Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s36.3

c11.s36.3

After all, the inscriptions themselves are the best guide to Aśoka's attitude to Buddhism; and a study of these documents shows decisively that Aśoka's approach to Buddhism was that of a profound humanist; it was practical, pragmatic, and intensely ethical. The tragic war against Kalinga stirred his humanity to its depths; he felt drawn to the creed already well known for its ethical and humanitarian character. Progress in the new way of life was slow at first, but soon Aśoka developed a greater zeal; he visited the Saṅgha and gained instruction in the Faith; he went on a pilgrimage, in due course, to the spots hallowed by the Master's presence, and commemorated his visits by gifts, monuments, foundations, inscriptions. The worship of Buddhas and of their relics, enshrined in stūpas was already known and practised; when the great Mauryan emperor accepted the Buddha's faith as his own, the vast material resources of an extensive empire were pressed into the service of that creed, and there ensued an enormous increase in the numbers of stūpas and vihāras, because the emperor naturally did all he could to spread the symbols of his faith all over his empire, and his example was followed by others who were near to him and naturally accepted his lead. But of any attempt on Aśoka's part to secure converts to Buddhism as such or to reform that faith by introducing fresh features into it in order to render it more acceptable to the populace, there is no sign whatever. In fact Aśoka is at some pains to mark off his innovations from the rest of his work where he was only following the established tradition (*porāṇā pakiti*), breathing fresh life into it and adapting it to his wider aims for the moral upliftment of the people. The greatest of Aśoka's innovations, that for which he seems to claim the most credit, is that he rescued the ideal of Dharma from the relative neglect into which it had fallen and placed it in the forefront of national life, making it the touchstone of the whole of his life's work. This ideal was more ethical and social, than religious ; though the energy with which Aśoka pursued its propagation was the direct result of his having accepted Buddhism as his personal religion, the ideal itself was the common ground on which all Indian creeds met. Aśoka himself says in the Seventh Rock-Edict : ‘All sects desire both self-control and purity of mind’. In the sphere of formal religion, Aśoka makes, it clear that he did not mind what a man's particular creed was ; but he did require that all should cultivate mutual respect, should live in peace and friendliness, and should cultivate habits of social good conduct. Aśoka bent the entire machinery of the state towards the practical realization of the ideal of good life among men within his empire, and to the extent possible even beyond its borders ; and his chief claim to statesmanship lies in his strenuous endeavour to discover the widest possible basis of agreement attainable among all the sections of his subjects and to build his policy on that basis. Aśoka was the one ruler before Akbar who faced the problem of Indian national unity, and he came much nearer success than Akbar because he had a better understanding of human nature, and instead of seeking to invent a new common faith or compel everybody to adopt the faith he had accepted as his own, he took the established order for granted and struck the road along which there was the best chance of healthy and ordered development. He never departed from his rule of tolerance, and the only two instances where he appears to have done so—the prohibition of animal sacrifice and the deprecation of tiresome rituals—are really particular cases of the general promotion of *ahiṃsā* which commanded widespread assent.