Prophecy of King Asoka

[DS Star]

In a past life of the Great Dharma Patron, King Ashoka, he was just a small boy playing in the sand with other children. Pretending to be a king with the other children as his ministers, they built a sand castle which included a treasury.

At this time, Buddha Shakyamuni passed the children playing in the sand on his alms round. Upon seeing the Buddha, the small child was very inspired. Immediately he bent over the sand castle and picked up the imaginary treasury room of the castle in his hands. He quickly walked over to the Buddha to place these imaginary riches within his begging bowl. At first Ananda moved to stop the boy, thinking with a loving heart that this sand would ruin the food within the Buddha's begging bowl. Yet the Buddha stopped Ananda from preventing this offering.

The Buddha was so tall, so one of this disciples bent down in front of him and requested the small boy to stand on top of his back. Doing so, the boy joyfully placed the imaginary treasury within the Buddha's begging bowl.

Following this event, Ananda asked the Buddha why he had allowed the boy to put sand in his begging bowl. Smiling, the Buddha said that two hundred years after his mahaparinirvana a universal king (Skt. Chakravartin) would arise in India, and that he would perform extensive activities in support of establishing and spreading the Buddhadharma throughout the region. The Buddha said that his name would be King Ashoka, and that this very boy would become that king due to the incredibly vast merits he developed by offering the Buddha a handful of sand with a genuinely loving heart.

As told by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche

This story shows that motivation or intention in all our actions, especially when making offerings to Buddha, is more important than the action itself.

All actions with intention becomes our karma... good or bad. We can cheat or lie or pretend in front of others but we can never do that with our own karma...

[icy]

The little boy who offered a sand mandala with a loving heart to the Buddha accumulated incredible vast merits.  Once merits are created it multiplies greatly and it is impossible not to experience the result that he had produced.  Merits accomplished never go wasted and thus the little boy who had created such vast merits was reborn wealthy and mighty, the Buddhist King Ashoka the Great Dharma Patron for such virtuous action and thought.

[yontenjamyang]

In these times when the Buddha Shakyamuni is not around, we cannot offer HIM directly or physically. However, the Guru is the representations of all the Buddhas and Enlightened Beings in the Merit field. Hence, any offerings to the Guru will bring that kind of good Karma. If offered with good motivation or intention; or simply offered without thoughts of returns or just out of respect for the Guru, brings tremendous merits; not just being a universal king; but generates the merits that leads to enlightenment.

So regard the Guru as the Buddha!

[Pilgrim]

Thanks DS Star for sharing this story. Simple yet inspiring! It's a good reminder for us on keeping our motivations pure, no matter what we do.

Yontenjamyang, your advice on regarding our Guru as the Buddha is also a good reminder, thanks!

I've shared the Prophecy of King Asoka with my friends!

[vajrastorm]

Ashoka's offering of a sand mandala to Buddha Shakyamuni generated tremendous merits that caused Ashoka to become a powerful king with a vast empire. This was because of the purity and sincerity of his motivation and because he was making an offering to the Buddha. In future times , when he became a ruler, Ashoka collected even more merits by building stupas in all the countries in his empire. He was thus instrumental in causing the spread of Dharma to even the far-flung regions of his empire.

   

[pgdharma]

The Buddha taught that what we think, along with what we say and how we act, create karma. So, what we think is as important as what we do.

The little boy who offered a sand mandala to Buddha Shakayamuni generated  tremendous amount of merits as his offerings was made from a pure heart with good motivations which eventually led him to take a rebirth as a universal king. With his wealth and power, Asoka was able to establish and spread the Buddhadharma which benefitted many.

[Tenzin K]

Although he did not have much to give, he gave what he could: the boy placed a handful of dirt in the Buddha’s begging bowl, thinking he was giving a wonderful gift to the Enlightened One. The intention was pure, and so it was welcomed by the Buddha who smiled upon him. Because of this deed, the Buddha said that in another life Ashoka would become a great king, and as a king, he would establish the Buddhist faith within his kingdom.
He was known to the Indians, and to the rest of the Buddhist world, as Ashoka the Great; after his conversion, he was to be seen as a devout follower of the Buddha, who, among other things, helped establish stupa to house the relics of the Buddha as pilgrimage sites throughout the region.

