user-1: How do bodhisattvas, and those who would emulate them, respond to a tyrant or despot, e.g. a Hitler or Stalin?
Are Buddhists / Bodhisattvas suggesting a "non-resistance to evil by violence" (Tolstoy) and some strange notion of absolute forgiveness, practically or otherwise?
To have someone preach that we all forgive tyrants, as they may go for our throat, seems like a peculiar and sadistic form of madness.

user471: Monks, who are professional practitioners of the Dhamma are expected to be completely pacifist.

"Well then, Punna. Now that I have instructed you with a brief
instruction, in which country are you going to live?"
"Lord, there is a country called Sunaparanta. I am going to live
there."
"Punna, the Sunaparanta people are fierce. They are rough. If they
insult and ridicule you, what will you think?"
"If they insult and ridicule me, I will think, 'These Sunaparanta
people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with
their hands.' That is what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I
will think, O One Well-gone."
"But if they hit you with their hands, what will you think?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a clod.'..."
"But if they hit you with a clod...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a stick.'..."
"But if they hit you with a stick...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a knife.'..."
"But if they hit you with a knife...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't take my life with a sharp knife.'..."
"But if they take your life with a sharp knife...?"
"If they take my life with a sharp knife, I will think, 'There are
disciples of the Blessed One who — horrified, humiliated, and
disgusted by the body and by life — have sought for an assassin, but
here I have met my assassin without searching for him.' 1 That is
what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I will think, O One
Well-gone."
"Good, Punna, very good. Possessing such calm and self-control you are
fit to dwell among the Sunaparantans. Now it is time to do as you see
fit."
Then Ven. Punna, delighting and rejoicing in the Blessed One's words,
rising from his seat, bowed down to the Blessed One and left, keeping
him on his right side. Setting his dwelling in order and taking his
robe and bowl, he set out for the Sunaparanta country and, after
wandering stage by stage, he arrived there. There he lived. During
that Rains retreat he established 500 male and 500 female lay
followers in the practice, while he realized the three knowledges and
then attained total (final) Unbinding.
Then a large number of monks went to the Blessed One and on arrival,
having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there,
they said to him, "Lord, the clansman named Punna, whom the Blessed
One instructed with a brief instruction, has died. What is his
destination? What is his future state?"
"Monks, the clansman Punna was wise. He practiced the Dhamma in
accordance with the Dhamma and did not pester me with issues related
to the Dhamma. The clansman Punna is totally unbound."
SN 35.88


The Buddha when faced with the bandit and murderer Angulimala, employed psychic powers apparently, in addition to his wisdom in the method of teaching.

Carrying his robes & bowl, he went along the road to where Angulimala
was staying. Cowherds, shepherds, & farmers saw him going along the
road to where Angulimala was staying, and on seeing him said to him,
"Don't go along that road, contemplative, for on that road is
Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying,
showing no mercy to living beings. He has turned villages into
non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled
countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wears a garland
made of fingers. Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, & forty men have gone
along that road, and even they have fallen into Angulimala's hands."
When this was said, the Blessed One kept going in silence. ....
Then Angulimala saw the Blessed One coming from afar and on seeing
him, this thought occurred to him: "Isn't it amazing! Isn't it
astounding! Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, & forty men have gone along
this road, and even they have fallen into my hands, and yet now this
contemplative comes attacking, as it were, alone and without a
companion. Why don't I kill him?" So Angulimala, taking up his sword &
shield, buckling on his bow & quiver, followed right behind the
Blessed One.
Then the Blessed One willed a feat of psychic power such that
Angulimala, though running with all his might, could not catch up with
the Blessed One walking at normal pace. Then the thought occurred to
Angulimala: "Isn't it amazing! Isn't it astounding! In the past I've
chased & seized even a swift-running elephant, a swift-running horse,
a swift-running chariot, a swift-running deer. But now, even though
I'm running with all my might, I can't catch up with this
contemplative walking at normal pace." So he stopped and called out to
the Blessed One, "Stop, contemplative! Stop!"
"I have stopped, Angulimala. You stop."
Then the thought occurred to Angulimala, "These Sakyan contemplatives
are speakers of the truth, asserters of the truths, and yet this
contemplative, even while walking, says, 'I have stopped, Angulimala.
You stop.' Why don't I question him?"
MN 86


While violence and destruction is strongly discouraged in Buddhism, it is ok for a bonafide ruler or government ("wheel-turning monarch") to establish police and armed forces to:

protect and guard the people
ensure peace
ensure that justice prevails

This generally applies to lay persons and not monks.

