Imagine you are standing in front of an edict, one of the many written in different languages by Asoka. You can see them written on pillars, boulders, and walls all around the whole empire. The edicts are written by a calm, enlightened ruler. Asoka ruled India from about 268 B.C.E to 232 B.C.E. He conquered all of India except for the south empires, for they were on good terms. Asoka became a buddhist when he conquered Kalinga, and had completed his empire. Was Asoka a ruthless conqueror or an enlightened ruler? A ruthless person shows no pity for anyone, while an enlightened person is spiritually aware. Asoka was an enlightened ruler because he was just and generous. First, the way Asoka is enlightened ruler is because he was a just ruler
to his people. Doc. D states, “I have been decreed that prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced to death shall be granted a respite of three days when their relatives may appeal to the officials for the prisoners’ lives” (Doc. D). This evidence helps explain why Asoka was an enlightened ruler because it states that instead of Asoka just saying that you have no choice you have no chance of escaping this fate, no that’s what a ruthless conqueror would do. Instead, Asoka let them have those three days for relatives to try to free them from the death sentence. Lastly, another reason Asoka is enlightened ruler is because he was generous to the people Asoka rules. Doc. C says, “While he was there, Asoka gave rich gifts to the poor. He consulted with local communities about proper governance, about good conduct…” (Doc.C). This evidence shows that Asoka was an enlightened ruler because if he was ruthless, he wouldn’t have given gifts to the poor, and Asoka wouldn’t have helped other communities. Asoka did these things on his own, not because he was told to do so. Asoka did it on his own time, and because he wanted to do this. Although, it must be said that Asoka did show some ruthless behavior. For example, Asoka killed about 100,000 Kalingans, and drove out 150,000 Kalingans out of their homes, just for the land (Doc. A). However the two reasons presented above, that he was just and generous, show that, in the end, Asoka must be remembered as an enlightened ruler. Asoka connects to our daily life by sorta being like Abraham Lincoln because they are both important to history, they both did something great for history, and for us to look back and just think, what would life be if they weren’t who they were.
The second Noble Truth is, the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions, such as riches, power, and long life. Siddhartha had all of these things, however, no matter how rich, how powerful, how old, one can not reach nirvana by materialistic matters. In Siddhartha’s life, while a merchant, he played dice. However, when he lost he did not get mad, due to the fact that riches were not greatly important to him.
In The Saga of the Volsungs, a paradoxical notion of the value of life emerges from almost every action that the characters perform. One’s corporeal death is almost of no concern in the sometimes harsh and cruel society of the saga. The importance of honor over almost anything else can explain many of the seemingly contradictory and nonsensical actions of characters in the saga. This obsession with honor constitutes the basis for an honor society—a culture where pain, death, and other earthly concerns fall short in significance to one’s good name and honor. Many of the actions inspired by this fixation with honor seem foolish, but considered within the context of how the culture in the saga views reputations and honor make perfect sense.
Romila Thapar stated in Oxford University Press that, “Asoka ceased to indulge in wars of aggression,” thus Asoka was enlightened. He chose to protect his people and only take the lives that were too weak. Nevertheless, he did not stop thinking about the idea of war and all the lives that he did take. The Edicts of Asoka states that “[those who were killed] would weigh heavily on the mind of the Beloved of the Gods, Asoka.” Thus he was enlightened in more ways than one. He believed anyone who sinned should always be forgiven for what they had done. And if they repent, they will be given forgiveness and eternal life. If they did not repent, they would be killed, which resembles how he may have an evil side to
In his early life, he was born a Kshatriya. Until the age of twenty nine, Siddhartha lived a luxurious life as a prince. Siddhartha’s father, King Shuddodana consulted Asita, a well-known soothsayer, concerning the future of his son. Asita proclaimed that he would be one of two things: He could become a great king, even an emperor. Or he could become a great sage and savior of humanity. This made King Shuddodana wary of what his son may become, therefore he did anything in his power to surround his son Siddhartha with beauty and health to show Siddhartha that there is nothing to save humanity from since it is perfect. If Siddhartha was my son, I would let him see all the suffering in the world and allow him to take action instead of hiding it. It is selfish for the King to hide humanity’s flaws. One day, Siddhartha had seen two wandering, sick and old men. He also, for the first time, experienced death. Due to the sights he had seen, he escaped the palace and lived in a forest where he followed a spiritual life of meditation. After only six years, he achieved enlightenment under the famous Bodhi tree. Siddhartha claims that everyone is able to achieve enlightenment and we all possess
“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love . Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.”-Mohandas Gandhi . Abraham Lincoln, John F, Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto were all peaceful leaders of their time. They led their people to many great successes and were loved by most for their belief in nonviolence. However, their endings were destructive and unforgettable for the many who pursued them.
