King Asoka and Buddhism.pdf

King Asoka and Buddhism

Historical & Literary Studies

Edited by Anuradha Seneviratna

E-mail: bdea@buddhanet.net

Web site: www.buddhanet.net

Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.

King Aśoka and Buddhism

H ISTORICAL AND L ITERARY S TUDIES

E DITED BY

A NURADHA S ENEVIRATNA

B UDDHIST P UBLICATION S OCIETY

K ANDY

P UBLISHED IN 1994

B UDDHIST P UBLICATION S OCIETY

P.O. B OX 61

54, S ANGHARAJA M AWATHA

K ANDY , S RI L ANKA

ISBN 955–24–0065–2.

S RI L ANKA

Buddhism / Indian History / Asian Studies

King Aśoka and Buddhism

King Aśoka, the third monarch of the Mauryan dynasty in the

third century B . C . , was the ﬁrst ruler of a uniﬁed India and one

of the greatest political ﬁgures of all time. After he embraced

the teachings of the Buddha, he transformed his polity from

one of military conquest to one of Dharmavijaya — victory by

righteousness and truth. By providing royal patronage for the

propagation of Buddhism both within and beyond his empire,

he helped promote the metamorphosis of Buddhism into a

world religion that spread peacefully across the face of Asia.

The present collection of essays by leading Indological

scholars draws upon both the inscriptions and the literary tra-

ditions to explore the relationship between King Aśoka and

the religion he embraced. In highlighting the ways in which

Aśoka tapped the ethical and spiritual potentials of rulership,

these papers deliver a message highly relevant to our own

time, when politics and spirituality often seem pitted against

one another in irreconcilable opposition.

Contents: Richard Gombrich: Aśoka-The Great Upāsaka; Romila

Thapar: Aśoka and Buddhism as Reﬂected in the Aśokan Edicts;

Ananda W.P. Guruge: Unresolved Discrepancies between Buddhist

Tradition and Aśokan Inscriptions; N.A. Jayawickrama: Aśoka’s

Edicts and the Third Buddhist Council; Anuradha Seneviratna:

Aśoka and the Emergence of a Sinhala Buddhist State in Sri Lanka;

John S. Strong: Images of Aśoka; Ananda W.P. Guruge: Emperor

Aśoka’s Place in History.

Cover design by Mahinda Jeevananda

The Editor

Anuradha Seneviratna is Professor of Sinhala at the Univer-

sity of Peradeniya. His prior publications include The Springs

of Sinhala Civilization; Buddhist Monastic Architecture in Sri Lanka;

Mahintale: Dawn of a Civilization; and a two-volume work on the

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

The Buddhist Publication Society

The BPS is an approved charity dedicated to making known

the Teaching of the Buddha, which has a vital message for

people of all creeds. Founded in 1958, the BPS has published

a wide variety of hooks and booklets covering a great range

of topics. Its publications include accurate annotated transla-

tions of the Buddha’s discourses, standard reference works, as

well as original contemporary expositions of Buddhist thought

and practice. These works present Buddhism as it truly is — a

dynamic force which has inﬂuenced receptive minds for the

past 2,500 years and is still as relevant today as it was when

it ﬁrst arose. A full list of our publications will be sent upon

request with an enclosure of U.S. $1.50 or its equivalent to cover

air mail postage. Write to:

The Hony. Secretary

Buddhist Publication Society

P.O. Box 61

4 Sangharaja, Mawatha,

Kandy, Sri Lanka.

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