King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

possibly fully aware of their role in propagating an imperialideology.Historians over many decades have debated the questionwhether the dhamma of Aśoka amounted to a propagation ofthe Buddhist religion. Some have argued that it was because ofthe imperial patronage extended to Buddhism that it becamea major religion. They argue that the teachings of the Buddhawere referred to as the Dhamma and that Aśoka was usingthe word in the identical sense. Others have taken the oppositeposition that there is nothing specifically Buddhist in thedhamma as defined by Aśoka, for the same ethical teachingsare to be found in various brahmanical Hindu sects.To narrow the meaning of Aśokan dhamma to the teachingsof a single religious sect is perhaps to do an injustice both toAśoka and to the concept of dhamma as it prevailed at that time.The general code of ethics and rules of behaviour as defined byAśoka are certainly familiar to Buddhist teaching and occurin Buddhist scripture. However, it needs to be kept in mindthat such ideas are not unknown to Jaina teaching nor to variousother śramanic sects which were popular during thatperiod. Aśoka may well have used the phraseology from thetexts which he knew best, but at the same time it was part ofthe currency of ethical norms propounded by various teachers.The Aśokan dhamma not only addressed itself to a large spectrumof opinion but drew its inspiration from an equally largebody of ethical doctrine. His insistence on the honouring ofall sects and his careful withdrawal from specifying particularloyalties would be an indication of this. This becomes evenmore pertinent in a situation where there were sectarian hostilitiesand antagonisms. His repetitive emphasis on the needfor tolerance is suggestive of a situation where such tolerance32