‘But sire, what are the noble duties of a wheel-turning monarch?’
‘Well then, my dear, relying only on principle—honoring, respecting,
and venerating principle, having principle as your flag, banner, and
authority — provide just protection and security for your court,
troops, aristocrats, vassals, brahmins and householders, people of
town and country, ascetics and brahmins, beasts and birds. Do not let
injustice prevail in the realm. Pay money to the penniless in the
realm.
DN 26


user13375: Here is a Sutra that directly applies to your question. It is recognized in both the Tibetan and Chinese Mahayana canon.
From the The Skill in Means (Upayakausalya) Sutra as translated by Mark Tatz. The Tibetan Buddhist canon project has a new translation in progress.

Murder with Skill in Means: the Story of the Compassionate Ship’s
Captain
132 .
Then the Lord again addressed the Bodhisattva
Jñanottara: “Son of the family: Once upon a time, long before the
Thus-Come-One, the Worthy, the fully perfected Buddha Dīpaṁkara, there
were five hundred merchants who set sail on the high seas in search of
wealth. Among the company was a doer of dark deeds, a doer of evil
deeds, a robber well-trained in the art of weaponry, who had come on
board that very ship. He thought, ‘I will kill all these merchants when
they have completed their business and done what they set out to do,
take all their possessions and go to Jambu Continent.’
“Son of the
family: Then the merchants completed their business and set about to
depart. No sooner had they done so, than that deceitful person thought:
‘Now I will kill all these merchants, take all their possessions and go
to Jambu Continent. The time has come.’
133 .
“At the same time, among
the company on board was a captain named Great Compassionate (
sārthavāha mahākāruṇika ). While Captain Great Compassionate slept on
one occasion, the deities who dwelt in that ocean showed him this in a
dream:
“‘Among this ship’s company is a person named so and so, of
such and such sort of physique, of such and such garb, complexion and
shape—a robber, mischievous, a thief of others’ property. He
is thinking, “I will kill all these merchants, take all their
possessions and go to Jambu Continent.” To kill these merchants would
create formidable evil karma  for that person. Why so? These five
hundred merchants are all progressing toward supreme, right and full
awakening. If he should kill these Bodhisattvas, the fault—the
obstacle caused by the deed—would cause him to burn in the great
hells for as long as it takes each one of these Bodhisattvas to achieve
supreme, right and full awakening, consecutively. Therefore, Captain,
think of some skill in means to prevent this person from killing
the five hundred merchants and going to the great hells because of the
deed.’
134 .
“Son of the family: Then the captain Great Compassionate
awoke. He considered what means there might be to prevent that person
from killing the five hundred merchants and going to the great hells.
Seven days passed with a wind averse to sailing to Jambu Continent.
During those seven days he plunged deep into thought, not speaking to
anyone.
“He thought, ‘There is no means to prevent this
man from slaying the merchants and going to the great hells, but to
kill him.’
“And he thought, ‘If I were to report this to the merchants,
they would kill and slay him with   angry thoughts and all go to the
great hells themselves.’
“And he thought, ‘If I were to kill this
person, I would likewise burn in the great hells for
one hundred-thousand eons because of it. Yet I can bear to experience
the pain of the great hells, that this person not slay these five
hundred merchants and develop so much evil karma . I will kill this
person myself.
135 .
Son of the family: Accordingly, the captain Great
Compassionate protected those five hundred merchants and protected that
person from going to the great hells by deliberately stabbing
and slaying that person who was a robber with a spear, with great
compassion and skill in means. And all among the company completed
their business and each went to his own city.
136 .
“Son of the
family. At that time, in that life I was none other than the captain
Great Compassionate. Have no second thoughts or doubt on this point.
The five hundred merchants on board are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
who are to awaken to the supreme, right and full awakening in
this Auspicious Eon.
“Son of the family: For me, saṁsāra was curtailed
for one hundred-thousand eons because of that skill in means and great
compassion. And the robber died to be reborn in a world of
paradise.
137 .
“Son of the family, what do you think of this? Can
curtailing birth and death for one hundred-thousand eons with that
skill in means and that great compassion be regarded as
the Bodhisattva’s obstacle caused by past deeds? Do not view it in that
way. It should be regarded as his very skill in means."

