Originally Posted by Bigfella

I few points here:

1) I would argue that a lot of religions (Christianity included) have a bloodless beginning. They tend to catch up when they expand & start to become linked to political power. Unfortunately Buddhism is no different. In Sth East Asia there were wars between Buddhists, Hindus & Muslims in which ethnicity & religion were overlaid. You only have to see the defaced buddhas at Angkor in Cambodia or the ruined temples at Ayutthaya in Thailand to see that Buddhists were involved in religious wars too (I don't know enough about the histories of Mahayana kingdoms in the Himalayas & thereabouts, but I'm betting the same thing went on there too.