VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~ MID SEMESTER ESSAY THE EFFECTS OF ASHOKA THE GREAT’S CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM Lecturer PhD Nguyen[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~ MID-SEMESTER ESSAY THE EFFECTS OF ASHOKA THE GREAT’S CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM Lecturer: PhD Nguyen Tran Tien Subject: History of India Name of student: Nguyen Thi Thu Na Matric card no: 19030141 Hanoi – 5/2021 Table of Contents A PREFACE INTRODUCTION B CONTENT I Asoka's biography .5 The origin of Asoka .5 Asoka before becoming a king Asoka when becoming a king .6 II The legends of Asoka's conversion Mahavamsa Asokavadana Some other legends 10 III Asoka's contributions to Buddhism 11 Issue important decrees 11 Spreading Buddhism 12 Social charity 13 Asoka worship Buddha .14 Collection of classics for the third time 15 IV Reviews of the Buddhist emperor Asoka 16 As a ruler of the country .16 Responsibility of a Buddhist .17 Achievements of Asoka .17 C CONCLUSION 19 A PREFACE INTRODUCTION Asoka, the third emperor of the Maurya dynasty of India, is a historical figure who has left mankind many great lessons His life and career were marked with special marks, making his name legendary and historic His notoriously brutal acts before becoming a Buddhist earned him the nickname Candasoka (the brutal Asoka), after which the human acts he devoted himself after becoming a Buddhist made him worthy with the title Dhammasoka (The benevolent Asoka) The same person, the same life, but Asoka has two different names All of them reflect the feelings and attitudes of the people for him They rumored that he was a brutal murderer, but then they praised him for being a benevolent man This proves that Asoka made great changes in his life The documents and legends that remain today suggest that Asoka deserves eternal credit for his special personality and for what he did for life: Asoka was the first emperor in history humankind advocates "overcoming himself over conquering others," a policy that has turned him from an extremely evil man into a very good man and opens up many great prospects for life Asoka has also made great contributions to the concept of the dharma and the nation, which is clearly reflected in his policy of respecting freedom of belief and national independence In addition, Asoka also stands out as a messenger of culture and peace due to the policy of renouncing the war, resolutely pursuing international peace and relations on the basis of cooperation and assistance to other countries in many fields Perhaps due to such positive and human actions, Asoka's name has entered the historical legend and the value that he left behind remains, even though he was born more than 20 centuries ago He left behind a great lesson, a lesson of effort, enthusiasm, devotion, love and tolerance, a lesson of trusting in oneself and of trusting others in all things and in all relationships He used love to eliminate hatred, used good people to win cruelty, to use honestly to win against puppets Learning about Asoka's life and career, especially his conversion to Buddhism helps us to understand the positive value of a human being: transition from evil to extreme good, a firm belief of a person determination to give up evil to good, a person's zeal and devotion, devotion in all endeavors towards goodness, selfconfidence and others in the conduct, responsibility, love and tolerance of a leader towards the people B CONTENT I Asoka's biography The origin of Asoka Asoka belonged to the third generation of the Maurya dynasty founded by his grandfather, Chandragupta According to historians, the arrival of Chandragupta in the fourth century BC marked an important event in the history of ancient India: it liberated the country from Macedonian domination and built dominance India's first most political under the command of a king Chandragupta ascended to the throne of India from 324 to 300 BC when he ceded the throne to his son Bindusara and became a Jainian monk Jainism refers to him as a hermit, a disciple of Bhadrabahu, and early tenth-century inscriptions discovered near Seringapatam mention a mountain peak called Chandragiri, which is said to be a spiritual retreat by Chandragupta During his 24-year rule, Chandragupta expanded his territory, south as far as Mysore and northwest to the Persia borders Territories such as Punjab, Sind, Beluchistan, Afghanistan, Himavatkuta, Nepal and Kashmir were all under his rule Bindusara succeeded his father to govern the Maurya dynasty from 300 to 273 BC Despite being a great emperor of the Maurya dynasty, Bindusara is not talked about as much by historians as Chandragupta and his son, Asoka He stood between the two great emperors, Chandragupta and Asoka And this is probably the reason why he did not attract the attention of historians, who always show respect and respect for heroic deeds as well as dedication to the religious field of Chandragupta and Asoka Under the aura of these two emperors, historians viewed him as an