Famous Buddhist: Historical Rulers and Political Figures

[Positive Change]

How interesting that all these great rulers have one thing in common... the spread of Buddhism!

Anawrahta (1014–1077), founder of Pagan Empire, credited with introducing Theravada Buddhism in Pagan Kingdom and restarting Theravada Buddhism in Ceylon.

Ashoka the Great (304–232 BC), Mauryan Emperor of ancient India, and the first Buddhist ruler to send Buddhist missionaries outside of India throughout the Old World.

Brhadrata, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty.

Harshavardhana (606–648), Indian emperor who converted to Buddhism.

Jayavarman VII (1181–1219), King of Cambodia.

Kanishka, ruler of the Kushan Empire.

Kublai Khan Mongol Emperor.

Menander (Pali: Milinda), 2nd century BCE, an Indo-Greek king of northwestern India, who questioned N?gasena about Buddhism in the Milinda Pañha, and is said to have become an arhat.

Mindon (1808–1878), king of Myanmar and facilitator of "Fifth World Theravada Buddhist Council" or Fifth Sangayana.

Emperor Ming of Han China.

Mongkut, King of Thailand and founder of the Thammayut Nikaya.

Sh?toku (574–622), crown prince and regent of Japan.

Theodorus (1st century BCE), Indo-Greek governor, author of a Buddhist dedication.

Tony Jaa Martial Artist, became a buddhist monk May 28th, 2010.

Empress Wu of Zhou China (625–705), the only female empress regnant in Chinese history.

Emperor Wu of Liang China () (502–549), Emperor during the Chinese Liang Dynasty.

King Devanampiya Tissa (307 BC – 267 BC) of Sri Lanka.

[diablo1974]

Spreading of Buddhism in this modern age doesnt really comes from any monarchy. But more on the grassroots, as its no longer a privilege that only the royals can practiced but instead its for everyone and anyone.  What if there's a king arises and rule the country with Dharma in this modern age, will it be effective?

[dsiluvu]

Spreading of Buddhism in this modern age doesnt really comes from any monarchy. But more on the grassroots, as its no longer a privilege that only the royals can practiced but instead its for everyone and anyone.  What if there's a king arises and rule the country with Dharma in this modern age, will it be effective?

I think if a King or Queen who rules with Dharma in this day and age, the country will definitely flourish in rich values or at least you will see in those countries there will be more monasteries, temples, Dharma practitioners. One perfect example of a country today who has a spiritual dharmic leader, not a monk or nun, but a lay person, is someone like AUNG SAN SUU KYI. I greatly admire her strength and courage.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI
THE VOICE OF HOPE
Published Electronically by World Dharma Publications
Conversations with Alan Clements
Fully revised and updated, including an interview with U Gambira –
(the imprisoned) leader of Burma's Buddhist monk-led pro-democracy uprising in 2007.

“Whatever the future of Burma, a possible future for politics itself is
illuminated by these conversations.”  The London Observer

Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate, stands alongside
Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Martin Luther King in the international struggle for
freedom, dignity, and human rights. For the past twenty years, from the inception of Burma’s
nonviolent revolution in 1988, and the tragedy that soon followed, when thousands  of
unarmed demonstrators were gunned down by the ruling junta, Aung  San Suu Kyi is and
remains the voice of freedom in her native country, “a land of fifty million prisoners,” as this
predominately Buddhist South Asian nation is often referred. And in late 2007, when Burma’s
second great uprising captivated the world’s attention, Aung San Suu Kyi, gave her  full
support to the Buddhist monks, nuns and citizens whose peaceful protests were yet again,
brutally crushed by the regime. Her determination to restore democracy has come at an
immense personal cost. Under imprisonment and house arrest for most of the past 18 years,
she has persevered in her position of non-violence, incessantly inviting the regime to “talk,
not harm...let’s heal this nation together.”

