Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Great Minds 12, Kautilya and Ashoka

Posted on October 27, 2017March 22, 2022 by Dharma Documentaries
A look at the teachings of two of the great thinkers in the early period of Indian history, including the Buddhist King Ashoka.

12, Kautilya and Ashoka

The 12th lecture in the Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition by Dr. Grant Hardy of the University of North Carolina looks at two great thinkers in the early historical period: Kautilya and Ashoka.

The author of Arthasastra has often been maligned as the Indian Machiavelli, but in fact the advice he gives in his book towards the pursuit of the good is much more than a cynical advice on how a King can stay in power, see the regime he lays down for Kings, which is very strict and hard, and really makes him a servant of the people, not the other way round.

On the other hand King Ashoka’s place as a great thinker is already assured, thanks to his having carved his advice in stone, and it having come down to us to this day. One of the great monuments of statesmanship, Ashoka’s words and practice stand out as a shining example of good Buddhist kingship even in the present day.

Prof. Hardy also discusses other matters in this lecture, like the differences between Indian and Chinese philosophy, the four stages of life and the right aims in life, including kama, or sensual pleasure, as embodied by another misread text, the Kamasutra.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Dharma, Asoka, India, Politics

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/3hT

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

or Bank Transfer to:
Mr. Ng Choon Aun, Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Acc. No. 6352323912, Swift: PBBEMYKL

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Movie)

Recent Posts

  • Passage to Buddha (Hwaomkyung)
  • In the Footsteps of Wonhyo
  • The Children of the Buddha
  • The Heirs of Genghis Khan
  • Morin Khuur, the Mongolian Horse-Head Fiddle
  • Taiga, the Last Nomads of Mongolia
  • The Wizards of Myanmar
  • Buddha’s Lost Children
  • Zen Buddhism – In Search of Self
  • Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East?

Random Posts

  • Shaolin Zen Meditation, Martial Arts and Medicine
  • Irrawaddy, the Sacred River of Burma
  • Great Minds 14, Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu
  • Awakening the Sleeping Goddess
  • Baraka by Ron Fricke
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • Ña?avira Hamuduru
  • Women Who Make America 3: Charting a New Course
  • The Lost Buddhas of Bamiyan
  • Hermits, Modern Chinese Practitioners

Related Posts

  • A Force More Powerful 01, India
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 7-8 of 24
  • Cosmopolitan India In Ancient and Medieval Times
  • Seeds of Freedom
  • Louis Malle's Calcutta (India 1969)
  • The Day India Burned: Partition
  • The Slow Poisoning of India
  • The Children of the Buddha
  • From Myanmar to the World 2, Caves to Pagodas
  • From Myanmar to the World 1, Overland to India
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme