Mid semester essay the effects of ashoka the great’s conversion to buddhism

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 3

B CONTENT 5

I Asoka's biography 5

1 The origin of Asoka 5

2 Asoka before becoming a king 6

3 Asoka when becoming a king 6

II The legends of Asoka's conversion 8

1 Mahavamsa 8

2 Asokavadana 9

3 Some other legends 10

III Asoka's contributions to Buddhism 11

1 Issue important decrees 11

2 Spreading Buddhism 12

3 Social charity 13

4 Asoka worship Buddha 14

5 Collection of classics for the third time 15

IV Reviews of the Buddhist emperor Asoka 16

1 As a ruler of the country 16

2 Responsibility of a Buddhist 17

3 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 do 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 do good, a person's zeal and devotion, devotion in all endeavors towards goodness, self-confidence and others in the conduct, responsibility, love and tolerance of a leader towards the people

B CONTENT

I Asoka's biography

1 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

2 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 do 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

3 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 do 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 t-his 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

1 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

2 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

3 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

III Asoka's contributions to Buddhism

1 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