Buddha Vs Ashoka Research Paper

Just as Buddhism unified Japan during arduous times, it also helped unify India under Ashoka’s command. Ashoka fought great battles and imposed his rule on people southward along the eastern coast of India. The sufferings created by the war disturbed Ashoka and he found relief in the religion known as Buddhism. He adopted Buddhism to bring equality to all and found great comfort knowing the religion was so accepting.

One of Ashoka’s most convicting beliefs was the abstention of harming any living being. This is evident by his conversion to peace loving Buddhism after the gruesome Kalinga war. However, he did make it clear that if his subjects did not reform or submit to his rule, he would have to punish them

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse discusses the many paths of teaching that relate to Hinduism that Siddhartha followed on his journey through life and how each path helped him realize what he wanted with his life. Siddhartha follows many teachings or paths in which to reach his spiritual destination, which at the beginning was to reach Nirvana.

Time does not exist; love is eternal; death brings peace. Siddhartha illustrates each of these themes in the novel, Siddhartha. Throughout his life, Siddhartha is very independent. For example, Siddhartha demonstrates self-determination when he leaves his overbearing father “to begin the life of the Samanas” (Hesse 10). There, he escapes from the physical world to soon realize that enlightenment cannot come from ignoring the world around him. He decides to follow the Buddha and learn his teachings; however, he is unsuccessful. As Siddhartha goes through his unaccompanied journey towards Enlightenment, he comes to realize that he must let his loved ones go and “that each man must find the way by himself” (Malthaner 3). Foolishly, he falls

After the Qin Dynasty rule ended in China, the Han Dynasty was established and Confucianism spread. Confucianists believed that people should respect their superiors, they should have polite manners, and that emperors should rule by the means of their virtue instead of punishments. Documents 6 explains that if the people in China were to be led by virtue, then overall they will be good and all troubles can be avoided. Nonetheless, it is important to note that this document was written by the students of Confucius who may have favored their own method of exerting political power over other methods. Additionally, Emperor Ashoka from India was against using punishment to exert power. During the third century B.C.E., Ashoka of the Mauryan Dynasty conquered the Kalingas and killed about one hundred thousand people. After his conquest, he was influenced by the teachings of the Buddha known as the Dhamma, and he promised that he shall never kill another human. Document 4 reveals that after Ashoka realized his love for the Dhamma, he wanted all treatments to be carried out fairly. As it can be seen, the Han Dynasty of China and Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Dynasty in India used the method of avoiding punishments to exert their political

Christianity and Buddhism are two very prominent religions dating back from early years up until today. Both are offshoots of other religions-- Christianity from Judaism, and Buddhism from Hinduism. The Buddhists follow the teachings of Gautama Buddha, while Christianity is centered upon the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christianity is monotheistic while Buddhism is nontheistic. Christians believe that Christ is the son of God, while Buddhists do not believe in God as the creator of the universe.

One saw Ashoka was a tough ruler but he did not come close to Hammurabi. Mainly, historians knew Ashoka as a ruler who “looked on his subjects as his children (Craig et al, p. 126)”, but before he converted to Buddhism, he showed no mercy to neighbor kingdom (Edicts of Ashoka, MyHistory Lab, p.111). The thirteenth edict text portrayed the dramatic change of heart he experienced as

Of the three sages the one that I liked the best would be Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha. The reason I favor him is because of the circumstances of his journey. He was born into the wealthy and purposely degraded himself as a humble man, with only the minimum to survive to reach his state of enlightenment also known as the nirvana; a state of bliss, and pure consciousness. The nirvana is a state of being in which I believe is the key to happiness, a mindset that must be found on your own. Just as the Buddha, I hope to be able to find my own consolatory state of nirvana one day.

The main focus of Buddhism is that the faith centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality, The Buddha was also called the Enlightened One, he taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world. He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afyterlife, urging his folloers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering. “We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by God.” The disbelief in God does not make Buddhism an atheistic religion. The Buddha rejected the concept of the atman, or soul. In

How would you compare the lives and teachings of Jesus and Buddha? Well, Buddha never considered himself to be a god of any type. He just thought of himself as a person to shower other people with gifts and wealth. As far as Jesus, he was looked at as “The way, the truth, and the life.”.

Unlike most rulers who sought power and domination over society, Ashoka, king of Mauryan only desired to create a harmonious society. Earning him the title of ‘Beloved of the Gods’. This is explicitly evident through Ashoka’s political philosophies (edicts) that aimed to assist his people to reach the path of dharma. Causing him to create a number of reforms, inspired by Buddhist philosophies enabling Ashoka and his people to live in a harmonious society. As Buddhism spoke of creating a world that lived in tolerance and acceptance of all things. Through these philosophies Ashoka wrote his own interpretation of the Buddhist ideals (the edicts), modelling it to suit his kingdom. The edicts spoke of two important philosophies, ‘state’ and ‘individual’

Firstly, the reason Ashoka was an enlightened ruler is because he stopped going to war and he felt remorse for the evil he had done. In the

In his Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle discusses what it means for a person to live a happy life, and what that happy life entails. A sizable portion of his ethics are dedicated to discussing the value of friendship and its role in a happy life. In Book IX.9 Aristotle posits that one cannot have a happy life without friends, for “it seems strange when one assigns all good things to the happy man, not to assign friends” (1169b8-9). While it may seem initially clear to us why a life of solitude cannot lead us to a happy life, it is not immediately evident why the self-sufficient man who is already happy should need friends. In Box IX.9 Aristotle lays out several arguments as to why someone who is happy needs friends, and these arguments, when examined

Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire was not just a ruler, in fact, he was not “just” anything. Ashoka Maurya was an emperor that built the largest empire in Indian history, paved the road for Buddhism’s entrance as a major world religion, and set historically high standards for what it means to be a great leader. Many people believe that he was just a tyrannical despot that enjoyed bloodshed and war. However, Ashoka went through a spiritual revival that lead him to become a great leader, shown through how he became the greatest promoter of Buddhism (after Buddha himself), gave up war, and issued multiple edicts that acted in favor of his citizens’ health and lifestyles, as well as neighboring empires. Therefore, Ashoka the Great was an inspirational leader that drove the Mauryan Empire to its ultimate zenith by using his guidance qualities, like compassion, proactivity and trustworthiness, as well as his visionary optimism that helped put his remarkable goals into action.

Buddhism arose in northern India in the 6th century BCE. The historical founder of Buddhism, Siddharta Gautama (c.560-480 BCE) was born in a village called Lumbini into a warrior tribe called the Sakyas (from where he derived the title Sakyamuni, meaning 'Sage of the Sakyas'). According to tradition Gautama's father, Suddhodana was the king of a small principality based on the town of Kapilavastu. His mother, Queen Maya, died seven days after Gautama's birth. Following the death of Maya, Suddhodana married Maya's sister, Prajapati, by whom Gautama was brought up in great luxury and sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.