How Did Ashoka Spread

As seen in the sources, Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar, re-interpreted and reminded the Chinese people, who were at the time enduring the invasion by central Asian steppe nomads, on how to reach the ultimate goal of Buddhism (Doc 5). Ashoka was heavily influenced by Buddhism and was a man of high power. During his rule as Indian emperor, he created a Dhamma practice for his people to follow (Doc 6). Although this was not a religion, he treated it as it was and spread it across cultures and created a long-lasting impact among people. This shows how Buddhism was transformed and simplified as it spread to different regions. Some regions, like China, may have simplified the religion slightly, while others reinforced and created more complexity in how people should act in

Buddhism is defined as “...a way of finding peace within oneself” (About Buddhism 2007). Buddhists work towards finding inner peace, kindness, and wisdom in all their practices in attempt to reach the ultimate goal of happiness (About Buddhism 2007). In this essay I will be discussing how Buddhism is practiced and taught through the process of, meditation, karma and its laws, the significance of the Buddha, and The Four Noble Truths, and finally what it means to be enlightened.

However, he mentioned that his people had an important part in impact the way he ruled and he had a new focus on improving the conditions for his citizens. He improved the educational system and tolerated many different religions. Ashoka also sponsored irrigation systems and any project that would allow his citizens to improve their living standards. Even though Ashoka had rule ruthlessly for the first years of his reign, his conversion to Buddhism sponsored more equality between his people. This allowed his people to experience the height of the Gupta Empire during his leadership.

The Buddha developed the concept of universal kindness and compassion. His teachings are about surrendering all material

Even though Ashoka lived over 2,000 years ago, his legacy still lives on today and Buddhism is now a very well known religion today. In the evidence, it says that he labored hard at public business and declared he was ready for it. That shows he was very devoted to this, and because of that, he made a historical impact on religion

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

When Ashoka originally became king in 273 B.C., he was just as ruthless as his grandfather. He would slay people he conquered with no mercy. However, one of his massacres took the lives of 100,000 captured people. After committing this act, he was horrified and ashamed of himself. He then vowed to follow the Buddhist teachings of “peace to al beings”.

Buddha once said, “In separateness lies the world’s great misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” By this he meant that when we are separated by the things we classify people by in society, we are not truly happy. Only if we unite can we be all be satisfied with our successes. Buddha is the founder of the religion Buddhism, one that focuses on suffering in life. He tries to better the world and its people, much like Jones, Chavez, and Tubman. They were all great defenders of human rights, but the most impactful of all was Harriet Tubman.

Buddhism teaches tolerance to their followers (Van Voorst, 2013). One of their defining characteristics is meditation. A majority of their followers believe that the meditation contributes to an out of body experience, dreams, visions, answered prayers, and healing (Thanissaro, 2015). Another defining characteristic of the Buddhism religion is for their followers to become enlightened when their beliefs become parallel with the institutional authority and scriptural authority. The Buddhist principles of the search for truth, beauty, and justice should always be maintained in the center of their lives (Kabilsingh,

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 the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.

Ashoka consolidated and increased his power by converting to peace by making a set of laws. “His family created an empire by conquering other kingdoms in brutal wars. When Ashoka became the king he continued to fight wars and expand the empire. In his eighth year as the king, he went to war against the rulers of a section of India called Kalinga. Ashoka’s armies won the Kalinga War in which, according to historical sources, 100,000 people were killed and 150,000 people were forced to leave their homes. As he stated in one of his edicts, Ashoka “felt profound sorrow and regret” for the “slaughter, death, and deportation” his war caused.” Ashoka caused a war and then he felt sorry so he decides to convert to Buddhism for peace. “ From that point

About 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama renounced his empire in search of happiness or panacea for sorrow (dukkha) Gautama, after an extensive research throughout his empire and meditating on the collected data under a banyan tree,discovered that aspiration or want (kama) was at the root of sorrow (dukkha) laid down four noble truths to eliminate sorrow, and became the Buddha, the enlightened. Truths “Sanskriti, Mana. "The Four Noble." (1998).”

Buddhism does not regard ethics as a particular set of duties, rights, imperatives or obligations that should be used to evaluate the actions of a person. Instead, Buddhism views as the “accumulated wisdom” that one acquires in the areas of life and that are related to the fundamental problem that every person encounters—suffering (Voorst 2007; Becker & Becker, 2013). This paper will attempt to argue that the four noble truths are the basis onto which Buddhist ethics are founded; therefore, understanding the truths reveals the prominent elements of Buddhist ethical concerns.