obscure figure and ignored his contributions to religious cause Asoka before becoming a king Asoka was born in 304 BC His father, Bindusara was the husband of 16 wives and the father of 101 sons, of which only three were known as Sumana - the eldest son, Asoka - the third son, and the youngest son named Tisya Some legends tell that Asoka's childhood was not lucky because he had a rough, rough skin However, in adulthood, Asoka completely won the trust of his father Bindusara by his military strategy This can be seen clearly when he was sent by Bindusara to Takkasila to quell the rebellions there During the time Asoka was appointed vice monarch in the West Indies territory called Avantiratham with Ujjain as the capital, riots broke out in Takkasila that his brother, Prince Sumana, could not deal with So, he was sent to Takkasila to replace Prince Sumana to suppress the rebellion Although historical sources not mention Asoka's education, he must have enjoyed a formal education like his younger brother Vitasoka Because in addition to military skill, Asoka also excelled in the management of the country, diplomacy, enactment of laws, especially the German rule (Dharma-vijiya) that he proposed: "For the happiness and well-being of all people both this life and the next" (as his inscriptions make it clear) Asoka's marriages are also not known precisely, through legends and inscriptions indicating that Asoka was multi-wives Asoka when becoming a king Asoka inherited the Maurya throne in 273 BC, but he was officially crowned in 270 BC The legend of Asoka's ascendancy is highly debated This is also understandable because: first, Bindusara has many children, so choosing Asoka to take the throne must have caused dissatisfaction among his children; second, eight years after ascending the throne (262 BC) Asoka changed from a notoriously brutal person to a benevolent man - this fact must have created the legends and myths of a king is as powerful as he is, but as compassionate as Asoka According to historical sources, Asoka's enthronement was associated with the brutal battles that occurred between his brothers There is a legend that describes Asoka as the killer of 99 of his brothers, except Tisya - brother of the same mother, for the purpose of usurping the throne Because of this event Asoka is called Candasoka However, the battle for the throne only happened between Asoka and Sumana - his brother, in which Sumana was murdered There are also other sources that not attribute Asoka to any murderous acts against his brothers, but mention that he applied brutal policies For example: Asoka was the killer of his subordinates, burned alive many women in the palace, setting up a prison to execute innocent people Asokatreo prices for the heads of the Balamon monks, deliberately insulting Buddha statues; This incident only ended when Vitasoka his brother intervened Things like this could only have happened before Asoka officially became a Buddhist More and more later, as the inscriptions of Asoka make it clear: Asoka more clearly a gentle and devout king There is a legend that Asoka took so much care of the Bodhi tree that his beautiful young wife Tishyarkshita became jealous of wanting to destroy it Xuanzang, a Chinese astrologer and scholar who studied to India around the seventh century, noted the above story and added that in order to protect the Bodhi tree, Asoka built a wall of stone Today, the majority of scholars believe that Asoka became holy through Buddhist influences Anyway, the things that Asoka did before becoming a true Buddhist was also difficult to avoid the name Candasoka that was attributed to him Just the fact that he invaded the land of Kalinga, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of others imprisoned and enslaved was enough to give him this title Historically, it is not uncommon for kings to be called brutal, but it is rare that a king can change his mood as radically as Asoka From a man nicknamed Candasoka, people again proclaimed him Dhammasoka In 232 BC, Asoka died 38 years after reigning Maurya II The legends of Asoka's conversion Mahavamsa According to Mahavamsa, Nigrodha was the first Buddhist monk to transform Asoka from the Balamon faith to the Buddhist faith This legend says that Nigrodha was Sumana's son - Asoka's brother, who was murdered by Asoka in the war for the throne of Maurya When Sumana was murdered, Nigrodha's mother, while pregnant with him, was forced to leave the royal palace to live in a village for lower-class residents On the day she left the palace, she gave birth to Nigrodha - a baby with many special signs at birth and seven years later ordained as a Buddhist monk One day, Nigrodha passed by the palace and caught Asoka's eye by her unusually serene and calm appearance Asoka, feeling delighted, invited royal Nigrodha and said, "Darling, choose the seat you think is appropriate." Nigrodha glanced at the vacant throne and Asoka realized that Nigrodha had the intention of becoming master of the palace He took Nigrodha's hand and sat the boy on the throne, then