King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

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3Emperor Aśoka and Buddhism:Unresolved Discrepanciesbetween Buddhist Tradition& Aśokan InscriptionsANANDA W.P. GURUGE1. IntroductionIt was H.G. Wells, who in The Outline of History, said: “Amidsttens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columnsof history, their majesties and graciousnesses and serenitiesand royal highnesses and the like, the name of Aśokashines, and shines alone, a star.” 1 This statement reflects awidely held appraisal of this unique personality in Indian historyby the informed intelligentsia of the world. The appraisalis based in general on the numerous edicts and inscriptionsthrough which he sought to teach his subjects a sublime moralway of life. Among these edicts, the one which has won forhim the highest admiration is Rock Edict (RE) XIII, whichvan Buitenan describes as “the most moving document of anydynamic history.” 2Writing not earlier than five years after the event, EmperorAśoka portrays in this Edict the dramatic change of heart heexperienced on account of the havoc of death and deportation,famine and pestilence that was caused by his war of conquestagainst Kalinga. The text, as found at Erragudi, Girnar, Kalsi,Maneshra, Shahbazgarhi and Kandahar, runs as follows:37
The country of the Kalingas was conquered by King Priyadarśī,Beloved of the Gods, eight years after his coronation. In this warin Kalinga, men and animals numbering one hundred and fifty thousandwere carried away captive from that country; as many as onehundred thousand were killed there in action and many times thatnumber perished. After that, now that the country of the Kalingashas been conquered, the Beloved of the Gods is devoted to anintense practice of the duties relating to Dharma, 3 to a longingfor Dharma and to the inculcation of Dharma among the people.This is due to the repentance of the Beloved of the Gods on having conqueredthe country of the Kalingas.Verily the slaughter, death and deportation of men which take placein the course of the conquest of an unconquered country are now consideredextremely painful and deplorable by the Beloved of the Gods.But what is considered even more deplorable by the Beloved of theGods is the fact that injury to or slaughter or deportation of the belovedones falls to the lot of the Brāhmanas, the śramaṇas, the adherents ofother sects and the householders, who live in that country and amongwhom are established such virtues as obedience to superior personages,obedience to mother and father, obedience to elders and proper courtesyand are full of affection towards the former; even though they arethemselves well provided for, the said misfortune as well becomes aninjury to their own selves. In war, this fate is shared by all classes ofmen and is considered deplorable by the Beloved of the Gods.Now really there is no person who is not sincerely devoted toa particular religious sect. 4 Therefore, the slaughter, death or deportationof even a hundredth or thousandth part of all those people whowere slain or who died or were carried away captive at that time inKalinga is now considered very deplorable by the Beloved of the Gods.Now the Beloved of the Gods thinks that, even if a person shouldwrong him, the offense would be forgiven if it was possible to forgiveit. And the forest-folk who live in the dominions of the Belovedof the Gods, even them he entreats and exhorts in regard totheir duty. It is hereby explained to them that, in spite of hisrepentance, the Beloved of the Gods possesses power enough38
Page 1 and 2: King Asoka and BuddhismHistorical &
Page 4: Buddhism / Indian History / Asian S
Page 8 and 9: ContentsThe Contributors ..........
Page 10 and 11: 3. The Gathering of the Relics ....
Page 12 and 13: owing to the inability of certain s
Page 14 and 15: 1Aśoka — The Great UpāsakaRICHA
Page 16 and 17: Buddhism which Aśoka announced in
Page 18 and 19: not only urges diligence on others,
Page 20 and 21: 84,000 monasteries and as many stū
Page 22 and 23: e Aśoka, a layman, who tests monks
Page 24 and 25: eousness can hardly have been Buddh
Page 26 and 27: Notes1. P.H.L. Eggermont, The Chron
Page 28 and 29: 2Aśoka and Buddhism as Reflectedin
Page 30 and 31: elation to Brahmanism. There was ce
Page 32 and 33: the correct doctrine. What is of si
Page 34 and 35: is the nearest that we get in the i
Page 36 and 37: days remains unclear unless the com
Page 38 and 39: since he showed them the way and th
Page 40 and 41: the importance of trade, the first
Page 42 and 43: accordance with dhamma was preferab
Page 44 and 45: in Kalinga, is interestingly omitte
Page 46 and 47: was largely absent. The phrase that
Page 48 and 49: That the larger corpus of edicts we
Page 52 and 53: to punish them for their crimes, so
Page 54 and 55: Aśokan scholars since the 1830’s
Page 56 and 57: Pandukabhaya had built them a resid
Page 58 and 59: The Mahāmātras stationed at Kauś
Page 60 and 61: The Sri Lankan Pali records, which