A couple points I think are interesting and relevant here:

The Great Captain killed the robber out of immense compassion for the robber himself and the suffering he foresaw would follow the robber if he achieved his evil aims.
The Great Captain did this while completely understanding and accepting the personal consequence of burning in the hells for one hundred-thousand eons.
The Great Captain had sure foreknowledge of the outcome of the robber's intended actions and after a great deal of introspection and objective analysis that there was no other way to prevent the robber from accomplishing his evil deeds.
The Great Captain was a highly advanced Arya being. The Great Captain was no ordinary samsaric being acting out of regular egotistical thoughts or anger. The Great Captain had trained for immense numbers of eons to perfect
great compassion and wisdom.
It was only by virtue of the Great Captain's incredibly advanced training and pure intention resolving to personally suffer the consequences as well as sure wisdom correctly analyzing the situation that allowed the Great Captain to accomplish this skillful means without actually suffering the resultant terrible consequence of burning in the hells for one hundred thousand eons.
Most of us are nowhere near capable of this level of compassion and pure intent combined with wisdom. We'd best keep training.


-1: <p>How do bodhisattvas, and those who would emulate them, respond to a tyrant or despot, e.g. a Hitler or Stalin?</p>
<p>Are Buddhists / Bodhisattvas suggesting a &quot;non-resistance to evil by violence&quot; (Tolstoy) and some strange notion of absolute forgiveness, practically or otherwise?</p>
<p>To have someone preach that we all forgive tyrants, as they may go for our throat, seems like a peculiar and sadistic form of madness.</p>
 471: <p>Monks, who are professional practitioners of the Dhamma are expected to be completely pacifist.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Well then, Punna. Now that I have instructed you with a brief
instruction, in which country are you going to live?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Lord, there is a country called Sunaparanta. I am going to live
there.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Punna, the Sunaparanta people are fierce. They are rough. If they
insult and ridicule you, what will you think?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;If they insult and ridicule me, I will think, 'These Sunaparanta
people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with
their hands.' That is what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I
will think, O One Well-gone.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;But if they hit you with their hands, what will you think?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a clod.'...&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;But if they hit you with a clod...?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a stick.'...&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;But if they hit you with a stick...?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't hit me with a knife.'...&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;But if they hit you with a knife...?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don't take my life with a sharp knife.'...&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;But if they take your life with a sharp knife...?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;If they take my life with a sharp knife, I will think, 'There are
disciples of the Blessed One who — horrified, humiliated, and
disgusted by the body and by life — have sought for an assassin, but
here I have met my assassin without searching for him.' <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.088.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a> That is
what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I will think, O One
Well-gone.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Good, Punna, very good. Possessing such calm and self-control you are
fit to dwell among the Sunaparantans. Now it is time to do as you see
fit.&quot;</p>
<p>Then Ven. Punna, delighting and rejoicing in the Blessed One's words,
rising from his seat, bowed down to the Blessed One and left, keeping
him on his right side. Setting his dwelling in order and taking his
robe and bowl, he set out for the Sunaparanta country and, after
wandering stage by stage, he arrived there. There he lived. During
that Rains retreat he established 500 male and 500 female lay
followers in the practice, while he realized the three knowledges and
then attained total (final) Unbinding.</p>
<p>Then a large number of monks went to the Blessed One and on arrival,
having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there,
they said to him, &quot;Lord, the clansman named Punna, whom the Blessed
One instructed with a brief instruction, has died. What is his
destination? What is his future state?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Monks, the clansman Punna was wise. He practiced the Dhamma in
