Asoka and the Spread of Buddhism Scott Abel There was a special relationship between Emperor Asoka of the

Mauryas and the Buddhist tradition in the third century BCE on the sub-continent of India. What motivated Asoka to spread Buddhist ideology throughout the ancient world and what role did his inculcation of ideology have on the extent of its expansion? Asokas spiritual policies had both domestic and foreign implications, which remain recorded on his surviving edicts spread throughout his former empire. The enforcement of Dhamma at home kept his society together and the spread of Dhamma abroad extending his influence to his neighbors, which kept peace with them. Emperor Asoka practiced Buddhism for his own spirituality but also promoted the philosophy for his own political gains resulting in the preservation and propagation of the Dhamma for millenniums after his own demise. Policies of spreading and promoting the Dhamma increased Asokas influenced in foreign kingdoms while maintaining his power in the Mauryan kingdom. Asoka used Buddhism and Dhamma in his domestic policies because he admired of the ideology and the practical political benefits it reaped. The edicts of Asoka usually inscribed on pillars, rocks, or in caves, revealed his policies and gave clues as to his motives. Usually inscribed in the language of Prakrit, the emperor placed stone edicts along major roads, the coast, and along his borders, usually promoting Asokas ethical code.1 The ethical code, which Asoka called Dhamma, translated roughly into English as morality, decency, and piousness.2 Rather than inscribing edicts in Sanskrit, the culturally-sophisticated language, Asoka conveyed his concept of Dhamma in his edicts
1

The Edicts of Asoka, trans. by N. A. Nikam and Richard McKeon, (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1966) 2, 7-9. 2 Romila Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, (New York: Oxford UP, 1997), 2, 3.

through local vernacular languages.3 Therefore, the edicts served partly as propaganda to remind Asokas people to remain pious and to keep domestic order. The dual-purpose edicts revealed Asokas policies and provided insight into his motivations, along with explaining why Buddhism spread throughout the continent. The imperial edicts revealed that Asoka converted to Buddhism and gradually adapted a policy of Dhamma as his situation dictated rather than a sudden implementation. One edict inscribed two and a half years after his conversion stated that Asoka remained a lay Buddhist or an upasaka without being particularly devote for a year, but a visit to the Sangha, or monastic order, reinforced his commitment to Buddhist principles.4 According to Rock Edict VIII, Asoka invaded Kalinga in the eighth year of his reign, bringing incredible devastation to the land and its people. The war caused the deportation of 150,000 people with 100,000 killed and many more dying of various other causes. Once he conquered Kalinga, Asoka observed Dhamma with great fervor, spreading it with great energy as his edicts stated he felt contrite for tormenting people.5 Two edicts suggested that Asoka was a Buddhist before the invasion, but neglected to practice Dhamma rigidly until the end of the Kalinga War, perhaps because of political pragmatism rather than a sudden revelation after seeing such terrible destruction. Asoka used Dhamma not as some short-term political device, but as a long term policy that he hoped would endure until the end of time, which showed a genuine spiritual aspect to his policies. He sought to replace military conquest with conquest by Dhamma because the latter created a sense of pleasurable morality or Dhamma-rati rather than grief from violence caused by war. The emperor hoped that his descendents would
3 4

Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, 3, 7. The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 66. 5 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 27-28.

continue his policies of Dhamma whenever possible, or at the least, minimize unnecessary violence.6 The edicts showed that Asoka attempted to follow and promote Dhamma whenever possible throughout the rest of his reign. Rather than going on pleasure tours throughout his land, Asoka traveled on moral tours or Dhamma-yatras to present gifts to Brahmins, Buddhist monks, and elders. Also during his travels, he personally taught Dhamma to his rural subjects.7 In his capital Pataliputra, Asoka banned the killing of any living animal and restricted the amount of festivals held. Even in the royal palace, servants slaughtered only two peacocks daily and deer occasionally, which the emperor planned to ban eventually.8 Asokas personal involvement in its spread by missionary tours and practice of Dhamma showed that he made sacrifices for the sake of spirituality and his own enlightenment. Asoka considered himself not just a practitioner of Dhamma, but also a teacher spreading spiritual enlightenment throughout the world. Asokas domestic policies of improvement for the overall welfare of the people must have contented his subjects. Asoka commanded the tolerance of all faiths in his land.9 His polices extended to proactive approaches such as planting banyan trees to shade travelers, extending healthcare to all, and importing locally-unavailable medicine. Asoka extended his healthcare treatment outside of his borders to the Greeks under King Antiochos, other Greek kingdoms, southern Indians, and Ceylon. The emperor ordered medical treatment for animals and humans alike.10 He commanded his local officials to tour their districts every five years to proclaim importance of kindness to ones

