And who is this Asoka of whom we speak?
Asoka (c. 300-232 BCE) was born into the Mauryan royal family. After his father’s death, he became in 270 BCE the ruler of an empire extending from Afghanistan to Bengal, and covering the Ganges plain and the Deccan plateau. He pushed out the boundaries of his empire during the next decade, conquering Kalinga in 262 BCE. In this way he unified nearly all of India under his rule. He converted to Buddhism in 260 BCE and thenceforth propagated ideals of tolerance, equality, and public service.
http://www.humanistictexts.org/asoka.htm Humanistictexts.org on Asoka
Kalinga was conquered by King Asoka after he had been crowned for eight years. One hundred and fifty thousand persons were thence carried away captive, one hundred thousand were there slain, and many times that number perished.
Directly after the annexation of Kalinga, began King Asoka’s zealous protection of the Dharma , his love of that law, and his giving instruction in that law. Thus arose King Asoka’s remorse for having conquered Kalinga, because the conquest of a country previously unconquered involves the slaughter, death and carrying away of people as captives. This is a matter of profound sorrow and regret to his majesty.
Rock Edict XIII
Asoka, grandson of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandragupta_Maurya Chandragupta Maurya, chose to forsake war after his conquest of the Kalinga. On the battlefield, 100,000 men laid dead and 150,000 were led away captive. Thik of it. Over 250,000 soldiers had their lives ruined in one battle. I think most of us would shatter at the result. Asoka forsook war and instead took up the teachings of dharma and instituted one of the most humane kingships in the history of mankind.
King Asoka, the third monarch of the Indian Mauryan dynasty, has come to be regarded as one of the most exemplary rulers in world history. The British historian H.G. Wells has written: "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history ... the name of Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star." Although Buddhist literature preserved the legend of this ruler -- the story of a cruel and ruthless king who converted to Buddhism and thereafter established a reign of virtue -- definitive historical records of his reign were lacking. Then in the nineteenth century there came to light a large number of edicts, in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, proclaim Asoka's reforms and policies and promulgate his advice to his subjects. The present rendering of these edicts, based on earlier translations, offers us insights into a powerful and capable ruler's attempt to establish an empire on the foundation of righteousness, a reign which makes the moral and spiritual welfare of his subjects its primary concern. The Australian bhikkhu Ven. S. Dhammika, the compiler of the present work, is the spiritual director of the Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society in Singapore.
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html Asoka and his edicts (one of which is listed above).
In our day, we can look to Asoka and see someone who rejected warfare as a way to advance policy. We know that Dick and W haven't, and I can only imagine that if they looked upon a battlefield with 100,000 dead (or more) they would see only success. To be honest, the
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll513.xml 411 House members (minus DK and RP) and the
http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=278727 97 Senate members who haven't received the memo on we the people wanting peace would probably see the same.
Today, we do have a peace candidate for President. His name is Dennis Kucinich. He's the man who's offered us the promise of a
http://www.thepeacealliance.org/ US Department of Peace and Nonviolence through
http://www.thepeacealliance.org/files/outreach_material/bill_110th.pdf H R 808. Those of us who have read the postings in the 'progressive' blogosphere know that this idea has been pilloried by many members of this community, including
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/20/19207/8277 our Great Orange Overlord.
To my mind, there is no greater search than the search for peace. It is why I support Dennis Kucinich and not the other candidates. I know that Dennis will work for peace with every fiber of his being. I don't know that of the other candidates. When asked at one of the debates if they would attack Bin Laden if there were to be innocents killed. Here's the answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0arhFpU68EThe question comes up starting at 1:45.
In case you need some more encouragement as far as Dennis and peace go, here's this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkyvgoexrCoAs always,
Go Dennis!
http://dennis4president.com http://www2.kucinich.usChoose Peace!
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