accordance with the Dhamma and did not pester me with issues related
to the Dhamma. The clansman Punna is totally unbound.&quot;<br />
<a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.088.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 35.88</a></p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>The Buddha when faced with the bandit and murderer Angulimala, employed psychic powers apparently, in addition to his wisdom in the method of teaching.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Carrying his robes &amp; bowl, he went along the road to where Angulimala
was staying. Cowherds, shepherds, &amp; farmers saw him going along the
road to where Angulimala was staying, and on seeing him said to him,
&quot;Don't go along that road, contemplative, for on that road is
Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing &amp; slaying,
showing no mercy to living beings. He has turned villages into
non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled
countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wears a garland
made of fingers. Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, &amp; forty men have gone
along that road, and even they have fallen into Angulimala's hands.&quot;
When this was said, the Blessed One kept going in silence. ....</p>
<p>Then Angulimala saw the Blessed One coming from afar and on seeing
him, this thought occurred to him: &quot;Isn't it amazing! Isn't it
astounding! Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, &amp; forty men have gone along
this road, and even they have fallen into my hands, and yet now this
contemplative comes attacking, as it were, alone and without a
companion. Why don't I kill him?&quot; So Angulimala, taking up his sword &amp;
shield, buckling on his bow &amp; quiver, followed right behind the
Blessed One.</p>
<p>Then the Blessed One willed a feat of psychic power such that
Angulimala, though running with all his might, could not catch up with
the Blessed One walking at normal pace. Then the thought occurred to
Angulimala: &quot;Isn't it amazing! Isn't it astounding! In the past I've
chased &amp; seized even a swift-running elephant, a swift-running horse,
a swift-running chariot, a swift-running deer. But now, even though
I'm running with all my might, I can't catch up with this
contemplative walking at normal pace.&quot; So he stopped and called out to
the Blessed One, &quot;Stop, contemplative! Stop!&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;I have stopped, Angulimala. You stop.&quot;</p>
<p>Then the thought occurred to Angulimala, &quot;These Sakyan contemplatives
are speakers of the truth, asserters of the truths, and yet this
contemplative, even while walking, says, 'I have stopped, Angulimala.
You stop.' Why don't I question him?&quot;<br />
<a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.086.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN 86</a></p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>While violence and destruction is strongly discouraged in Buddhism, it is ok for a bonafide ruler or government (&quot;wheel-turning monarch&quot;) to establish police and armed forces to:</p>
<ul>
<li>protect and guard the people</li>
<li>ensure peace</li>
<li>ensure that justice prevails</li>
</ul>
<p>This generally applies to lay persons and not monks.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘But sire, what are the noble duties of a wheel-turning monarch?’</p>
<p>‘Well then, my dear, relying only on principle—honoring, respecting,
and venerating principle, having principle as your flag, banner, and
authority — provide just protection and security for your court,
troops, aristocrats, vassals, brahmins and householders, people of
town and country, ascetics and brahmins, beasts and birds. Do not let
injustice prevail in the realm. Pay money to the penniless in the
realm.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn26/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN 26</a></p>
</blockquote>
 13375: <p>Here is a Sutra that directly applies to your question. It is recognized in both the Tibetan and Chinese Mahayana canon.</p>
<p>From the <i>The Skill in Means (Upayakausalya) Sutra</i> as translated by Mark Tatz. The Tibetan Buddhist canon project has a <a href="https://read.84000.co/section/O1JC114941JC14668.html#summary-detail-toh261" rel="nofollow noreferrer">new translation in progress.</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Murder with Skill in Means: the Story of the Compassionate Ship’s
Captain</b></p>
<p>132 .</p>
<p>Then the Lord again addressed the Bodhisattva
Jñanottara: “Son of the family: Once upon a time, long before the
Thus-Come-One, the Worthy, the fully perfected Buddha Dīpaṁkara, there
were five hundred merchants who set sail on the high seas in search of
wealth. Among the company was a doer of dark deeds, a doer of evil
deeds, a robber well-trained in the art of weaponry, who had come on
board that very ship. He thought, ‘I will kill all these merchants when
they have completed their business and done what they set out to do,
take all their possessions and go to Jambu Continent.’</p>
<p>“Son of the