offered Nigrodha special dishes for him After the solemn reception, Asoka asked Nigrodha about the Buddha's teachings Nigrodha spoke to him about Appamada, pointing out that pious fervor results in immortality and the moral disdain that leads to mortal suffering Inspired by this teaching, Asoka announced his renunciation of the Balamon faith and accepted the Buddha's teaching The event takes place in the fourth year since Asoka took the throne of Pataliputra, or in the year Asoka's coronation, around 270 BC Asokavadana The legend of Asokavadana are records of the scholar Xuanzang when traveling to India in the 6th century BC If Mahavamsa considers Nigrodha the first to make Asoka a Buddhist and Moggaliputta Tissa is considered his second teacher, the documents provided by Xuanzang claim that it was Elder Upagupta who transformed Asoka's faith According to Asokavadana, Asoka met Upaguta after he broke the barbaric prison regime he established in Ujjain This account update Asoka for setting to setup system rush to at Pataliputra, the region of the list is address of the Earth because those who have fallen here have no chance of escaping One day, a monk named Balapandita accidentally entered the prison door associated with the administrative managers A few days later, Balapandita was thrown into the burning cauldron but unharmed This work to at Asoka, he thong to the current field view and is feel by the normal warning and the recommend of the monk Balapandita He began to pursue genuine education and abandoned the path of sin Prison was destroyed and suspended prisons burned Thus, according to Xuanzang, Asoka met Upagupta after the prison regime was dismantled, that is, after Asoka was transformed by Balapandita Therefore, to say that Upagupta was the first person to transform Asoka it is completely contrary to what is described in the legend of Asokavadana Furthermore, the documents provided by Xuanzang did not agree with Mahavamsa about Asoka's construction of stupas to worship Buddha relics everywhere in his kingdom Some other legends Indian legend records that after completing construction of the stupas, Asoka expressed the desire to travel to admire the Buddhist relics He invited Upagupta, who was living in seclusion in Urumunda mountain near Mathura, to fulfill his intention Upagupta thus becomes the king's guide on this journey In Sri Lankan history, the name Moggaliputta Tissa is associated with many Buddhas the importance is carried out under the patronage of Asoka Firstly, the purification of the Sangha organization is in a period of serious separation and division by fame and benefits Mahavamsa reported that with Asoka's devotion to Buddhism, temples were built everywhere and Buddhist monks were offered full material comforts The pagans who lost their fame and gain immediately tried to infiltrate the Sangha The number of non-Buddhists who are ordained is increasing, their old customs and understanding have affected the reputation and prestige of the church Asoka was deeply concerned about the current state of the church, so he summoned Moggaliputta Tissa to the capital Pataliputra to find a solution to the problem The purification measure was carried out by Asoka, by questioning the Buddhist monks about the Guru's teachings Those who believe that Buddhism advocates the theory of the immortal soul or similar issues are expelled from the Sangha Only those who say that the Master advocates analytical teachings will remain in the church As a result, 60.000 non-Buddhist monks were forced to disembark after the Sangha purification and the church returned to pure activities In short: although Nigrodha was the first to instill his faith, it was Moggaliputta Tissa who played an important role in Asoka's life and career Asoka became famous for her many religious and cultural activities in part thanks to the merits of Moggaliputta Tissa 10 III Asoka's contributions to Buddhism Issue important decrees During the Buddhist revival career, from the 12th to the 39th year, for nearly 28 years King Asoka often issued very important decrees to revive Buddhism Decrees engraved on stelae, caves and stone pillars scattered in many parts of India have been discovered by recent archaeologists These decrees are precious historical milestones for historians as well as the existence of Buddhism today, and to know that Buddhism at that time influenced the rulers and forces in society such as how; Typically, the rock pillars at Lumpinivattu garden and other inscriptions and cliffs The material words engraved on the stone pillars, the inscriptions on inscriptions as well as the cliffs largely match with the data recorded in Sri Lanka's history The date of these inscriptions is around 250 BC This script is a local language, close to Pali and Sankrit Currently discovered there are five types of large cliffs, seven types of small cliffs, ten pillars, all carved in rock caves and stone tables Of the ten discovered stone pillars, there are six pillars high from 10 to 13m, size not the same, on the pillar surface are engraved