The Voice of Hope is a rare and intimate journey into the heart of the struggle – one of the
most inspiring spiritually-informed political revolutions of our era. Over a period of six
months, Alan Clements, the first American ordained as a Buddhist monk in Burma, met with
Aung San Suu Kyi (at great personal risk) at her residence in Rangoon, and in taped
conversations (that were smuggled out of the country), conversed on the core issues defining
Aung San Suu Kyi's values, vision, and philosophy. Such as, the power of truth and
reconciliation; the role of love, compassion, and conscience as forces in political change; the
meaning of freedom and responsibility in the age of globalization; empowering dialogue over
domination; bringing the feminine and womens’ rights into politics; diversity as the life blood of democracy; and a deep inquiry into engaged Buddhism - compassion and forgiveness as
the basis of civilized existence.
http://worlddharma.com/Voice%20of%20Hope%20pr%20rls%20for%20wd.com.pdf

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[Tenzin K]

The expansion of Buddhism throughout most of Asia was peaceful and occurred in several ways. Shakyamuni Buddha set the precedent. Being primarily a teacher, he traveled to nearby kingdoms to share his insights with those who were receptive and interested. Likewise, he instructed his monks to go forth in the world and expound his teachings. He did not ask others to denounce and give up their own religion and convert to a new one, for he was not seeking to establish his own religion. He was merely trying to help others overcome the unhappiness and suffering that they were creating for themselves because of their lack of understanding. Later generations of followers were inspired by Buddha's example and shared with others his methods that they found useful in their lives. This is how what is now called "Buddhism" spread far and wide.

Sometimes the process evolved organically. For example, when Buddhist merchants visited and settled in different lands, some members of the local populations naturally developed interest in these foreigners' beliefs, as with the introduction of Islam to Indonesia and Malaysia. Such a process occurred with Buddhism in the oasis states along the Silk Route in Central Asia during the two centuries before and after the common era. As local rulers and their people learned more about this Indian religion, they invited monks from the merchants' native regions as advisors or teachers and, in this manner, eventually adopted the Buddhist faith. Another organic method was through the slow cultural assimilation of a conquering people, such as the Greeks into the Buddhist society of Gandhara in present-day central Pakistan during the centuries following the second century BCE.

Often, however, the dissemination was due primarily to the influence of a powerful monarch who had adopted and supported Buddhism himself. In the mid-third century BCE, for example, Buddhism spread throughout northern India as the result of the personal endorsement of King Ashoka. This great empire-builder did not force his subjects to adopt the Buddhist faith. But by posting edicts engraved on iron pillars throughout his realm exhorting his people to lead an ethical life and by following these principles himself, he inspired others to adopt Buddha's teachings.

King Ashoka also actively proselytized outside his kingdom by sending missions to distant lands. On some occasions, he acted upon the invitation of foreign rulers, such as King Tishya of Sri Lanka. On others, he sent monks as envoys at his own initiative. These visiting monastics, however, did not forcefully pressure others to convert, but simply made Buddha's teachings available, allowing people to choose for themselves. This is evidenced by the fact that in such places as South India and southern Burma, Buddhism soon took root, while in others, such as the Greek colonies in Central Asia, there is no record of any immediate impact.

Other religious kings, such as the sixteenth century Mongol potentate Altan Khan, invited Buddhist teachers to their realm and proclaimed Buddhism the official creed of the land in order to help unify their people and consolidate their rule. In the process they may have prohibited certain practices of non-Buddhist, indigenous religions and even persecuted those who followed them, but these heavy-handed moves were primarily politically motivated. Such ambitious rulers never forced their subjects to adopt Buddhist forms of belief or worship. This is not part of the religious creed.

If Shakyamuni Buddha told people not to follow his teachings out of blind faith, but to examine them carefully themselves before accepting them, how much less so should people accept Buddha's teachings out of coercion from zealous missionaries or royal decree. Thus, for instance, when Toyin Neiji in the early sixteenth century CE tried to bribe Eastern Mongol nomads into following Buddhism by offering them livestock for each verse they memorized, people complained to the highest authorities. In the end, this overbearing teacher was punished and exiled.