family: Then the merchants completed their business and set about to
depart. No sooner had they done so, than that deceitful person thought:
‘Now I will kill all these merchants, take all their possessions and go
to Jambu Continent. The time has come.’</p>
<p>133 .</p>
<p>“At the same time, among
the company on board was a captain named Great Compassionate (
sārthavāha mahākāruṇika ). While Captain Great Compassionate slept on
one occasion, the deities who dwelt in that ocean showed him this in a
dream:</p>
<p>“‘Among this ship’s company is a person named so and so, of
such and such sort of physique, of such and such garb, complexion and
shape—a robber, mischievous, a thief of others’ property. He
is thinking, “I will kill all these merchants, take all their
possessions and go to Jambu Continent.” To kill these merchants would
create formidable evil karma  for that person. Why so? These five
hundred merchants are all progressing toward supreme, right and full
awakening. If he should kill these Bodhisattvas, the fault—the
obstacle caused by the deed—would cause him to burn in the great
hells for as long as it takes each one of these Bodhisattvas to achieve
supreme, right and full awakening, consecutively. Therefore, Captain,
think of some skill in means to prevent this person from killing
the five hundred merchants and going to the great hells because of the
deed.’</p>
<p>134 .</p>
<p>“Son of the family: Then the captain Great Compassionate
awoke. He considered what means there might be to prevent that person
from killing the five hundred merchants and going to the great hells.
Seven days passed with a wind averse to sailing to Jambu Continent.
During those seven days he plunged deep into thought, not speaking to
anyone.</p>
<p>“He thought, ‘There is no means to prevent this
man from slaying the merchants and going to the great hells, but to
kill him.’</p>
<p>“And he thought, ‘If I were to report this to the merchants,
they would kill and slay him with   angry thoughts and all go to the
great hells themselves.’</p>
<p>“And he thought, ‘If I were to kill this
person, I would likewise burn in the great hells for
one hundred-thousand eons because of it. Yet I can bear to experience
the pain of the great hells, that this person not slay these five
hundred merchants and develop so much evil karma . I will kill this
person myself.</p>
<p>135 .</p>
<p>Son of the family: Accordingly, the captain Great
Compassionate protected those five hundred merchants and protected that
person from going to the great hells by deliberately stabbing
and slaying that person who was a robber with a spear, with great
compassion and skill in means. And all among the company completed
their business and each went to his own city.</p>
<p>136 .</p>
<p>“Son of the
family. At that time, in that life I was none other than the captain
Great Compassionate. Have no second thoughts or doubt on this point.
The five hundred merchants on board are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
who are to awaken to the supreme, right and full awakening in
this Auspicious Eon.</p>
<p>“Son of the family: For me, saṁsāra was curtailed
for one hundred-thousand eons because of that skill in means and great
compassion. And the robber died to be reborn in a world of
paradise.</p>
<p>137 .</p>
<p>“Son of the family, what do you think of this? Can
curtailing birth and death for one hundred-thousand eons with that
skill in means and that great compassion be regarded as
the Bodhisattva’s obstacle caused by past deeds? Do not view it in that
way. It should be regarded as his very skill in means.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A couple points I think are interesting and relevant here:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Great Captain killed the robber out of immense compassion <em>for the robber himself</em> and the suffering he foresaw would follow the robber if he achieved his evil aims.</li>
<li>The Great Captain did this while completely understanding and <em>accepting the personal consequence of burning in the hells</em> for one hundred-thousand eons.</li>
<li>The Great Captain had <em>sure</em> foreknowledge of the outcome of the robber's intended actions and after a great deal of introspection and objective analysis that there was <em>no other way</em> to prevent the robber from accomplishing his evil deeds.</li>
<li>The Great Captain was a highly advanced Arya being. The Great Captain was no ordinary samsaric being acting out of regular egotistical thoughts or anger. The Great Captain had trained for immense numbers of eons to perfect
great compassion and wisdom.</li>
<li>It was only by virtue of the Great Captain's <em>incredibly advanced training and pure intention resolving to personally suffer the consequences as well as sure wisdom correctly analyzing the situation</em> that allowed the Great Captain to accomplish this skillful means without actually suffering the resultant terrible consequence of burning in the hells for one hundred thousand eons.</li>
<li>Most of us are nowhere near capable of this level of compassion and pure intent combined with wisdom. We'd best keep training.</li>
</ul>