with the rupas of Asoka The content talks about respecting the Dharma, advising good deeds, eliminating evil, forbidding killing and doing benevolent deeds equally In particular, on the stone pillar is engraved with the legend of Asoka The other four pillars are about 7.5m high, recording the personal prostrations of King Asoka to the Buddhas and other material qualities, such as the prohibition of breaking the Sangha In addition to the stone pillars, there are also many material qualities carved into the cliffs of different large and small and spread across India In which most rupas on small rocks take the name Asoka 11 In general, the content engraved on the stone is the words that are true to the Buddha's teachings as well as his history, and at the same time there is also engraved on the meaning of serving a political goal on the basis of Buddhist teachings to rule over the people Implement a policy of tolerance for the people in the spirit of Buddhism Spreading Buddhism Asoka year 13-14 rule, the king sent missionaries, great dharma leaders to spread the teachings throughout India and abroad such as Greece, Egypt, Siria, African countries and the Far East, the localities of the East, the Mediterranean coast, the countries of the North and South Especially Asoka for her son Mahinda to ordain and evangelize in Sri Lanka There is a written theory, after the third collection of scriptures was completed, Mahinda brought the Tripitaka Pali Canon to Ceylon for evangelization, and Mahinda was the one who diligently built the foundation of the Buddhist Southern Venerable From Chinese documents, we know that Asoka played an important role in bringing Buddhism into Kashmir In his memoir about Asoka, Xuanzang said that Asoka sent Buddhist monks to Kashmir for the purpose of popularizing Buddhism here According to Xuanzang, Asoka built many temples in Kashmir and donated the whole country to the church The Chinese media see Asoka as a strong supporter of the Sarvastivada sect whose life center is in Kashmir According to the Tibetan historian Taranatha, Asoka supported the novice monks in Aparantaka, Kashmir and Tukhara Although the inscription and stone pillar sources not mention the missionary activities, it does make it clear that Asoka has sent many messengers around the country and abroad to popularize the line of virtue (Dharma-vijava) Inscription 12 XIII insists on the principle of moral rule or moral subjugation that Asoka wants to introduce and expand to the masses not only in the country but also in other countries and peoples such as Yona, Kamboja, Nabhaka, Pitimika, Andhra, Palida, the northwestern Antiocho country governed by the Greeks Asoka's desire to expand Buddhism was so great that his missionary activities were not limited to India but also expanded to neighboring countries Thanks to these Asoka efforts, Buddhism was firmly established in many parts of India and in a number of other countries Asoka was the first Indian emperor whose vision and thought extended the Buddhist teachings to other countries and he succeeded This is a very meaningful event in Buddhist history For about 200 years after Asoka's death, Buddhism spread throughout India and peacefully began to invade Asia Buddhism has played such a huge role in enriching the cultural capital of the peoples here that Asian Buddhist countries have constantly sought and are often proud of them if they find any traces it, though very small and historically insecure, shows that their country had a predestined relationship with the Dharma since the Asoka period Social charity Charitable work is one of the jobs that King Asoka pays great attention to He issued decrees such as: Planting herbal plants to treat people's illnesses, digging wells to provide water for everyone to live, giving supplies to the poor In particular, the king issued a decree to organize "Consumers" to provide for medical treatment and have a place for the frail, afflicted, and handicapped Also issued a decree for mandarins and people to celebrate "For old age" Every year, Asoka often makes offerings to the virtuous beings, and at the same time brings Buddhist teachings to the people, popularized in society by the forms 13 of practicing the five precepts in the home, living in peace, reconciliation and peace The remarkable thing is that the king himself advises people not to kill, teaches people to live a cultural life, mutual respect, respect for the elders, parents, brothers and sisters, the disabled, the servant, and the encouragement of good deeds Thereby, we see that Asoka is imbued with the Buddha's teachings, is a king with the mind of Bodhisattva, for the benefit of everyone, his forgiving heart is not narrow Doing so is truly worthy of the status of a Buddhist king The merit in building a peaceful of Indian society at that time was so great that history could not be forgotten Asoka worship Buddha In addition to political work as well as Buddhism, Asoka also spends time admiring the holy places - Buddha relics He invited the higher ranks to meet the