Was Asoka an enlightened ruler or ruthless conqueror? I believe he was an enlightened ruler. Due to the fact that he chose to become a better person. Most ruthless people, would choose to stay that way. But Asoka was different. Asoka was affected by all the suffering and death that he came across. He was affected so much that he chose to change himself. He switched from Hinduism, to Buddhism and changed his ways to help others. Like giving rich gifts to the poor, and meeting with communities. Examples are; Missionaries, Legacies, and Edicts.
There are countless religions in our world today; Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and more. These religions are all so different, yet bear the same mindset behind them: to be a better person. People strive to come to peace with themselves and others by practicing and worshiping certain deities. While the overall mentality of these religions are equivocal, the details become astoundingly diverse. For example, Buddhism’s core belief system goes off the approach of knowing suffering will happen in the world and coming to peace with it through meditation. Only then can the power of enlightenment bring worshipers to eternal peace. Unfortunately, in Burma during the 1920s suffering was anything but depleted. In this Buddhist based country, an imperialist force had taken over: Britain. However, in the midst of pandemonium, one man broke away from the imperialist outlook and saw the world for how it truly was. This is why George Orwell’s literary perspective was substantially influenced by the conditions he witnessed during his services in the Indian Imperial Police Force.
Asoka’s conversion to Buddhism, affected with the help of his own teacher, Upragupta, was gradual. Even though he did little to change the system of government he inherited, he introduced a novel and powerful moral idealism, which was a moral rule or way of life in the Buddhist sense, as he understood it. He called this the “Law of Piety.” This law, though following the tenets of the Buddha, was distinct from them and peculiar to Asoka. It was to become one of the great turning points of the civilization of the East, having profound effects throughout the neighboring kingdoms, not least in
During the Halley’s Comet, a great leader was born, Kamehameha. He was born with a prophecy saying “the child born from an eye of the tiger shark will cause the blood of the chiefs to run in the streams over the land”. His family then decided to hide him until a point of time and name him Paiea. When he was grown he lived up to his prophecy and conquered all the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha was an effective leader because he was intelligent and cared for his people.
At least every Asian country with a Buddhist community has experience some sort of civil war, foreign invasion, or systematic poverty and tyranny. During the Khmer Rouge era, Buddhism was nearly destroyed. Monks were tortured, killed and forced into lay life. Buddhist temples were destroyed and used as a prison area. After the defeat of the Khmer Rouge, Buddhism remained repressed within Cambodia. Some Buddhist monks or leaders responded with forms of social engagement. That being said, Maha Ghosananda is one the monks who played a key role in rebuilding Buddhism in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. His work, Dhammayietras was the first program to set up for peace and non-violence in Cambodia. The Dhammayietras consisted of peace walks through war-torn, landmine-infested regions. This non-violence and social action is considered to be “engaged Buddhism.” The idea of “engaged Buddhism” places an emphasis on the need for compassion for compassionate action is rooted in the Buddhist practice. Ghosananda activism rebuilt Buddhism in Cambodia by teaching peace through example. T...
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable… We may ignore him at our own risk.” King cited Gandhi as one of his biggest inspirations, which should come as no surprise, as Gandhi helped end racism towards as many if not more people than King himself. Gandhi pioneered the use of what he called satyagraha, or political change through nonviolence, and helped bring millions of India’s oppressed to equality. Lord Mountbatten, the last British ruler of India, is quoted as saying, “Mahatma Gandhi will go down in history on a par with Buddha and Jesus Christ.” There is no denying the truth in this statement because of the way he had a profound impact on the lives of those around him, just like these other two famous figures of history. Gandhi may have been very small man, relatively speaking, but he grew to be a giant in the eyes of the world.
Enlightened absolutism is when there is absolute monarchs or despots that were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs took in the ideas and beliefs of the Enlightenment, most significantly the emphasis on rationality, and applied them to their kingdom or country. Most Enlightened monarchs or despots allowed religious toleration, the right to hold private property, and other human freedoms. The difference between an absolutist and an enlightened absolutist is based on the policies and ideas that were influenced and executed in their territories. Controversy arises from the distinguishment between the "enlightenment" of the ruler through personal endeavors versus that of their regime.
Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism made a great impact on the Mauryan Empire. If Ashoka continued to be a ruler with such evil ways of enforcement, the people of the Mauryan Empire would not be happy. His conversion to Buddhism saved a lot of lives because of his new belief in ahimsa. Ashoka also sent out many Buddhist missionaries all over the country to spread the religion of Buddhism. Significant events like these were very important events that occurred during the time period of the Mauryan Empire.
The idea and philosophy of moral development has been around for thousands of years, for it places expectation and rules on one’s self to follow based upon a law of conscience. A law of conscience is a set of rulers made by one’s inner voice that helps determine one’s perspective of right and wrong. That law of conscience aids a person’s actions into determining their level of moral development just as Lawrence Kohlberg did in his six-level theory of moral development. Antigone and Gandhi are stage six moral development based on their will and courage to stand up for what is right as well as their acceptance of any and all consequences that were to follow.