Well East Asian history is as violent and bloody as befits them, as humans. Not especially so, but nor were they living in enlightened peace for the thousands of years before the Euros showed up!
The primary difference is that violence was never (as far as I know) committed “in nomine” –
“in the name of” Buddhism.
This is because there is no “God”, whose “Will” could be appropriated to justify ones own cause.
These religions are ‘deterministic’, meaning that people believe, above all else, “what will be, will be” in the grand scheme of things, and that this is the natural order of things.
which, incidentally, is why the Chinese are so obsessed with the idea of luck, and, by extension, gambling… </opinion>
Thus, the vast cogs and wheels of world history are perceived as nearly impossible to meaningfully influence, and also personally un-worthwhile. So, the idea of “God’s Will” literally has no meaning, as the whole worldview of determinism precludes the existence of a purposeful God, and, indeed, any purpose to an individual’s existence, besides working towards the achievement of internal enlightenment and escaping the purgatory known as Earth. Everything else that happens in the course of his existence is incidental, and just a tiny but essential part of the Cosmic Clockwork.
Why commit acts of violence in the name of some unearthly higher cause, when:
a) the world is going along it’s own course, no matter what any God wants, or not?
b) the entire point of your existence is to resolve all internal conflict and escape forever?