King Ashoka, the third ruler of the Mauryan Empire, lived from 304 b.c. to 232 b.c. When he gained his seat as the head of the family’s dynasty in 264 b.c, it marked the beginning of one of the most influential political and religious lives the world has yet seen. A life who’s mission was to see the grand dissemination of the Buddhist tradition.
Ashoka’s Conversion to Buddhism
The initial years of Ashoka’s reign were typical of almost all rulers, in that he projected his political power by overthrowing the neighboring Kalinga kingdom. An estimated one hundred and fifty thousand Kalinga soldiers were killed, and another fifty thousand were taken into captivity. And as is too often in the aftermath of political warfare, thousands more perished amid rapid famine and diseases.
Soon after his bouts of warfare, his important conversion to Buddhism took place. Heinrich Zimmer, in his book Philosophies of India, says: “the conversion of King Ashoka to the Buddhist faith ranks in importance, for the Orient, with the conversion of Constatine the Great to Christianity, for the West.” For without the patronage of Ashoka it may well have happened that Buddhism would have never reached its widespread influence, nor simply endured for over two millennia.
Ashoka’s Edicts and Declaration Against Warfare
One of the most important religious literary influences of all the world’s religions is King Ashoka’s edicts written on stone columns and pillars. They comprise his thoughts on reform, political organization, ethics, and the relationship of the ruler to his subjects. Most importantly they represent a ruler’s attempt to establish an authentic empire of peace, tranquility, and respect among individuals.
Edict XIII is greatly important, for in it, as a response to the mass killings of the Kalingas, Ashoka proclaims his subsequent interest in the Dhamma, and his promise to end all warfare. A couple of lines from a translation by Ven. S. Dhammika follows:
- “Now Beloved-of-the-Gods [Ashoka] feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas. Indeed, Beloved-of-the-Gods is deeply pained by the killing, dying and deportation that take place when an unconquered country is conquered.”
- “Now Beloved-of-the-Gods thinks that even those who do wrong should be forgiven where forgiveness is possible.”
The war against the Kalingas obviously had an immense impact on Ashoka’s understanding of the world. An understanding which made the grotesque nature of war seem wholly other than what the world could be, and simply of no use to him any more.
The Expanding Buddhist Empire
Ashoka also instigated “the pious custom of state pilgrimages to the holy places of the Buddha legend” (Zimmer, 495). One such pilgrimage included visits to the birth place of the Buddha; to Kapliavastu, where the Renunciation took place; to the Bo Tree, where Guatama reached Nirvana and became the Buddha; the Deer Park, location of the first sermon where the Dharma was told; to the monastery where the Buddha lived and taught; and finally to Kusinagara, where the Buddha passed away.
At these different location shrines were built, gold in massive quantities was handed out, towns were raised and taxes were lifted from already existing towns. In total, Zimmer says Ashoka supported “sixty-four thousand monks, built eighty thousand stupas, as well as countless monasteries.” And, as leaders of great religions often do, he sent missionaries all over the world, some as far west as Egypt.
References
Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India. (Princeton: Princeton University Press: 1951).
The Edicts of King Ashoka, trans. Ven. S. Dhammika.
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