6 7

The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 28-30. The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 37. 8 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 55. 9 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 51. 10 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 64-65.

neighbors, friends, and acquaintances.11 The policies of contentment reflected Asokas attempts to create an orderly society to prevent the chaos that could destroy his empire. Promoting Dhamma was not just about enlightening the populace, but also held a pragmatic political goal of maintaining order. Asoka confessed to his officials that he possessed ulterior motives for his policy of Dhamma, You do not understand this desire [to spread of Dhamma] of mine fully. Some of you may understand it, but even those grasp it only partially, not fully.12 Asoka demanded his subordinate officials follow the middle path, remain obedient, and avoid unjust imprisonment and unjust torture.13 The statement implied that officials tortured suspected offenders. Asoka also decreed that he reserved the right to punish offenders within his borders, even in autonomous tribal regions.14 Even with his devotion to Dhamma, Asoka remained a politician and had a grand plan to maintain his political authority through Dhamma. His edicts suggested that Asoka refused to refrain from inflicting pain upon those who opposed his rule. Asoka extended his authority over the monastic orders or the Sangha, which he needed to work with his policies rather than contradict it. The Sanchi Pillar Edict and Sarnath Pillar Edict commanded the orders of monks and nuns to remain united throughout the rest of the Mauryan Dynasty or face punishment. Monks and nuns who deviated from the orthodox doctrine wore white robes and lived non-residences as punishment for their heresies.15 The Sangha and regime served each other as legitimizing forces, thus preserving each others influence.16 Asoka needed the Sangha to work with
11 12

The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 58. The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 62. 13 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 62-63. 14 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 28-29. 15 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 67-68. 16 Romila Thapar, King Asoka and Buddhism, ed. Anuradha Seneviratna, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication, Society 1994), 18-19.

his regime to maintain his policies of Dhamma because if it deviated from his will, chaos might ensue as multiple policies of Dhamma could not maintain order. Asoka commanded his officers to travel throughout the world to spread Dhamma, increase goodwill in the world, and increase his influence. A Greek scribe wrote an imperial edict at Kandahar declaring that Asokas subjects do not kill, are pious, and refuse to overindulge. Furthermore, the subjects respect their parents and elders, along with living better and happier lives.17 Below remained the Aramaic inscriptions, which were similar to the Greek writing above with the inclusion of how evil dissipated in men and hostility disappeared in his empire. The inscription finished by stating how men benefitted from Asokas policies and will continue to do so throughout his reign.18 The general population in the region did not speak Aramaic, and rather it existed in the area as a written language used over vast distances.19 Therefore, the scribe likely intended for distant travelers to read his work. The edict, written in Greek and Aramaic, showed Asokas intent to convert foreigners of all lands to Dhamma. Asoka dispatched missionaries covering vast distances to convert foreigners to Dhamma as inscriptions could only be seen from so far. Asoka sought moral conquest or Dhamma-vijaya because it lacked the pain of violence associated with war and military conquest.20 To accomplish the moral conquest, Asoka dispatched envoys about three thousand miles away to teach Dhamma in the five Greek kingdoms of Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Cyrene, and Epirus.21 According to Pali tradition, Asoka sent his Greek subjects west to instruct foreign rulers about Dhamma, including one such of Greek
17

A Bilingual Graeco-Aramaic Edict By Asoka, trans. G. Carratelli and G. Garbini, Serie Orientale Roma 29 (1964), 32-33. 18 Edict by Asoka, Carratelli and Garbini, 58. 19 Edict by Asoka, Carratelli and Garbini, 61-62. 20 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 27-30. 21 The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 29.

