Is there any evil buddhists in anime?

[michiru]

I can't remember any villain who is a buddhist.
It's always....so.... a western religion when a religious group are tormenting (or tricking) people.
Does this mean creaters psychologicaly respect them or buddhists are just too powerless to be described as evil one?

[MeoTwister5]

That crazed monk that Sanosuke learned the ultimate fist technique from in Rurouni Kenshin, though that would be more of his fall from faith after his entire monastery and wards died during the civil war.

[Decagon]

Originally Posted by michiru

I can't remember any villain who is a buddhist.
It's always....so.... a western religion when a religious group are tormenting (or tricking) people.
Does this mean creaters psychologicaly respect them or buddhists are just too powerless to be described as evil one?

If you see anime deriving their story from Saiyuki or Suikoden you'll probably find "evil" or corrupt Buddhist monks. If you're just talking about Buddhists in general, I am not sure what you mean, as over 70% of Japanese practice Buddhism to some degree.

[thevil1]

In Sword Of The Stranger, there are characters who sort of seem Monkish ("monkish", I just made a new word lol).

[Vexx]

Kind of "by definition", one fails badly at Buddhism if one is evil. I suppose you could have a 'buddhist monk gone bad' or one who professes to be buddhist while ignoring virtually all the tenets. There really isn't much that can be used to justify violent/evil activities.

buddhists are just too powerless to be described as evil one

doesn't even make sense unless you're equating power with evil... which would be incorrect.

You at least need some "violent god/spirit" that needs to be appeased or some sort of righteousness-gone-awry. You could find such in any of the pantheon or animist categories of religion as well as the J-C-I variety.

I suppose one could argue that the landowning aristocracy in earlier Tibet was a kind of evil since it used religion to "oppress the peasantry, making them content with the status quo".

[mechdra]

Kazuki Kazusano in Amaenaide yo!! Katsu!!

[Kamui4356]

Well there were those monks in AIR that put the curse on Kanna during the summer arc, trapping her in an endless cycle of reincarnation and setting up the events of the main game. Though it's not like they were main villains though. Still, considering one of the points of Buddhism is to transcend that cycle, a curse trapping a soul in it seems like it would be especially evil in such a belief set.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Well there were those monks in AIR that put the curse on Kanna during the summer arc, trapping her in an endless cycle of reincarnation and setting up the events of the main game. Though it's not like they were main villains though. Still, considering one of the points of Buddhism is to transcend that cycle, a curse trapping a soul in it seems like it would be especially evil in such a belief set.

Aye, I forgot about AIR. Good catch. I thought that was interesting when I first saw it because Buddhism and Shinto are usually described as having rather easily integrated when Buddhism arrived in Japan. AIR described a more tense conflict between the viewpoints. I don't know if that was simply artistic license or whether the historical reality is more complex. I do know that within a few hundred years each belief system had settled into their respective niches and begun absorbing bits of each other.

[imbehindyou]

I wouldn't necessarily call them evil evil, but in Gokudou-kun Manyuuki, Indra (Hinduism) and Sanzo (Buddhism) are antagonists. But then, it's totally a fantasy series and protagonist's "friends" are Mazoku

Unfortunately I don't have anything to say in regards to OP.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

That crazed monk that Sanosuke learned the ultimate fist technique from in Rurouni Kenshin, though that would be more of his fall from faith after his entire monastery and wards died during the civil war.

Anji (the monk) was the one that sprang to mind for me too, though he really isn't evil. A fallen monk, for sure, but more what I would call misguided than evil. For all his anger I think he still tries to live by a moral code he sees as consistent with his Buddhism.

Warrior monks (Sohei) actually played a crucial part in much of feudal Japanese history and did a whole lot of things most people today would call evil, but I don't recall seeing them depicted in anime too much. It was actually a topic on the Suggestions board a while back, but Buddhists of any stripe are much less common as major characters in anime than Shinto priests and (especially) miko.

[mouhitori]

Yeah the warrior monks were the ones that first sprang to my mind too.
Probably the lack of their portrayal is simply due to the lack of anime that
covers the sengoku jidai period...

I never recall even seeing one except sengoku basara.
Maybe after the three kingdoms period can no longer attract sufficient viewers we will see sengoku ikkitousen or sengoku koihime musou

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Anji (the monk) was the one that sprang to mind for me too, though he really isn't evil. A fallen monk, for sure, but more what I would call misguided than evil. For all his anger I think he still tries to live by a moral code he sees as consistent with his Buddhism.

Warrior monks (Sohei) actually played a crucial part in much of feudal Japanese history and did a whole lot of things most people today would call evil, but I don't recall seeing them depicted in anime too much. It was actually a topic on the Suggestions board a while back, but Buddhists of any stripe are much less common as major characters in anime than Shinto priests and (especially) miko.

I've only seen them in Kenshin. So I guess RK has a monopoly on sinister Buddhists