By Pimchanok Palasmith
The core Buddhist morality revolves around the instruction “[t]o avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind” (Dhammapada 183). For achieving these aims, Buddhist lay followers were encouraged to uphold precepts and practice meditation. This article, hence, argues that keeping the five precepts and practicing mindfulness of breathing (Ānāpānasati bhāvanā) are conducive for compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). As the two disciplines were established to govern one’s conduct to a certain extent, either in peace or during war, the ethical doctrine of Buddhism can be harnessed to support the application of IHL.
