the Bi-Annual Conference (2010) of the Sri Lankan Association of Buddhist Studies. Its abstract is as follows:
"According to one account recorded in Mahaaparinibbaanasutta, the Buddha had to meet a royal minister named Vassakaara when the king Ajaatasattu ordered the latter to visit the Buddha and inform him about the kingâs plan to subdue the country of Vajjiis. After hearing Vassakaara, the Buddha spoke on seven Conditions of Welfare (satta aparihaaniyaa dhammaa), which would ensure the prosperity of Vajjii as long as its citizens observed them. Vassakaara shrewdly inferred from the Buddhaâs discourse how to defeat Vajjii people and later actually forced them into submission.
Regarding that event, there are some perplexing questions: (1) Why did the king Ajaatasattu choose to consult a wandering ascetic on a significant matter of state like fighting a war? (2) If the Buddha did not really accept any kind of violence, as the tradition would have it, why did he not openly speak against it? (3) Since it was from the Buddhaâs speech that Vassakaara got the clue how to defeat Vajjiis, did the Buddha intend to help Ajaatasattu defeat Vajjiis? If not, what was his purpose in expounding the seven Conditions of Welfare to Vassakaara? This paper will attempt to answer these questions and will argue, in the conclusion, that this event shows the Buddhaâs disapproving attitude towards a political role of the Buddhist Order."
As usual, I must say that all rights are reserved since I intend to send this paper to an established journal and that people should be very careful in citing it since it has not been peer-reviewed. All comments are welcome.