[RedLantern]

The impact of Asoka's policy of Dharmavijaya on contemporary India  cannot be evaluated as the sources - our disposal say nothing on it.If Asoka had not elaborated his concept of Dharma and the effort he made to propagate it by means of his own edicts both his dharma the policy of Dharmavijayawould have gone in oblivion.The mainstream Indian literature and tradition had either ignored or forgotten him.
An obvious assumption would be that neither his dharma nor his policy of Dharmavijaya made any lasting impression in the Indian mind.He was not only remembered gratefully but even glorified for his unique contribution to Buddhism.This paradox becomes confusing on account of the determined effort to save several scholars to prove that the dharma of Asoka should not be equated with Buddhism.

[Freyr Aesiragnorak]

This story illustrates something that Buddhists do every day, that is make offerings. Even something as simple as sand, with the right motivation can lead to a future life of practicing and spreading the Dharma far and wide, benefiting countless and bringing them on to the correct path.

I remember reading another version of this story, apologies I cannot remember from where, in which it was stated that this child actually offered the sand treasury while visualising it as a complete mandala of the entire universe. Visualised not only with all the virtuous and pleasurable things but also all his defilements as well. This story has always inspired me to make more offerings with a good motivation and truly attests to the power of offerings. But as my Lama always says, remember you should make offerings with the thought of benefiting others, not yourself.

[Manisha Kudo]

It was not sand that the little boy offered to the Buddha. It was his imaginary treasury. Perhaps, the boy may not even understand or thought about sincerity. To him, his imagination was real and he probably gave what was most valuable to him - what is more important to child than his fantasy? This translates to the Vajrayana practice of creative visualizations. Whenever we perform our Serkym and Mandala offerings to the Buddha for example, we always visualize great treasures that are overflowing in abundance.

The problem with us adults is that we no longer believe that our visualizations or imaginations are important. 

[Klein]

I agree with yontenjamyang. Having the motivation is very important. It's not what we offer that really counts. It's the motivation behind the giving that counts. My lama always tell me that if my motivation is to benefit others always, every breath I take will generate merits.

Therefore, it makes sense that the boy's offering of sand generated so much merits that he was born as King Ashoka, the great dharma king.

In these times when the Buddha Shakyamuni is not around, we cannot offer HIM directly or physically. However, the Guru is the representations of all the Buddhas and Enlightened Beings in the Merit field. Hence, any offerings to the Guru will bring that kind of good Karma. If offered with good motivation or intention; or simply offered without thoughts of returns or just out of respect for the Guru, brings tremendous merits; not just being a universal king; but generates the merits that leads to enlightenment.

So regard the Guru as the Buddha!

[Dondrup Shugden]

Another great article on developing good karma for swift and good rebirth. Let us be generous to the Sangha to preserve the Dharma.


"In a past life of the Great Dharma Patron, King Ashoka, he was just a small boy playing in the sand with other children. Pretending to be a king with the other children as his ministers, they built a sand castle which included a treasury.

At this time, Buddha Shakyamuni passed the children playing in the sand on his alms round. Upon seeing the Buddha, the small child was very inspired. Immediately he bent over the sand castle and picked up the imaginary treasury room of the castle in his hands. He quickly walked over to the Buddha to place these imaginary riches within his begging bowl. At first Ananda moved to stop the boy, thinking with a loving heart that this sand would ruin the food within the Buddha's begging bowl. Yet the Buddha stopped Ananda from preventing this offering.

The Buddha was so tall, so one of this disciples bent down in front of him and requested the small boy to stand on top of his back. Doing so, the boy joyfully placed the imaginary treasury within the Buddha's begging bowl.

Following this event, Ananda asked the Buddha why he had allowed the boy to put sand in his begging bowl. Smiling, the Buddha said that two hundred years after his mahaparinirvana a universal king (Skt. Chakravartin) would arise in India, and that he would perform extensive activities in support of establishing and spreading the Buddhadharma throughout the region. The Buddha said that his name would be King Ashoka, and that this very boy would become that king due to the incredibly vast merits he developed by offering the Buddha a handful of sand with a genuinely loving heart.

As told by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche

This story shows that motivation or intention in all our actions, especially when making offerings to Buddha, is more important than the action itself.

All actions with intention becomes our karma... good or bad. We can cheat or lie or pretend in front of others but we can never do that with our own karma..."