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King Aśoka and Buddhism H L S ISTORICAL AND ITERARY TUDIES E DITED BY A S NURADHA ENEVIRATNA B P S UDDHIST UBLICATION OCIETY K S L ANDY RI ANKA P 1994 UBLISHED IN B P S UDDHIST UBLICATION OCIETY P.O. B 61 OX 54, S M ANGHARAJA AWATHA K , S L ANDY RI ANKA C © 1994 A S OPYRIGHT BY NURADHA ENEVIRATNA ISBN 955–24–0065–2. 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 traditions 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 iv 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. v The Contributors Richard Gombrich is Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University and Fellow of Balliol College. He is also the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the Pali Text Society. His previous publications include Precept and Practice: Traditional Buddhism in the Rural Highlands of Ceylon (1971), The World of Buddhism (with Heinz Bechert, 1984), Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo (1988), and Buddhism Transformed (with Gananath Obeyesekere, 1990). Ananda W.P. Guruge has served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris. He is presently the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States. He holds a Ph.D. and D. Litt. (Hon.) and is the author of The Society of the Ramayana (1960), From the Living Fountains of Buddhism (1984), Buddhism — The Religion and its Culture (2nd ed. 1984), and The Mahāvaṃsa — An Annotated New Translation with Prolegomena (1989). N.A. Jayawickrama was Professor and Head of the Department of Pali of the University of Peradeniya and later Professor and Head of the Department of Pali and Buddhist Civilization at the University of Kelaniya. He is at present Editorial Adviser to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism and Professor Emeritus of the University of Peradeniya. His publications include The Inception of Discipline and the Vinayanidāna (1962), The Epochs of the Conqueror (1968), and The Story of Gotama Buddha (1990). vi Anuradha Seneviratna is Professor of Sinhala at the University of Peradeniya. His publications include The Springs of Sinhala Civilization (1989), Buddhist Monastic Architecture in Sri Lanka (1992), Mahintale: Dawn of a Civilization (1993), and a two- volume work on the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (1987, 1990). John S. Strong is Associate Professor of Religion at Bates College, U.S.A., and author of The Legend of King Aśoka (1983) and The Legend and Cult of Upagupta. Romila Thapar is Professor of Ancient Indian History at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Her publications include Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (1961), A History of India, Vol. I (1984), and From Lineage to State (1984). vii Contents The Contributors ....................................................................................................................... vi Editor’s Preface .......................................................................................................................... xi Editor’s Note ............................................................................................................................. xii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... xiii 1 Aśoka — The Great Upāsaka R G 1 ICHARD OMBRICH ................................................................................................. 1. Aśoka’s Inscriptions 2 ........................................................................................ 2. Aśoka in Buddhist Tradition 6 ..................................................................... 3. The Missions: Interpreting the Evidence 10 ......................................... Notes 13 ........................................................................................................................... 2 Aśoka and Buddhism as Reflected in the Aśokan Edicts R T 15 OMILA HAPAR ......................................................................................................... 3 Emperor Aśoka and Buddhism: Unresolved Discrepancies between Buddhist Tradition & Aśokan Inscriptions A W.P. G 37 NANDA URUGE ......................................................................................... 1. Introduction 37 ........................................................................................................ 2. Conversion of Aśoka to Buddhism 42 ..................................................... 3. When, How and by Whom? 46 ................................................................... 4. Major Discrepancies in Events and Dates 49 ....................................... 5. Historical Reliability of Rock Edict XIII 54 ........................................... 6. Aśoka’s Role in the Propagation of Buddhism in his Empire 63 ........................................ 7. Foreign Missions of Aśoka 70 ......................................................................... viii 8. Conclusions 79 ......................................................................................................... Notes 84 .......................................................................................................................... 4 Aśoka’s Edicts and the Third Buddhist Council N.A. J 92 AYAWICKRAMA ............................................................................................... Notes 106 ........................................................................................................................ 5 Aśoka and the Emergence of a Sinhala Buddhist State in Sri Lanka A S 111 NURADHA ENEVIRATNA .................................................................................. 1. Introduction 111 .................................................................................................... 2. Sources 112 .............................................................................................................. 3. The Mission to Sri Lanka: Brief Account 115 ....................................... 4. The Political Background 118 ...................................................................... 5. The Sri Lanka-Kalinga Tie 122 ..................................................................... 6. Aśoka and Tissa 125 ........................................................................................... 7. The Advent of Mahinda 130 .......................................................................... 8. Saṅghamittā and the Bodhi Tree 132 ...................................................... 9. Conclusion 135 ....................................................................................................... Notes 137 ........................................................................................................................ 6 Images of Aśoka: Some Indian and Sri Lankan Legends and their Development J S. S 141 OHN TRONG ..................................................................................................... A. The Early Traditions 146 ......................................................... 1. The Gift of Honey and the Gift of Dirt 146 ......................................... 2. The Fate of the Bodhi Tree 152 .................................................................. ix 3. The Gathering of the Relics 154 ................................................................. 4. The 84,000 Stūpas or Vihāras 157 ............................................................. B. Later Developments 162 ........................................................... 1. The Gift of Dirt Reconsidered 162 ............................................................ 2. The Legends of the Queens 165 ................................................................ 3. The Collection of Relics: A New Story 168 .......................................... 4. The 84,000 Stūpas Once More 170 ........................................................... Conclusion 173 .............................................................................................................. Notes 174 ........................................................................................................................ 7 Emperor Aśoka’s Place in History: A Review of Prevalent Opinions A W.P. G 182 NANDA URUGE ...................................................................................... 1. Introduction 182 .................................................................................................... 2. Aśoka in the Mainstream Indian Tradition and Literature 184 3. Aśoka of the Northern Buddhist Sources 188 ................................... 4. Aśoka of the Sri Lankan Pali Sources 195 ............................................ 5. Aśoka of Edicts and Inscriptions 201 ...................................................... 6. Aśoka in the Eyes of Recent Writers & Scholars 203 ..................... 7. Aśoka and the Decline and Fall of the Mauryan Empire 217 .. 8. Conclusion 221 ....................................................................................................... Notes 224 ........................................................................................................................ Maps Aśoka’s Indian Empire ................................................................................................. 235 Areas to which Buddhist Missions were sent ............................................. 236 x Editor’s Preface A LARGE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS agree that Emperor Aśoka of India in the third century B.C. was one of the greatest conquerors who later achieved the most difficult conquest of all — the conquest of himself — through self-conviction and his perception of human suffering. After embracing the Dhamma of the Buddha as his guide and ref- uge, he transformed the goal of his regime from military conquest to conquest by Dhamma. By providing royal patronage for the propagation of Buddhism both within and outside his vast dominion, he helped promote the metamorphosis of Buddhism from one among many sects of Indian ascetic spirituality into a world religion that was eventually to pene- trate almost all of southern and eastern Asia. The present collection of papers by leading Indological scholars is intended to highlight different aspects of the close connection between the political and religious life of this exem- plary Indian ruler. By underscoring from different angles the ways in which Aśoka tapped the ethical and spiritual potentials of rulership, and did so in ways which did not violate the religious convictions of those who did not accept the same sys- tem of beliefs that he himself endorsed, these papers, in their totality, deliver a message that is highly relevant to our times, when political and ethical goals so often seem to ride a colli- sion course and religious tolerance is threatened by fanaticism and belligerent fundamentalism. This volume arose out of a seminar on King Aśoka and Buddhism that had been scheduled to be held at the Buddhist Publication Society in March 1987, but had to be cancelled xi