practice of everyone In particular, Asoka came to worship the Four Caves of Tam - where the relics of the Great Prayer were left, where the King ordered the stone to be carved to make a mark there Thanks to the inscriptions handed down to this day, Buddhism in general and Indian Buddhism in particular have a precise and convenient way of transmitting, creating widespread belief in the Dharma and easier At Bodh Bodhisattva, Asoka erected large stone pillars, on top of them there was also a lion carving The art of sculpture on the stone pillars is very sophisticated, to this day the sculptor must also respect Moreover, Emperor Asoka also built many monasteries and stupas to worship Buddha's relics According to the First Sutra of Amitabha volume says: "The king, thanks to Bhikshu Hai, knew about the legendary Buddha's story, went to King Amnesty citadel to get four promotion relics buried by King A-beam These six places are probably located 14 around the area belonging to King Amnesty citadel or other unknown cities), then made 84,000 treasure boxes, each with a relic 84,000 stacks of silk and 84,000 towers to worship This we can confirm that this is real work; because Asoka was an Emperor who devoted all his energy to spreading the Dharma Asoka's contributions to Indian culture, especially to Buddhist culture, are immense However, to this day, these stupas have gone through a long time, almost disappearing Besides, during the period of Buddhism in the period of sectarian division, Asoka ended the internal division of Buddhism, at the same time he was most remembered by the Buddhists as the first collection of sutras The following three that we learn to come Collection of classics for the third time While Buddhism began to differentiate in response to development, there was inevitably a growing internal disagreement about a number of texts Emperor Asoka contributed to a part of the rectification It is said that Asoka put an end to the division of 60.000 monks at Asoka temple which lasted for years First, the king ordered the monks at the pagoda to perform the joint Bo slapping ceremony Asoka sent elders in the court to the temple to urge the execution of the imperial order But the elders here not accept the ceremony together with the public because they consider it a pagan heresy This shows us, this is the basis of the division divided into the Sect later After a number of monks died unjustly, the king personally went to the temple to consider this Asoka asked the monks where this incident happened, and was this sin caused by the king? At the disagreement of the indistinguishable monks, Asoka sent an envoy to summon Moggaliputtatisa, who was in retreat at Mount Ahoganga He refused, but due to his urgency to ask for a third time, he accepted 15 He lowered the mountain, went down the Ganges river to Hoa Thi Thanh Through Asoka's questions, Moggaliputta replied: "There is no sin without malice in acting" Thanks to this, Asoka was able to clear away doubts as well as regret On that occasion, the king ordered to open the congress of the classic gathering at Hoa Thi Thanh which lasted for months The congress gathered Moggaliputta's presidency, Asoka sitting behind a curtain to listen to the monks talking about the differences in the dhamma At the same time, raised 62 opinions of the pagan beliefs that the Buddha raised and condemned in the Sutra Pitaka The king finished listening, distinguishing between what is righteous, what is evil, what is truth, is puppet Since Asoka ordered the expulsion of some of the monks who were infidels in disguise to destroy them from the congregation, forcing them to return to lay life This order is inscribed in the 26th and 27th year of the reign of Asoka After finishing the purification, the king requested Moggaliputta to choose 1000 people who understand the Holy Tripitaka to gather the scriptures Perhaps the Abhidhamma Pitaka was first recorded on this occasion, and possibly also because Moggaliputta was the author of the treatise entitled "The Commentary" or "Theory of Thesis" aimed at counteracting the heresy IV Reviews of the Buddhist emperor Asoka As a ruler of the country Xuanzang commented that after consulting with reliable records, he wrote: "It was the painful and devastating scene of the Kalinga war that awakened Emperor Asoka from his dream of power, back to the main That is the last tear filled the glass of water of awareness " 16 That's right, after becoming king, Asoka returned to the main road, took refuge in the Three Jewels, so he applied thoroughly Buddhist teachings in the governing of the country He made the main point of kindness and the reward and punishment were justified, encouraged to help the people, and used righteousness to eliminate negative karma The treatment of my king and his subjects is regardless of class, race, or belief Asoka has built for Indian society a foundation of peace, happiness and well-being That merit is so great that history has confirmed Responsibility of a Buddhist After returning to the Dharma, taking refuge in the Three