Page 62 and 63: problem. Nor would there be a diffi
Page 64 and 65: 17 th Gets concerned over indiscipl
Page 66 and 67: to gratify ambition and enrich the
Page 68 and 69: whose central theme is the conquest
Page 70 and 71: are altogether silent on a Kalinga
Page 72 and 73: All men are my children. Just as, i
Page 74 and 75: within his dominions. The frontier
Page 76 and 77: tendents of matters relating to the
Page 78 and 79: edicts addressed to the Saṅgha; a
Page 80 and 81: evidence of Aśoka’s own lithic r
Page 82 and 83: all these sermons could be describe
Page 84 and 85: ecords relating to Dharma, appointe
Page 86 and 87: the other peoples dwelling about th
Page 88 and 89: earlier, the creation of the new ca
Page 90 and 91: five Greek kings among themselves a
Page 92 and 93: gratitude, amounting at times to sh
Page 94 and 95: e inconsistencies begin to make sen
Page 96 and 97: onistically with a brahmin exponent
Page 98 and 99: 3 rd ed. rev. (New Delhi: Governmen
Page 100 and 101:
far been found, the latest being th
Page 102 and 103:
made, it rendered subsequent steps
Page 104 and 105:
its Culture, 2nd. ed. rev. (Colombo
Page 106 and 107:
The central theme in the majority o
Page 108 and 109:
on a statement made by I-tsing 5 th
Page 110 and 111:
confused accounts of the Sanskrit S
Page 112 and 113:
the Vinaya. Some of them tended the
Page 114 and 115:
In the foregoing data we have two i
Page 116 and 117:
Aśoka cannot be expected to decide
Page 118 and 119:
and while Aśoka who meted out such
Page 120 and 121:
(2) Aliyavasāni (P. Ariyavaṃsān
Page 122 and 123:
to it as sambuddhasamayaṃ, “the
Page 124 and 125:
5Aśoka and the Emergence of a Sinh
Page 126 and 127:
5. the Mahābodhivaṃsa (10 th or
Page 128 and 129:
3. The Mission to Sri Lanka: Brief
Page 130 and 131:
was planted in the Mahāmegha Park
Page 132 and 133:
disbelieve these events associated
Page 134 and 135:
and he saw to it that his actions s
Page 136 and 137:
at Kalinga, would have paid special
Page 138 and 139:
missionaries to propagate the Buddh
Page 140 and 141:
To the first question the answer is
Page 142 and 143:
fore Mahinda Thera’s Buddhist mis
Page 144 and 145:
and the countries they visited. 47
Page 146 and 147:
order. 55 Their son Sumana was a me
Page 148 and 149:
it to wither away. But Aśoka manag
Page 150 and 151:
Notes1. G.P. Malalasekera, ed. Va
Page 152 and 153:
ical and Social Studies, Vol. I, No
Page 154 and 155:
6Images of Aśoka:Some Indian and S
Page 156 and 157:
legends and stories that were told
Page 158 and 159:
Sanskrit avadānas each have their
Page 160 and 161:
who pointed out the honey store bec
Page 162 and 163:
the Fierce — an appellation that
Page 164 and 165:
the end of Aśoka’s life, it is o
Page 166 and 167:
somewhat regained consciousness, he
Page 168 and 169:
elics of the Buddha for redistribut
Page 170 and 171:
the glory of Sri Lanka and on its p
Page 172 and 173:
Secondly, related to this are the d
Page 174 and 175:
It is clear, then, that this is a t
Page 176 and 177:
how in the Aśokāvadāna these wer
Page 178 and 179:
eborn as a god in one of the heaven
Page 180 and 181:
the night, the guardian gods came t
Page 182 and 183:
monarch bested by a nāga, nor, out
Page 184 and 185:
as Japan were inspired to emulate i
Page 186 and 187:
ConclusionWith this Lokapaññatti
Page 188 and 189:
6. A.L. Basham, “The Rise of Budd
Page 190 and 191:
y dint of his military power. This
Page 192 and 193:
43. Strong, p. 192. Upagupta has al
Page 194 and 195:
62. T.W. Rhys Davids, E. Carpenter,
Page 196 and 197:
sequently carried on in the histori
Page 198 and 199:
Aśoka remained largely a name in t
Page 200 and 201:
of Jalauka’s name in other record
Page 202 and 203:
the Sanskrit original is no longer
Page 204 and 205:
Upagupta commanded immense venerati
Page 206 and 207:
(5) His conversion to Buddhism is a
Page 208 and 209:
whose noble fame travelled far and
Page 210 and 211:
surrounded by a coating of inventio
Page 212 and 213:
missionary role claimed by Aśoka i
Page 214 and 215:
Aśoka and, by implication, these m
Page 216 and 217:
of forbearance and light punishment
Page 218 and 219:
from the pens of many an intellectu
Page 220 and 221:
ascribed to Aśoka ideas and deeds
Page 222 and 223:
the only scholar of the West to dis
Page 224 and 225:
such a way that no heretical monks
Page 226 and 227:
(2) that he used Buddhism — or ra
Page 228 and 229:
in this by the fact that these sect
Page 230 and 231:
of the land’s greatest moments in
Page 232 and 233:
ecame infinitely more spiritual. Bu
Page 234 and 235:
frontier areas as a reaction agains
Page 236 and 237:
Present-day India has been so impre
Page 238 and 239:
3. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Age of th
Page 240 and 241:
y V. Sirinivasa Sarma (Delhi: Banar
Page 242 and 243:
Pali et Traduction, L’Ecole fran
Page 244 and 245:
I have drawn closer to the Sangha a
Page 246 and 247:
The chronological constraints have
Page 248 and 249:
MapsAśoka’s Indian Empire235
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