History shows that during the time of the Buddha,
the Kings Bimbisara, Suddhodana, and Prasenajita received great benefit from
their practice of the Dhamma, and naturally wanted to share this benefit with
others. They enthusiastically supported the dissemination of the Buddha’s
teaching in their respective kingdoms. Yet the fact remains that the Dhamma
spread to the masses not only because of this royal patronage but because of
the efficacy of the technique itself. This technique enables anyone who applies
it to come out of misery by rooting out the mental impurities of greed (lobha),
hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha). A simple and universal
technique, it can be practised by men and women from any class, any sect, any
communal group, with the same results. Suffering is universal: unwanted things
happen and desired things may or may not happen. A universal malady must have a
universal remedy: Dhamma is this remedy. The Buddha compassionately and freely
distributed the Dhamma throughout northern India, attracting a large number of
people in what was then called Majjhima Desa.
Similarly after the time of the Buddha, during
the time of Emperor Asoka in the third century B.C., the Dhamma spread widely.
Again this was mainly because of the practical, applied aspect of the teaching
(Dhamma paṭipatti). Several Asokan rock edicts prove this fact. Asoka
must have himself experienced the beneficial results of this technique, and he
propagated the Dhamma with great zeal. It was out of the volition to serve
others, which develops when the mind becomes purified, that he put forth so
much effort to help his subjects in both the mundane as well as the
supramundane spheres. On the Pillar Edict #7 he points out two reasons
why he succeeded in this. One was the rule of law and order in his kingdom (Dhammaniyamani),
but he gave more emphasis to the second reason which was the practice of
meditation (nijhatiya), the practical aspect of the Dhamma. This shows
that he appreciated the fact that the practice of the Dhamma is the main reason
for its spread.
It was after the Third Council under Asoka’s
patronage that fully liberated arahant monks were sent out of northern India to
nine different areas to make the Dhamma available to more people. These monks
were called Dhamma dutas (Dhamma messengers). They naturally gave emphasis to
the practical aspect of the Dhamma by which they themselves had become free
from mental impurities. Filled with love and compassion, they attracted large
numbers of people to the path of liberation.
The following are the names of the elder monks (Theras)
and the nine areas where they went to teach Dhamma:
Majjhantika Thera: Kasmira and Gandhara (Kashmir,
Afghanistan, Peshawar and Rawalpindi in Northwest Pakistan)
Mahadeva Thera: Mahisamandala (Mysore)
Rakkhita Thera: Vanavasi (North Kanara in South
India)
Yonaka Dhammarakkhita Thera: Aparantaka (Modern
Northern Gujarat Kathiavar, Kachcha and Sindh)
Mahadhamma Rakkhita Thera: Maharattha (parts of
Maharashtra around the source of Godavari)
Maha Rakkhita Thera: Yonakaloka (Ancient Greece)
Majjhima Thera: Himavanta Padesa Bhaga (Himalayan
region)
Sona and Uttara Theras: Suvanna Bhumi (Burma)
Mahinda Thera and others: Tambapannidipa (Sri
Lanka)
Asoka also sent teachers to as far away as
present day Syria and Egypt. He paved the way for coming generations to spread
the sublime Dhamma to the entire world.
His lead was followed by King Kanishka who sent
teachers such as the Theras Kumarajiva and Bodhidhamma to Central Asia and
China.
From there the Dhamma went to Korea in the early
4th century A.D., and then to Japan. In India, Dhamma Universities—Takkasila,
Nalanda, Vikkamasila, and others—developed, flourished, and attracted learned
people from as far away as China. Dhamma also spread throughout Southeast Asia.
Large numbers of people started practising in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
Vietnam, and Indonesia. Tibet also received the Dhamma, through the service of
Santirakshita, Padmasambhava, Atisha, and Kamalashila.
Today the technique which the Buddha taught 2,600
years ago is once again flourishing, and is giving the same results now as it
did then. Thousands of people in India and in countries around the world are
learning Vipassana. What is attracting so many different types of people to the
Dhamma is the same as what attracted them 2,600 years ago: the very practical
nature of the teaching which is vivid, tangible, wholesome, easily understood,
giving benefit here and now, leading one step-by-step to the goal.
As many people start to practise Dhamma once
again, we can begin to imagine what life in the time of the Buddha, and later
in the time of Asoka, was like: a society full of peace and harmony as millions
of people became established in love, compassion, and wisdom through the
practice of Dhamma.
May all beings be happy. May peace and harmony
prevail.