envoy named Dhammarakkhita, who departed after the Third Buddhist Council convened during Asoka reign.22 Mauryan envoys converted other neighbors to Buddhism, including other Greeks, inhabitants of the Himalayas, and various other groups. Eventually, foreigners began to spread Dhamma without the help of Asoka, resulting in the spread of Dhamma to far away lands. Asoka also won converts in the south of modern India and Ceylon.23 Although the moral conquests did not gain actual territory, Asoka acted as a spiritual leader to the followers of Dhamma outside his borders, which means he could potentially wield much power outside his borders. Asoka had other reasons to spread Dhamma beyond his borders, particularly to his neighbors. He wanted his neighbors to trust rather than fear him as he only wished them happiness and offered the practice of Dhamma to assist them in that quest. If a neighbor committed offenses against him, he offered forgiveness whenever reasonable. Mauryan officials traveled to bordering nations to assure them of Asokas good intentions and promote Dhamma. Asoka explained, All men are my children. Just as I seek the welfare and happiness of my own children in this world and the next, I seek the same things for all men. Besides his overt paternalism, Asoka showed a genuine desire for peace with other nations so that people may live happily. Perhaps, Asoka realized that permanent peace was in the interests of his large empire as borders would stabilize and tensions would decrease if the states of South Asia trusted each other. The edicts rarely mentioned the Buddha, perhaps because Asoka politicized Dhamma and mentioning the Buddha detracted attention from the throne. Some of the
22

Edict by Asoka, Carratelli and Garbini, 36. Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, 47, 54. Texts according to the Pali tradition should be regarded with great caution, but the general point of Asoka spreading Dhamma is supported in this instance as it seems logical Asoka would dispatch a Greek to teach other Greeks about Dhamma. 23 Edict by Asoka, Carratelli and Garbini, 29-30.

few references to the Buddha included the Maski edict, inscribed at least two years after his conversion and was one of the few edicts to use the name Asoka, rather than King Priyadarsi.24 The others mentioning the Buddha either commemorated Asokas pilgrimage to the Buddhas birthplace or addressed the Sangha.25 Asokas Dhamma and Buddhas Dhamma may not have been the same, and rather Asoka applied aspects of it that supported his power.26 The Buddhist philosophy minimized the importance of its founder in avoidance of excessive focus on him that hindered the attainment of nibbana.27 An overly promoted Buddha could have placed Asoka in a subordinate position to him and inhibited the process of enlightenment, so Asoka minimized his mentioning of him and the Sangha. Although Asoka propagated the Buddhas ideas, he emphasized his own Dhamma to spread his influence. Asoka used his policies of Dhamma to increase goodwill throughout the world to maintain peace and stability. Some of Asokas edicts have survived, thus preserving the message he wanted to endure so that future generations may adapt Dhamma. Asoka turned Buddhism from an Indian faith to a truly global ideology.28 His efforts spread Buddhism to Ceylon and Central Asia, allowing it to thrive for generations. The imperial policies of Dhamma consolidated his empire and expanded his political influence through diplomacy. The moral conquest gave Asoka spiritual authority in addition to the political authority he already possessed. Conceivably, Asoka hoped that Dhamma would preserve the power of his descendents and create a global system that revolved around the Mauryan Dynasty as the center of spiritual power. Although the Mauryan Dynasty
24 25

The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 66. The Edicts of Asoka, Nikam, McKeon, 66, 69. 26 Thapar, King Asoka and Buddhism, 34. 27 Karen Armstrong, Buddha, (New York: Penguin, 2001), xi-xii. 28 Richard Gombrich, King Asoka and Buddhism, ed. Anuradha Seneviratna, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1994), 1.

eventually collapsed, the practice of Buddhism continued into the twenty-first century through Asokas efforts. Asoka spread Dhamma in his kingdom and in others for spiritual and political gain, along with the hope that Dhamma would preserve his empire until the end of time.

Works Cited: A Bilingual Graeco-Aramaic Edict By Asoka. trans. G. Carratelli and G. Garbini. Serie Orientale Roma 29 (1964). The Edicts of Asoka. trans. by N. A. Nikam and Richard McKeon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966. King Asoka and Buddhism. ed. Anuradha Seneviratna. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1994. Thapar, Romila. Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.