King Asoka: Buddhism, Edicts, and Enlightened Rule

Introduction: Asoka and the Maurya Dynasty

Asoka was the Indian royal leader of the Maurya dynasty, founded by his grandfather Chandragupta. He is considered one of the greatest monarchs of ancient India. It was under his reign that almost the whole of India, as well as Baluchistan and Afghanistan, were brought together under one central authority for the very first time in Indian history. As legends state, Asoka was deeply regretful for all the suffering he had imposed during his conquest of the state of Kalinga. To regain his peace of mind and spiritual satisfaction, he accepted Buddhism and abandoned all bloody wars and brutal conquests. His belief in ahimsa, or nonviolence, is declared in the inscriptions that provide our knowledge of Asoka's rule. He was a firm advocate who clearly stated his conviction in tolerance of all faiths. It was also during Asoka's period of influence that India prospered and art flourished. Beyond his many majestic accomplishments, Asoka is most renowned for his efforts to elevate Buddhism from a simple Indian sect to a world religion ("Asoka").

Asoka erected many Buddhist monasteries and stupas. The slaughter of animals was also regulated during his reign. Influenced by the teachings of the Buddha, the harsh and cruel laws of his predecessors were mitigated under his rule. Buddhist missionaries were sent throughout India on his orders. These missionaries also traveled to the neighboring lands as far as Syria, Egypt, and Greece. He sent his son — or, in some accounts, his brother — to Sri Lanka as the head of one such mission. According to historical texts, a great Buddhist convocation was held at Asoka's capital, Pataliputra, under his own patronage. The purpose of this convocation was to suppress heretical doctrines of all forms and to authenticate the principles of Buddhism ("Asoka").

Understanding Buddhism: Basic Beliefs and Practices

Siddhartha Gautama, popularly recognized as the Buddha, founded the religion and philosophy of Buddhism in India around 525 BC ("Buddhism"). The fundamental principles of Buddhism include the "Four Noble Truths," which are as follows:

1. Dukkha — existence is suffering.
2. Trishna — suffering has a cause.
3. Nirvana — suffering has an end.
4. The Eightfold Path — there is a pathway to the termination of suffering. This path is composed of the right way of living, right mindfulness, right awareness, right analysis, right decisions, right communication, right deeds, and right endeavors. In Buddhism, reality is not described in terms of being or material substance but in terms of progression and relation ("Buddhism").

Buddhism commands its followers to abstain from killing, stealing, immoral conduct, false speech, and the consumption of intoxicants ("Buddhism").

King Asoka's Conversion and the Kalinga War

King Asoka was the third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty in the third century BCE. He was also the first monarch of a united India and is regarded as one of the greatest statesmen of the ancient world. He altered his policy from one of armed invasions to Dharmavijaya — victory by righteousness and legitimacy — after embracing the teachings of the Buddha. He subsequently achieved what may be considered the most difficult conquest of all: the conquest of himself. This he accomplished through the awareness of human suffering and sincere self-reflection (Seneviratna).

The turning point came around 264 BCE, when Asoka conquered the state of Kalinga, then the most dominant realm in India. This conquest, however, changed Asoka's life completely. He became deeply disturbed by the terror his forces had inflicted on the Kalingans and consequently found spiritual satisfaction by embracing Buddhism and its teachings of nonviolence and compassion (Swearer).

Asoka described the impact of the Kalinga War on himself in the following terms: "Now that the country of the Kalingans has been conquered, the Beloved of the Gods is devoted to an intense practice of the duties relating to the Dharma, to a longing for Dharma and to the inculcation of Dharma among the people. This is due to the repentance of the Beloved of the Gods on having conquered the country of the Kalingas" (as qtd. in Seneviratna 53).

After recognizing the atrocities he had inflicted on the Kalingans, Asoka became certain that the only true conquest could be achieved by the force of religious teaching and not by armed might. He instructed his heirs to "take pleasure in patience and gentleness, and regard as (the only true) conquest the conquest won by piety" (as qtd. in Swearer). He declared openly that no one should be destroyed by war, including Brahmins and Buddhists alike (Thurman 111).

Asoka's Cool Revolution and Social Transformation

Asoka first transformed his own outlook and behavior and then gradually transformed the whole of Indian society. This was what Robert Thurman calls the "cool" revolution of Asoka (Thurman 95). He adopted the cool revolution practiced by the Buddha and, in conjunction with the prevailing social sphere, forged a new sphere of freedom. Asoka's cool revolution did not aim to overturn existing customs and traditions by force. Instead, he sought to change the ways of life of Indian society through the spread of the Buddha's teachings in the most modest and non-aggressive manner possible. At times, however, Asoka also intensified the cool revolution, using royal authority to affirm the truth of Buddhism — yet he conducted no religious wars in this regard.

All aspects of the lives of the Indian people were touched by Asoka's introduction of the enlightenment ideal. Under his rule, several monuments were built. He also expanded educational institutions, broadened the state's welfare functions, and improved the system of justice. Despite resistance from some sects, Asoka firmly believed that his policy of truth-conquest was in every way superior to the previous policy of brutality, aggression, and violence (Thurman 113).

The inscriptions suggest that Asoka was not a practicing Buddhist in a strict doctrinal sense and had limited interest in the more advanced philosophical points of Buddhism. He never spoke of the Buddhist truth of Nirvana. He spoke frequently, however, of heaven and believed that the gods had become visible on earth as a consequence of the intensification of morality through the reforms he introduced in India. For Asoka, Buddhism was a system of moral values that could lead an individual to harmony and fellowship in this life and to heaven in the next (Basham 55).

Conclusion: Legacy and Global Impact

No other king of ancient India towers above King Asoka. He is the only king whose personality can be reconstructed with any reasonable degree of assurance. His successors are largely unknown to history precisely because they were so unlike him. His Enlightenment Revolution sets him apart from all others.

Asoka's patronage holds an extremely important place in the history of Buddhism. He worked tirelessly for the development and sustainability of Buddhism at a crucial point in its history and ensured that it spread far beyond the borders of his own empire. Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka and Central Asia under his rule. Around the twelfth century CE, Buddhism reached Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam, largely through Sri Lanka. Central Asia became a major center of Buddhism, from which the faith spread along the Silk Road into China and Korea. All of this became possible through the foundational efforts of Asoka (Swearer).

A magnificent civilization emerged from Asoka's era, notwithstanding the violence and aggression that characterized Indian society after his death. Asoka's Enlightenment Revolution influenced not only India but also had a profound impact on much of Asia. Following his model of enlightened governance, a number of Asian nations adopted his methods and applied them as best they could. The power of his enlightened principles remains as significant today as it was in his own time (Thurman 133).

The credit for developing the first Buddhist polity must be given to King Asoka. Governments in the contemporary world have grown disillusioned with prevailing ideologies, and political philosophies based on communism, dictatorship, and unrestricted capitalism have each shown their limitations. The need of our time is to develop governance models inspired by Asoka's example, as they hold the potential to contribute meaningfully to the development of more spiritually grounded and humanistic political systems (Dhammika).