Jewels, maintaining the Precepts of Wisdom, practicing the precepts of wisdom, the king is also a very enthusiastic Buddhist, devoting himself to promoting the Dharma, that is the greatest work that the Great has received and fulfilled his responsibility well This has been proven by inscribing material qualities on stone pillars, caves, inscriptions as a historical landmark for Buddhism, at the same time gathering sutras, spreading the dharma to popularize humanity In particular, sending people abroad to spread the Dharma, making the house of Dharma to be spread to this day is global This initiative to spread Buddhism is courageous and wise Achievements of Asoka Asoka has built a country that is successful in all fields such as politics, society, education, culture He created a peaceful and peaceful society and brought practical benefits to the people such as planting trees, providing clean water, building and protecting the environment, and living beings This inscription on the Emperor's inscription still sounds very close to the current era as well as the current civilization The policy of respect for folk beliefs, tolerance and nonviolence are still forever the beauties of human culture 17 The most outstanding success was the propagation of the web of Dharma by the inscriptions and sutras The emperor has built Buddha relics, erect stone pillars to mark the presence of the Three Jewels in the world, making life happy The form of Buddhist beliefs was developed from here Tripitaka saints are still preserved in Ceylon to this day This is a great cultural source of humanity that has flourished in India, advocating the introduction of Buddhism, righteousness, and the unification of the difference between 18 Buddhist sects for a happy life Emperor Asoka passed away from the Indian realm for the past 23 centuries, but his life and career are still bright on earth It is Asoka's greatest achievement that has contributed to both life and religion that the history will never forget As people saying about him: "Every step is an epic plagiarism, Each step is an imposing page of history, Each step shook all over the river, Each step benefits all species in the world " 18 C CONCLUSION Before coming into contact with Buddhism, Asoka's life and career did not shine through; on the contrary, it is somewhat obscure and critical because of ambition and power But since meeting Buddhism, Asoka began to light up thanks to the inherent wisdom of a man awakened and encouraged by Buddhism Asoka devoted her mind to pursuing the Buddhist way, taking love to erase hatred, using benevolent people to win brutality, to conquer evil with generosity, to use honestly over evil His life and career are remarkable believed that a person can make mistakes and cruelty in the past, but if he knows how to change his personality and is determined to pursue good, he will not make mistakes and become a good man, a kind person Buddhism opens the door to people like Agulimala and Asoka and helps them become holy Indeed, with the respect of Buddhism, Asoka changed himself so that, from a notorious brutal man, he was called a King of kindness The Buddhists and the Asian people in general owe a great favor to Asoka, because thanks to him the Buddha's teachings were expanded and spread everywhere, benefiting many countries and enriching cultural for many nations The propaganda of Buddhism advocated and supported by Asoka has made many Asian lands become green and fertile, many peoples become peaceful and noble, serene, joyful and receptive Collect the invitation, have a calm mind to understand everything, forgive all and finally have a generous heart open to human 19 Asoka followed the teachings of Buddhism, determined to pursue a path of peace, nonviolence, and succeeded in her unwavering will and decisive attitude towards war and all thoughts related to war He gave up military aggression, quelling all ideas of war, leaving other nations and peoples no longer afraid of being attacked or worried about defending He pursued peace, advocating relations to help other peoples in many fields, making every nation prosper This is truly a peaceful move, and at the same time the only and most radical measure to establish peace and great sympathy among peoples This attitude of Asoka reminds us of our limited and ineffective solutions to world peace, warns us of the root danger of war, illuminates us on the true path to go to peace Asoka is born only once and his actions are limited to a certain range and time, while life progresses nonstop He has left to life a great lesson, a lesson of zeal, devotion, love and tolerance, a lesson of trusting in oneself and of trusting others in all things and in all relationships He used love to eliminate hatred, used good people to win cruelty, to use honestly to overcome evil Asoka set a great example for life Although the progress of his life was not what he wanted, the manner and the parable he left are always standards and guidelines for those who love morality, cherish kindness, and yearn for peace, love mankind 20