The life and importance of the Emperor Asoka, who helped create Buddhism as a faith of international standing.
The Emperor Asoka, who lived in the Third Century BCE, is remembered as one of the greatest and most influential rulers of Indian history. He was the last of the great Mauryan Emperors and began his rule with demonstrations of his military prowess, by conquering the eastern country known as Kalinga (in modern Orissa) before renouncing the military life for one practicing and promoting the Buddhist concepts of dharma – the principles of ‘right life’ which were followed by the historical Lord Buddha Gautama Sakyamuni in his successful quest for personal enlightenment. It was the misery and suffering that he saw that he had unleashed on his people through his military campaigns that persuaded him to change his life completely. His discovery of Buddhist principles at that time made an enormous impact upon him.
Asoka made his proclamations to all of his people, including the claim that ‘All men are my children’ but also made sure that they were written down and preserved on rocks and pillars which were spread throughout the length of his empire. However, Asoka never insisted that anyone follow his beliefs unwillingly and did not even speak in religious terms to those who held alternative beliefs. Ancient India, just like the India of more modern times, is a huge land with enormous numbers of people holding all kinds of religious views. When attempts have been made to try to enforce a uniform set of beliefs on a diverse set of people, then it has nearly always ended up with violence and misery. Consequently, Asoka made strenuous efforts to encourage his people to show tolerance to one another and he, as well as his senior officials, went among the people humbly and without courtly apparel to try to embody the Dharma in real life and to demonstrate their genuine commitment to tolerance. He appointed ‘dharma ministers,’ whose function was to take especial care of women, of people in remote areas and people of minority religious beliefs. He also stressed what he saw as the sanctity of animal life.
Asoka also ordered the building of stupas throughout his land, as well as sponsoring monasteries and the sending of missionaries overseas, even sending two of his own children to Sri Lanka to help the faith of Buddhism take greater root there. His efforts helped to establish Buddhism as an international faith when, previously, it had been a rather minor regional belief.
John Walsh, Shinawatra University, April 2007
