Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma

Dhamma is a set of edicts that formed a policy of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka
Maurya, who succeeded to the Mauryan throne in modern-day India around 269
B.C many historians consider him one of the greatest kings of Ancient India for his
policies of public welfare. His policy of Dhamma has been debated by
intellectuals.

History of Dhamma:

The word Dhamma is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Dharma. There have
been attempts to define and find equivalent English words for it, such as “piety”,
“moral life” and “righteousness" but scholars could not translate it into English
because it was coined and used in a specific context. The word Dharma has
multiple meanings in the literature and thought of ancient India. The best way to
understand what Ashoka means by Dhamma is to read his edicts, which were
written to explain the principles of Dhamma to the people of that time
throughout the empire.

Dhamma was not a particular religious faith or practice, or an

arbitrary formulated royal policy. Dharma related to generalized norms of social
behavior and activities; Ashoka tried to synthesize various social norms which
were current in his time. It cannot be understood by assuming it is one of the
various religions that existed at that time. To understand why and how Ashoka
formulated Dharma and its meaning, one must understand the characteristics of the
time in which he lived and to refer to Buddhist, Brahmanical and other texts where
norms of social behavior are explained.

Ashoka as a Buddhist:
Various arguments are formulated to show that Ashoka was a Buddhist. It is
quoted that Ashoka took the tour of all the holy places associated with the Buddha.
He visited Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar. He constructed a number
of monasteries or viharas for the Buddhist monks. These places became the centers
of Buddhist learning. He also constructed a number of stupas over the relics of the
Buddha. He convened the third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra in 251 B.C.E. for
sorting out differences among the followers of the Buddha. The Council presided
over by Mogaliputra Tissa not only helped in resolving differences among various
Buddhist sects but also recommended measures to further propagate Buddhism.
Ashoka’s inscriptions also reveal that he was a Buddhist. In the Bhabru and
Saranath edicts he makes an open confession of his faith in the trinity— the
Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. In the 1st rock edict he uses the term
sanghaupete. The word sanghaupete has been interpreted differently by different
scholars. Some say that it stands for Ashoka’s visit to the sangha while others hold
the view that Ashoka became a bhikshu and lived in the sangha. In several cases
Ashoka refers to the Buddha as “the Lord” and in one case the Buddhist doctrine is
mentioned as ‘the true faith’. Minor pillar edict 2 contains the text of his order to
his officers to the effect that the heretical monks and nuns should be expelled from
the sangha. This attempt on Ashoka’s part to promote the unity of the Buddhist
church is also known from the Southern Buddhist tradition. Ashoka’s emphasis on
non-violence also implies that his Dhamma was somehow the expression of
Buddhism because in Buddhism also we see emphasis on non-violence. To
understand the true nature of Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma let us see what Ashoka
did mean by the term Dhamma.

Dhamma the concept:

In the 2nd pillar edict Ashoka himself asks ‘what is the Dhamma? And the answer
provided in the same edict is ‘it is absence of sin, many good deeds, charity,
donation, truthfulness and purity. Thus the Dhamma policy interpreted in the edicts
may be described as a two-fold policy containing negative and positive aspects. In
the negative sense it emphasizes abstention from sin. In the positive sense it
emphasizes positive virtues like truthfulness, charity, purity and tolerance.

Dhamma as Abstention from sin:

In his 3rd pillar edict Ashoka mentions the wrong deeds. The 3rd edict reads as, “a
person has an eye on his good deeds only and says to himself: ‘this good deed I
have done.’ Not in the least does he notice his sin, saying to himself; ‘this sinful
act have I perpetrated,’ or ‘this indeed is what is called sin’. But this is certainly
difficult to scrutinize. Nevertheless, one should verily look into the matter thus:
‘these passions surely lead to sin, such as violence, cruelty, anger, vanity and
jealousy. Let me not ruin myself by reason of these very passions.’ One should
seriously reflect on the following: this one is for my good only in this world and
the other one is for my good also in the next world.
Ashoka has not only mentioned the sin but has also suggested the path to
know his sins. This is the path of introspection or self-examination. In the 1st
minor rock edict, while describing the purpose of inscribing the edict he talks of
exertion. . One method of this exertion is self-examination. One must examine
one’s good deeds and bad deeds. In the 1st pillar edict he emphasizes rigorous self-
examination as essential aid to moral life. In the pillar edict 7 he points out another
form of self-examination called reflection. Thus while negatively interpreting the
Dhamma; Ashoka basically focuses on abstention from wrong deeds or sin.

Dhamma causes of decline:

The decline of Buddhism has been attributed to various factors, especially the
regionalisation of India after the end of the Gupta Empire (320–650 CE), which led
to a competition with Hinduism and Jainism and the loss of patronage and
donations; and the conquest and subsequent persecutions by Huns, Turks and
Persians.

 Patronage and religious dynamics:

Loss of patronage and donations-After the end of the Gupta Empire (c.
320–650 CE), power became decentralised in India, and Buddhism started to
lose financial support from the seventh century onward. The disintegration
of central power also led to regionalisation of religiosity, and religious
rivalry. Rural and devotional movements arose within Hinduism, along
with Shavisim, Vaishnavism, Bhakti and Tantra, that competed with each
other, as well as with numerous sects of Buddhism and Jainism. This
fragmentation of power into feudal kingdoms was detrimental for
Buddhism, with royal support shifting toward Hindu and Jain
communities. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and other Hindu traditions became
increasingly popular, and Brahmins developed a new relationship with the
state, gaining influence in socio-political process, which contributed to the
decline of Buddhism.

Religious convergence-Buddhism's distinctiveness diminished with the rise

of Hindu sects. Though Mahayana writers were quite critical of Hinduism,
 the devotional cults of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism likely seemed
quite similar to laity, and the developing Tantrism of both religions were
also similar. Buddhist ideas, and even the Buddha himself, were absorbed
and adapted into orthodox Hindu thought, while the differences between the
two systems of thought were emphasized.

 Wars and persecution:

Hun Invasions-Chinese scholars travelling through the region between the
5th and 8th centuries, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, Hui-sheng, and
Sung-Yun, began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist Sangha in the north-
west parts of Indian subcontinent, especially in the wake of the Hun invasion
from central Asia. Xuanzang wrote that numerous monasteries in north-
western India had been reduced to ruins by the Huns.
Mihirakula, who ruled from 515 CE in north-western region (modern
Afghanistan, Pakistan and north India), suppressed Buddhism as well. He
did this by destroying monasteries as far away as modern-day Allahabad.

Turk-Mongol raids-
In the north-western parts of medieval India, the Himalayan regions, as well
regions bordering central Asia, Buddhism once facilitated trade relations,
states Lars Fogelin. With the Islamic invasion and expansion, and central
Asians adopting Islam, the trade route-derived financial support sources and
the economic foundations of Buddhist monasteries declined, on which the
survival and growth of Buddhism was based. The arrival of Islam removed
the royal patronage to the monastic tradition of Buddhism, and the
replacement of Buddhists in long-distance trade by the Muslims eroded the
related sources of patronage.